The LuminAID is a solar-rechargeable light that packs flat and inflates to diffuse light like a lantern. LuminAID technology was invented in 2010 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta.

Product

The LuminAID light has a solar panel, rechargeable battery, and a multi-chip LED light."LuminAID: A Bright Idea From Anna Stork & Andrea Sreshta"
Women You Should Know. January 10, 2013. According to its makers, after a full charge, it can deliver 35 lumens for 8 hours or 20 lumens for 16 hours and the battery can be recharged over 500 times, for years of use. The product has won first place in several business competitions, including the $100K Midwest 2013 Clean Energy Challenge, the William James Business Plan Competition, and the Chicago

Booth School of Business The University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Chicago Booth or Booth) is the graduate business school of the University of Chicago. Founded in 1898, Chicago Booth is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and is associated with 10 N ...

Social New Venture Challenge.Knight, Rebecca
"Business plan winners hope to shine a light on social enterprise"
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Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. September 12, 2012. In 2016, LuminAID was granted a patent by the United States Patent Office for their lighting technology.

History

LuminAID Lab is the manufacturer and producer of LuminAID lights. The company was founded in 2011 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, who invented the technology in 2010 in response to the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

while at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. They later experienced firsthand the damage caused by large-scale disasters while on a school trip during the March 2011 earthquake in Japan.Wernau, Julie
"Chicago-based LuminAID Lab wins Clean Energy Challenge"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

''. April 5, 2013. The inventors saw its potential as an outdoor recreation accessory in the US and began marketing it in that way. Its launch was linked to Indiegogo in an arrangement whereby purchasers could either buy two for $25, with one unit sent to a developing country, or buy a single unit for $10 to be donated. As of July 2021, LuminAID's website has 9 different solar lanterns for sale, along with a solar speaker.

Shark Tank appearance

Stork and Sreshta appeared on ABC's '' Shark Tank'' in February 2015 seeking a deal to fund their company. They received offers from all five of the "sharks," and accepted a deal with

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

for $200,000 for 15 percent of their company's equity. Sreshta said that Cuban has helped her and Stork to stay innovative. LuminAID's solar lanterns now double as phone chargers, and the lanterns are being sold in retail stores for camping and outdoor use too.

Partnership with ShelterBox

After working together to distribute lights in the Philippines in 2013 after a typhoon, LuminAID and

ShelterBox ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity established in 2000 in Helston, Cornwall, UK, that provides emergency shelter and other aid items to families around the world who have lost their homes to disaster or conflict. Shelt ...

, an organization that provides disaster relief services, became strategic partners.

References

External links