EarTop Technologies

EarTop Technologies Out of Business
Industry Audio technology
Founded 2012
Headquarters Orlando, Massachusetts, United States
Key people
 Ketan Rahangdale
Products Flow
Website www.eartop.com

EarTop Technologies is an audio technology company that designs and manufactures wireless audio and video products.[1]

History

EarTop was legally formed in January 2012 by co-founders Ketan Rahangdale and Jiayu Ni. As of February 2013, Rahangdale is the CEO and the headquarters are in Orlando, Florida.[1][2]

Rahangdale was a freshman at Babson College’s entrepreneurship program when he started EarTop, but transferred to University of Miami, because he was kicked out of Babson College "incessant use of negative racial slurs, despite repeated warnings".[3] As of March 2012, the company had 14 in-house engineers.[2] The company was formed after Rahangdale entered elevator-pitch and business plan competitions and raised $250,000 in angel funds.[3]

The company motto is “Life Unplugged.”[2] It generated $1 million in revenue in 2012.[4]

Eartop never delivered on their kickstarter campaign and has gone out of business. No one from the company will comment further.

Flow Product

Flow is EarTop’s first product. It plugs into the auxiliary input of Beats by Dr. Dre Bose headphones, Beats Solo and Studio headphones, Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, or speakers so that they work wirelessly.[1][5][6] It uses enhanced data receiving (EDR) technology similar to Bluetooth. EarTop claims that sound does not lose quality when it goes wireless using Flow.[1]

Side view of EarTop Technology's Flow product

Flow took six months of research and development costing almost $250,000.[1][3] EarTop has filed 6 provisional patent applications for Flow.[3]

Awards

Kairos Society named company to its list of 50 Most Innovative Student-Run Companies in the World.[6][7] Additionally, EarTop and CEO Ketan Rahangdale are listed on the 2012 Empact 100 list.[6][8]

In 2012, Inc. Magazine listed EarTop as one of its “7 Hot Dorm Room Inventions” and one of “America’s Coolest College Start-Ups 2012.”[2][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Zax, David. “This College Sophomore and CEO Keeps a Keg at the Office ¬ Even if He’s too Young to Tap it.” Fast Company. Oct. 5, 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tracy, Abigail. “America’s Coolest College Start-ups 2012.” Inc. Magazine. Mar. 4, 2012
  3. 1 2 3 4 Helmer, Jodi. “College Entrepreneur Creates Wireless Headphones." Entrepreneur Magazine. Jan. 26, 2013.
  4. ↑ Parham, Jason. “15 Tech Companies Created in Dorm Rooms.” Complex Tech. Jan. 29, 2013
  5. ↑ Landry, Lauren. . “Wireless Headphones Make Their Way to Kichstarter to Let You Live a Life Unplugged.” BostInno. Aug. 5, 2012
  6. 1 2 3 LeClaire, Jennifer. “Ketan Rahangdale, “Toy” to Top Tech.” Business Miami. Fall 2012
  7. ↑ Gallardo, Ariele. “Freshman Entrepreneur Honored.” The Miami Hurricane. March 1, 2012
  8. ↑ List of Companies. Empact 100 website. Accessed Feb. 21, 2013
  9. ↑ “7 Hot Dorm Room Inventions." Inc. Magazine
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