AXIS – Innovative DIY Products for the Millennial Generation

When it comes to home, true intelligence is about more than Internet connectivity: it’s about designing products that fit seamlessly into users’ everyday lives.

At AXIS, we specialize in designing great, affordable, user-friendly do-it-yourself home products — perfect for the way people live in the year 2016.

AXIS starts with two simple products designed to provide simple, smart solutions for a part of the home that, until now, has been overlooked.

AXIS GEAR
Transform any window shade into a smart shade instantly

AXIS DUO

A roller shade installed without tools that extends to fit multiple window sizes

And Gear and Duo are just the beginning of the AXIS vision. We’re setting out to build an entire brand of affordable, intuitive, user-friendly home products, all purpose-built to make home simpler and smarter than ever before.

Now that’s smart.

In a lot of ways, our lives are starting to look a lot like our parents’ (as mortifying as that is to admit). But in other ways, we couldn’t be more different. Unlike our parents or their parents before them, most of us are more comfortable with a smartphone or a tablet in our hand than a hammer or a power drill. And with work hours getting longer and paychecks getting smaller, for most Millennials the words “home project” are more likely to inspire groans of pain than claps of glee.

Take window shades, for example: first, you have to measure all the windows in your property down to the precise inch. Then you spend hours shopping around and comparing fabrics and brands. When you finally make the purchase, you spend weeks waiting for production and shipping, then you spend hours wrestling the blinds into position — or else pay a premium for a professional installer to come and do it for you. And you’d better cross your fingers that you measured your windows correctly all those weeks ago, because even the smallest measurement error could send you back to square one.

If you own your home, all of that time, effort and money may be worth it  (emphasis on the may). But if you rent your home — the way millions of Millennials do today — you just spent hours of your time and hundreds of your dollars on an upgrade that, when it’s time to upgrade to a bigger place or relocate to a new city, you won’t be able to take with you.

To make a long story short: for most of us in the Millennial generation (or just outside it), there’s a bit of a problem with today’s so-called “DIY” home products:most of them are just not that DIY friendly. They’re expensive, they’re complicated, and they’re designed for a generation that had a lot more time and a lot more money to invest in home products.

That’s where AXIS comes in.

At AXIS, we have a bit of a different philosophy when it comes to home products. We believe that choosing home products should be simple, installing them should be simpler, and that, at the end of the day, the products in our home should reflect the way life is lived today.

We call our approach DIY 2.0, and it goes a little something like this.

AXIS is all about the experience: we think long and hard about how people today interact with their homes, and design products that are purpose-built to fit seamlessly into users’ everyday lives.

The AXIS philosophy comes down to three key values:

Simplicity
AXIS products are designed specifically to be both easy to install and easy to use. Installation is done in a matter of minutes — no pricey professional installers required.

Beauty
Great home products have to do more than just work well — they have to look good doing it.  AXIS products feature sleek, visually appealing design using the highest quality engineering and materials, making them a seamless addition to any home or office.

Affordability
AXIS products are priced to be accessible across a wide range of budgets. Whether you rent or own, whether you’re furnishing a house or upgrading your office, AXIS products will keep you on budget.

Simply attach the Gear to the cord of your shades, and just like that you get automated window shades that you can control with the press of a button.

One Gear Fits All  
AXIS Gear works with any type of window shade with a looped cord– including roller shades, vertical blinds, curtains & drapes or roman shades — and any type of cord.

Simple Installation
Installing AXIS Gear is as easy as 1-2-3: just install the mounting bracket to your window frame, attach the cord of your window shade onto Gear, then snap Gear into place on the mounting bracket. Plus, you can remove AXIS Gear just as easily as you install it, making it a great option for renters and others who are on the move.

Easy Control
Raise and lower your shades by pressing a button on the Gear itself, or control your shades through your smartphone to enjoy Gear’s full smart home capabilities, including automated schedules and customized settings. Plus, you can always control your shades the old fashioned way – by pulling on the cord.

True Intelligence
Gear connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth LE, and features sensors to monitor temperature, humidity, light and movement, so it’s easy to adjust your shades based on those factors.

Smart Home Friendly  
AXIS Gear is more than a stand-alone smart solution: it integrates seamlessly with other smart home products and hubs — including Google Nest, Logitech Harmony and even Fitbit — making it a true smart home solution.

Installing AXIS Gear

Controlling the AXIS Gear

AXIS Duo is perfect for busy, on-the-go Millennials who rent their homes and are looking for a smart, convenient window covering solution that saves them the headaches and the long, drawn-out repeat visits to the hardware store.  

Great fit guaranteed
AXIS Duo extends and retracts like a telescope, so it fits any window size — no detailed measurements needed.

Easy to install  
AXIS Duo installs in minutes: just extend Duo to fit the width of your window and turn a dial to lock Duo into place, and you’re done — no tools or nails required.

Rental friendly
AXIS Duo is 100% rental-friendly: it’s easy to pack up and take with you when you move, and won’t damage your window frame or walls, making it the ideal option for renters on the go.

2015 was a big year for AXIS, and with momentum building toward our official launch later this year, 2016 is shaping up to be our biggest year yet.

Fully functional prototypes of both Gear and Duo are finalized and production-ready. We have filed a total of 6 patents to protect our Innovations — 3 each for Gear and Duo — with our first Duo patent already issued.  

In December 2015, we wrapped up a successful crowdfunding campaign for AXIS Gear on Indiegogo, netting over $100K and pre-selling almost 1,000 units of AXIS Gear. http://igg.me/at/axi-gea

The press is catching onto AXIS as well: we’ve been featured by some of the top tech publications, including cnet and Gizmag, just to name a few.

Customers and media outlets aren’t the only ones interested in AXIS– distributors are catching on as well. We have demoed AXIS Duo for international distributors, and acquired multiple letters of intent to purchase, including one from Australian company Gale Pacific for 20K-26K units in the first year alone.

Other brands interested in working with AXIS include: Budget Blinds, B&C International, Pueblo Bonito Resorts, Alarm.com, Schneider Electric, Daintree, Control 4.

Up next for AXIS: time to deliver on our promises to our Indiegogo backers and get Gear and Duo into production and ready to go to our distribution partners.

For more information about where AXIS goes from there and how you can help make it happen, request access to the Business Plan tab of this profile, and let’s talk!

Trung Pham, CEO
AXIS marks CEO Trung Pham’s second round in the startup ring. His first startup, HOOKUPVIP, is an event and promotions management web platform that allows nightclub and concert promoters to create events to sell tickets and manage their team. At HOOKUPVIP, Trung focused on business development, and grew revenues to over $125k within the first 12 months of operations. HOOKUPVIP merged with a mobile-first player, Alfiee (www.alfiee.com). Trung continues to serve as an advisor for Alfiee. Trung has a background in finance, completing all 3 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams within 18 months. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business in 2009.

Manu Menon, COO & Biz Dev
Manu Menon is a former Wall Street investment banker with Citigroup and private equity executive with Paine & Partners in Chicago. Manu brings a wealth of financial and direct management experience with portfolio companies. His experience goes well beyond financial modeling, to due diligence, legal, budgeting, and strategic initiatives, directly with the management team of acquired companies. Manu earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from York University’s Schulich School of Business in 2009.

Marc Bishara, CTO
Marc Bishara has both corporate and start-up experience, first with ATS Automation as a vision engineer, where he designed optical systems and computer hardware for image processing applications. His first dive into the startup world was with Kiwi Wearables (www.kiwi.ai), where he was responsible for designing the firmware and application for their Bluetooth wearable product “Glance” – an application that tracks the orientation and displacement of Glance in 3D space. His skillsets intersect software, hardware and embedded systems. Marc earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics from McMaster University in 2014.

Alan Cheng, CDO
Alan Cheng has direct experience in designing and manufacturing home products with Olympus Group International in Shenzhen, China as an Industrial Designer. He has the experience working directly with Chinese factories and is able to confidently navigate their negotiating, manufacturing,and quality control practices. Prior to joining AXIS, Alan worked for Corel as a UX/UI designer for their Corel DRAW application. His UX/UI experience expands to delivering wireframes, mock-ups, user workflows while working through an AGILE process. Alan has spent two years studying Mechatronics at McMaster University before getting his Bachelor of Industrial Design from Carleton University in 2013.

Clifton Pereira, Mechanical Engineering & Manufacturing
Clifton Pereira has designed the mechanical systems in furniture systems for AyA Kitchen & Baths, which include bi-folding kitchens and table extensions. He has experience engineering new products from concept to prototype to manufacturing, with extensive experience optimizing manufacturing product flow in work cells that delivered higher product throughput, and on quality control in manufacturing. His experience also focused on designing tests for functionality and safety compliance. In addition to his 3D modeling and manufacturing experience, Clifton has a Mechanical Technologist diploma from Humber College, as well as a Masters of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from Carleton University.