Steve Katsaros and Evan Husney, now CEO and General Counsel, co-founded
Nokero -- short for "no kerosene" -- in 2010. Three years later, it's produced about 500,000 solar-powered lightbulbs and distributed them to 120 countries.
"There are 1.3 billion people in the world who live without electricity," says Husney. "When people don't have light, they burn something for light. There are a lot of problems with that" -- air quality, fires and costly fuel that can add up to $40 annually. "When you look at people who are making $1 or $2 a day, that's a big problem. It keeps people in the cycle of poverty."
Nokero's solar-powered solution is the
$15 Crestone Solar Light Bulb, a simple and elegant solution that can pay for itself in as little as two weeks. It's commercially distributed in India and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have brought them to Africa.
Nokero currently has six employees in its Speer neighborhood offices and two in China. Husney describes the operation as "lean and mean" while forecasting hiring by fall 2013. It also plans to more aggressively target the domestic outdoor, home and emergency markets in 2013.
"We've focused on the developing world," says Husney, "but we've basically ignored our backyard."
The company has nine different products in all, including its flagship lightbulbs as well as chargers, that were designed in Denver and manufactured in China.
Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Eric Peterson with tips and leads for future stories at eric@confluence-denver.com.
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