Yan Sicheng, founder of Nanoleaf: "the science and technology clip" of Li Jiacheng"

Dressed in plaid shirts and casual pants, but still a bit of a student friendly atmosphere. A pure accent, occasionally emerge several Chinese pronounce words, this is one of the founders Nanoleaf Yan Sicheng.

Like the other two founders Zhu Jiajun and Tom Rodinger, three per capita is 80, graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada. With a shape alternative LED bulbs, won the favor of Asia's richest man Li Jiacheng, so that the three young people ushered in the opportunity to change the fate of.

"We were excited and nervous when we got a call to see Mr. Li, and only a short time to prepare. The three of us are not grown up in Asia, although he is a big man, but the psychological pressure is not so great. "Yan Sicheng said with a smile.

"We do not look up to the mentality, but to seek investors equal exchange, tell him what we have products, the future direction of development, as well as our respective background and advantages. He recalls.

Li Jiacheng saw this alternative bulb was immediately attracted by a unique shape, has been asked how to open the bulb and assembled. Yan Sicheng said, at that time, we want to bring a Lee can automatically adjust the brightness of the second generation product samples, but it was the only one of our samples, we have to get back. "

January 2013, three passionate entrepreneurs through the United States to raise public platform to raise funds to start the LED bulb entrepreneurial plan Kickstarter. Although the first generation of Nanoleaf bulbs priced up to $35, but after 8 months, the monthly sales volume has reached 4000-5000, and in North america.

This is claimed to be the history of the most energy-efficient LED bulb is no longer the appearance of the traditional arc, but with a circuit board into the eleven fold. Due to the shape of the bulb circuit board is folded up, no heat, thus saving 88% than traditional light bulbs with power, and the sustainable use of more than 30 thousand hours, compared with only 1500 hours of general incandescent lamp life is extended, and the bulb of the annual electricity costs only $1.84.

Because Nanoleaf subversive avant-garde design and high-tech boom set off a round of financing on the Internet, they get the world's 81 countries, 5746 individual investors financing, raising a total amount of up to $270 thousand, far beyond their original target of $20 thousand.

Angel strategic investors"

Harbor investment is our first contact with institutional investors, three of us are engineers background, we have the financial, finance, financing, venture capital almost absolutely ignorant of, but carries a mere dream of changing the world. He admitted.

After that brief meeting, Nanoleaf was lucky to get a stake in the Private Companies Ventures (Horizons), and became its largest strategic investor. Zhang Peiwei, a longtime business partner of Zhou Kaixuan, founded in 2002, is committed to seeking and investing in a variety of business services and technologies on a global scale.

Nanoleaf can enter Li Jiacheng's vision, mainly due to the University of Toronto President Meric Gertler to act as a go-between, search out this product from the alumni website, to visit Hongkong and harbor investment team meeting at the end of last year, when their products mentioned, Yan Sicheng said.

"We have and their investment team at the end of last year and in January this year during the three or four meetings, and other venture capital investment, the harbor investment strategy feels more like an angel investor, they give us a lot of space and freedom in the management, not every week to call to ask some of the details, financial data don't stare at the rate of return on investment and the like, but often met casually chat. He said.

Yan Sicheng said, the process of their investment in Hong Kong in the contact understand that they have invested artificial egg and other green technology projects, and the other is the pursuit of investment returns and the majority of investors are different, feeling each other like-minded". In addition, the global network of Victoria harbor investment is also very valued Nanoleaf three founders.

He said, the harbor investment management team is small, its portfolio total about 50 investment projects, and is responsible for the Nanoleaf team of about three or four people, after several rounds of due diligence, a month after they got the harbor investment funds. In addition, in the port of investment pull strings, they successfully won the Silicon Valley Kleiner Perkins investment.

Currently, Nanoleaf's office in Hongkong is Victoria Harbor Investment in Wan Chai harbour center headquarters, easy to communicate at any time.

After obtaining the capital investment, the development of Nanoleaf entered the "fast lane"". He said that the current investment in Victoria port is the largest shareholder of Nanoleaf, in addition to two private investors.

Because of the support of the funds, we can advance into the stage of mass production, while through the port of Hong Kong investment business network, we can now work with those large suppliers, manufacturers. He said that the current Nanoleaf team has been rapidly expanded from the initial three to about 20 people.

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