Startup Spotlight #120: Allosense
Allosense is building a fleet of industrial-IoT devices and a satellite-based infrastructure to support them.
Author’s Note: There will be no Startup Spotlight on Friday - I’m currently on vacation! :)
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I got the chance to speak with Roman Sandoval, founder and CEO of Allosense, about what he’s working on at his startup, and any advice he has for emerging entrepreneurs.
Allosense delivers an easy user experience for integrating smart sensors and analyzing data. We design and manufacture “always connected” asset trackers using satellite, cellular, and mesh technologies to reduce logistic inefficiencies. Our trackers incorporate a suite of sensors for monitoring high-value assets in real-time. Allosense is a federal contractor and is a Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) awardee by AFWERX, the US Air Force’s Innovation Hub.
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Startup Spotlight: Allosense
Problem: According to MIT Media Labs, "Between 2003-2011, the US Army lost track of $5.8B of supplies among its warehouses." Military and logistic industries demand enhanced tracking capabilities for insight generation and the reduction of waste. Allosense’s mission is to optimize outdated logistic workflows, unlike using spreadsheets.
Market: According to Gartner, the global asset tracking market will continue to grow to $27.1B by 2023. Additionally, the global government IoT endpoint electronics and communications market will total $17.4 billion in 2021, an increase of 18% from 2020, and the serviceable addressable market is $2.9B, which is based on federal spend on city asset tracking and U.S. military contact vehicles.
Solution: Allosense created a patented hardware tracking system for real-time monitoring and insight generation. We design and manufacture “always connected” asset trackers using satellite, cellular, and mesh technologies.
Team: The Allosense team is composed of industry experts with 30+ years of experience from Intel, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla. To date, our team members have gone through accelerators such as Techstars, Capital Factory, SBIR Technology Acceleration Program, Seattle Maritime Blue, and OnDeck Fellowship.
Recent Success:
Sandoval: Over the past several months, we were able to find amazing corporate partners and run pilot programs. We are engineering heavy, which gives us an opportunity to make quick edits on code and launch new features rapidly. So, we continue to launch and field products quickly. Our motto is to hit the ground running and get as much feedback as we can.
Recent Struggle:
Sandoval: I learned that it's okay to say "no" to opportunities that are outside of the company's business model. From my experience, it is easy to get side-tracked by new possibilities. As a startup, we recognize that we have limited resources including time. Our objective is to optimize the return of our currently available resources. We are saying "no" more often to make sure we accomplish this objective.
Also, I am constantly reminded of how important the team is. Make sure you keep the right people motivated. Hiring people who do not fit the startup culture can de-motivate the team significantly.
Founder Advice:
Sandoval: Stay passionate and focused on your long-term vision. Be respectful of your time by working strategically and stay disciplined to achieve your goals. Entrepreneurship gets sensationalized often, but the reality is that startups are risky and require hard work. So, try your best and prepare for the worst. Expect to make sacrifices and endure emotional swings. You'll get plenty of "no's" - even from people you respect. Make sure you internalize the feedback, adjust when needed, and stay true to your mission. Best of luck to you!
Here are a few recommended books:
"Start with Why" by Simon Sinek
"Good to Great" by Jim Collins
Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:
Sandoval: Here are three founders you should check out next!
Michael Roth, Founder of EVO Security: Evo Security is an identity and access management company focused exclusively on serving Managed Service Providers (MSP's) with multi-factor authentication (MFA) and privileged access management solution (PAM).
Matthew Tanner, Founder of Keydabra AI: Keydabra starts where traditional analytics ends by helping businesses make more money by improving digital platforms.
Lori-Lee Elliott, Founder of Future Sight AR: Future Sight AR creates augmented, mixed, and reality (AR/MR/VR/XR) software productivity solutions for industrial workers.
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