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Startup Savants Podcast: Interview with John Salzinger and Seungah Jeong of MPOWERD

Adriaan Brits

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On this episode of the Startup Savants podcast, hosts Annaka and Ethan are joined by John Salzinger and Seungah Jeong of MPOWERD, a Certified B Corp that is working to make a positive change in the world through solar lights and over 700 NGO partnerships. John revealed why bringing on an external CEO can be the right move and Seungah talked about the importance of patents and trademarks for protecting your ideas and ensuring that your hard-earned customers always get the quality they’re expecting.

How did you get started with MPOWERD? 

John Salzinger: MPOWERD was founded 10 years ago … So this is our 10-year anniversary as a [Certified] B Corp and a benefit corporation. With the idea that business can affect change and that we can use capitalism as the tracks for that change. And so what we’ve done is create a model whereby our retailers, our D2C, our corporations can give us healthy margins. And then we can reduce and have a healthy impact by tearing down margins and localizing pricing for people that really need our solar tools around the world.”

What made you select the Luci Light to be your first product?

John Salzinger: We realized that the lantern market needed to be sort of turned upside down … kerosene lanterns are very harmful. They cause fires [and] pulmonary disease. They’re actually the leading cause of disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. There’s a small company called Coleman that sort of has a handle on the lantern market, but we were naive enough and brave enough to go into that market, aggregate technologies, see what was out there, better design, and add solar. And we did that. And so our form factor is such that we had about 40 iterations early on in order to get an inflatable solar light that we have patented across the world, utility and design. And it was such that it would be portable. In other words, collapsible and fit into your bag or your pocket. We could fit 30,000 in a container. So logistics friendly. Waterproof, durable. You could throw it at a colleague or a talk show host if you didn’t like them that day.

But seriously, we wanted to make products for people. And this was our first product, Luci original. And it’s the same exact product that you would find in the MoMA or Bloomingdales or Nordstrom that you would find in Kibera in Kenya in one of the largest slums in the world. And we felt that by making those products with a wow factor, people would actually use them. And that was the key.”

You’ll have several patents on your products – can you tell us what is required to patent a product and if it’s not required, what made you make the choice to get all these patents?

Seungah Jeong: So we’re happy to share that 100% of our products are covered by one or more patents around the world. And it’s not an easy process, it’s not something that is essential for many companies. However, for us and the work that we are doing, we believe that part of innovation means protecting innovation. And we wanted to patent our products so that, again, the person in Sub-Saharan Africa using our product knows that they’re getting the exact same quality, design, [and] materials that a hiker purchasing our light at REI might receive. And that’s very important because, in some of these emerging markets, there are companies that make a ‘like’ product that is not really the genuine product. And then they flood markets with these subpar products, and they basically destroy marketplaces. And having grown up in one of these emerging markets myself, both John and I believe that it’s imperative that we protect innovation, quality, et cetera. So that consumers around the world receive the genuine, authentic product.”

Do you recommend that all startups or product companies work to patent or trademark any of their items or processes, or do you think that this is specific to certain kinds of companies?

Seungah Jeong: “I think trademarks are important. They’re a little bit easier to obtain. So certainly trademarking your company, certain key, brand names, things like that are very important because, again, it’s a global economy. There are a lot of people who will take whatever you’ve built and very quickly knock it down through, I’ll just say, essentially counterfeit items, and part of building a business is around brand equity. So I think trademarks are critical. Patents are definitely a vehicle to help create what we call a moat around what you’ve built. So that moat is only part of ensuring that what you’ve created maintains its authenticity. Other elements include branding, understanding your consumer, et cetera, because it is not an easy process to obtain patents. But if you can, we would highly recommend it because it’s one aspect that protects everything you’ve worked so hard to build.”

An aspect of being a socially responsible corporation is the inclusion of women – what proportion of those in the U.S. who hold patents are females?

Seungah Jeong: “In the US, only 12% of patent holders are women. So if any of your listeners out there are venturing into the world of technology. At this time, there’s not a lot of support around female entrepreneurs, especially those trying to pursue patents. And there have been studies written about this, but it’s definitely something that we found worthwhile, we would advocate for. We’re really proud that, in addition to the two of us, we’ve included several of our team members on patents as well. It’s a very fulfilling process to know that you’re really pushing the boundaries of what you’re doing to truly bring innovation to your products.”

John Salzinger: “There are plenty of open source businesses that are fine as is, and no need to patent. If we don’t patent and protect, then our impact model, volume-based impact model, we can’t fulfill it. And so stakeholders that we help around the world suffer. So that’s why we’re so defensible with what we do.”

What do you think accounts for the massive gender gap in patents?

Seungah Jeong: “There have been studies written about this, and they think it’s multifaceted. So one [aspect] is just the simple lack of women in the space of technology, engineering, and innovation. Also … it takes some resources and some understanding to even navigate the system. To hire patent attorneys, to understand what is patentable.”

John Salzinger: “And a B Corp is not just in name only. So it has to be in practice. We are social construct blind at MPOWERD. And so Seungah was hired as a CEO because of what Seungah brings to the table. Seungah’s been on every patent with me because Seungah brings to the table a P and G background. She was a founder of another startup before this, and we needed it. So I would say that if people can hire and look for help based on content of character, that is how you find the best candidate. It helps everyone. 50% or so of the country are women. There should be 50% or so should catch up at the USPTO in a perfect world, but there’s a lot of barriers in the past that we’re overcoming.”

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What sort of assistance were you able to discover to help you through the patent process? 

Seungah Jeong: “I’m happy to share that one of our partners provides us pro bono assistance actually in this legal sphere because of who we are and what we do and because we’re an impact company. So again, for entrepreneurs out there, especially those who are looking to make a change through their business, there are resources and capacity builders out there from other businesses, legal firms, banking firms, et cetera, who might be B Corps themselves, who would be willing to help provide some assistance.”

What’s the main consideration for a young company that wants to file a patent?

Seungah Jeong: Find a good attorney, for one thing … and it can be a small boutique firm, someone who understands your vision and what you’re trying to accomplish, be honest about the resources you have at hand, and see how you can stage the process of filing. The other piece of advice … is to be as broad as possible with your patent because technology changes. There are many things that, even when we started, we didn’t know would come to fruition later. Like all the different types of USB ports, just as an example. So as you are working to patent your idea, be as broad and comprehensive, dream big about all the possible things in the future that could be added to your product or iterations, form factors, et cetera. So that your basic idea is as wide as possible. And it allows you later to also continue to iterate on your original innovation and creates that healthy space around you to acknowledge that as technology shifts, your original product idea or technology idea may also shift.”

How are you funded?

Seungah Jeong: “Happy to take that question, and I’ll speak generally. We actually have VC and PE backing the company … so private equity typically comes in during the later stage of a company. They have very specific metrics that they look for, most likely around EBITDA and the ability to grow and convert within a certain timeframe, generally anywhere from three to seven years. VC typically invests in a broader range of companies. They’re looking for entrepreneurs, and maybe one out of ten of their companies will provide a return. And so they factor that typically into their calculations of who they invest in. So just from that overall perspective, they have a different thesis when they come into the companies. Generally, PE is looking for greater efficiencies, the ability to scale, et cetera. Whereas VC is hoping for that blockbuster idea.”

What is your number one piece of advice for early stage entrepreneurs?

John Salzinger: “Work hard, and then number two is work hard, and number three is work hard. Nothing is given to you in life … if you’re living in a developed world economy like we are, realize how grateful you are and make a difference.”

Seungah Jeong: “I think my advice would be to learn from everyone around you who’s willing to offer their thoughts, advice, expertise in whatever area they may reside in. Because oftentimes, in a startup, there are a lot of things that you may encounter that you’ve never encountered before that you didn’t even know you would have to contend with. And that ability to understand all facets of running a business, from insurance to legal requirements and whatever it may be. And all you need is just a little bit of knowledge, but more importantly, the understanding of who to call when you need help, advice, et cetera. Because as we’ve seen the last couple of years, it can be a pandemic, it can be an impending recession. You don’t know what you’re going to encounter as a business. Even if you have a very solid idea of what you’re trying to accomplish. So having a full roster of people you can talk to, ask advice of, et cetera, is something that I’d recommend. So things like your podcast are fantastic because these sources of information are super critical.”

You can listen to more episodes of Startup Savants podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts for more startup stories, entrepreneur advice, and industry insights. 

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