We recently connected with Idan Meir and have shared our conversation below.
Idan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?
In the early stages of RightHear, it was just my co-founder and me working relentlessly to turn our vision into reality. Unlike many tech startups, which typically focus on expanding their development teams, we chose to bring a salesperson on board. This decision was primarily driven by our bootstrapped nature and our desire to better understand our customers’ needs, which we believed was crucial for our long-term success. Hiring a salesperson allowed us to engage with our target audience, gather valuable insights, and ensure our product development efforts were truly addressing the challenges faced by the visually impaired community. This approach proved to be wise, as it helped us refine our product and build a solid foundation for our business.
Today, RightHear has grown substantially, and we are in the process of hiring our first American full-time employee. This presents a unique challenge, as we must navigate the cultural and market differences between the United States and Israel. We believe that fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment is essential for driving innovation and creating a product that resonates with our customers globally.
Reflecting on our journey, I’m proud of the decisions we made early on and the team we’ve built. Our emphasis on understanding our customers’ needs and building a diverse team has been instrumental in shaping the success of RightHear.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My background in social entrepreneurship has always driven me to find innovative ways to create a more inclusive and accessible world. I strongly believe in the value of independence and its role in empowering individuals, which is the driving force behind RightHear. At RightHear, our mission is to empower the visually impaired community with a single, innovative orientation solution. Our flagship product is an advanced mobile app that uses audio-based orientation and a network of indoor beacons to help visually impaired individuals safely and independently explore public spaces.
What truly sets us apart from other solutions in the market is our commitment to providing the best experience for both our users and our clients—the facilities. We understand that in order to create an accessible world, we must cater to the needs of all stakeholders involved. Our solution is not only user-friendly and adaptable to individual needs but also the fastest and most adopted accessibility solution in the market for facilities. This allows organizations, from shopping malls to universities, to easily and quickly make their spaces more accessible and welcoming to everyone.
We are most proud of the positive impact our product has had on the lives of our users, as well as the ease with which facilities can adopt our solution. We have received numerous testimonials from visually impaired individuals who have regained their independence and confidence thanks to RightHear, as well as from facilities that have successfully integrated our solution into their spaces.
As we continue to grow, we want potential clients, partners, and users to know that RightHear is not just a technology provider but a dedicated advocate for accessibility and inclusivity. We are committed to breaking down barriers and fostering a world where everyone can confidently and independently orient themselves in their surroundings, while providing the best experience for both users and facilities.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
During my journey with RightHear, there have been numerous challenges that tested our resilience as a team, but one particular instance stands out. RightHear was a fully bootstrapped company for over four years, which meant we had to be resourceful and focused on our vision despite limited resources. This resilience was put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic when public spaces, our primary market, were closed due to lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Faced with this unprecedented challenge, we quickly realized that we needed to adapt and find creative ways to keep our business afloat. Our team came together and brainstormed on how we could continue to support our users and clients during this difficult time. We focused on strengthening our digital presence, engaging with our community through online channels, and offering remote assistance to our clients who were preparing for a post-pandemic world.
In addition, we used this time to refine our product and explore potential new applications for our orientation solution. We also reached out to our existing clients and partners, offering assistance and assuring them that we were committed to helping them through this challenging period.
Despite the hardships brought on by the pandemic, our resilience and determination to stay true to our mission allowed us to survive and come out stronger. Our team’s unwavering commitment to empowering the visually impaired community and ensuring accessible public spaces fueled our ability to overcome the challenges posed by COVID-19. This experience not only reinforced the importance of resilience in the face of adversity but also highlighted the incredible strength and adaptability of our team at RightHear.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
When we first embarked on our journey with RightHear, we were determined to bring our vision of a more accessible world for the visually impaired community to life, despite the challenges associated with securing initial capital. My co-founder, Gil, being a skilled software engineer, took it upon himself to develop the system from scratch, investing countless hours of his time and expertise. This “sweat equity” became the cornerstone of our early growth.
We focused on creating a functional prototype of our orientation solution that would demonstrate its value to potential clients. Once we had a working product, we began reaching out to organizations and businesses that could benefit from our solution. Through targeted marketing efforts and networking, we were able to generate interest in our product, leading to our first paying customers.
The revenue generated from these early customers allowed us to grow and reinvest in our business without seeking outside capital. By keeping our operations lean, prioritizing our spending, and leveraging the skills and expertise of our founding team, we were able to bootstrap our way through the initial stages of our business.
This approach not only helped us retain control over our vision but also demonstrated to potential clients and partners our dedication and commitment to creating a truly impactful solution. By building our business on the foundation of sweat equity, customer revenue, and strategic reinvestment, we were able to achieve sustainable growth and bring our vision of a more accessible world to life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://right-hear.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/righthearapp/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RightHearApp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10690086/admin/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/righthearapp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmJeNPsSM-lMk1zp7o-k_0A?sub_confirmation=1
Image Credits
RightHear