Agloves - Best New Company
Company: Agloves
Company Description: Founded in 2010 by our president, Jennifer Spencer, Agloves is a 100% woman-owned company (at this time employing five incredible women). Agloves is managed by the mother-daughter team of Jennifer and Jean Spencer. Jennifer and Jean designed and commercialized America's top-rated touchscreen gloves: Agloves, winter gloves that work like a charm on all capacitive touch screen devices.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best New Company of the Year
Nomination Title: Agloves Touchscreen Gloves.
Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated company during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):
In February 2010, Jennifer Spencer visited her daughter Jean in Washington D.C. It was extremely cold and grey-colored snow lined the streets. Jean, ho was working as an intern for the Wall Street Journal, used an iPhone to communicate with her office. While walking through DC, Jean said, “Mom, I have missed telephone calls from my Editor. When my phone rings, I have to find my phone in my bag, pull off my gloves with my teeth and shove them in my pocket in time to catch the call.” She said, “You have to invent gloves that work on touchscreens.”
Jean echoed the problem that smartphones users know too well: regular gloves don’t work on touchscreens! Fortunately Jennifer was a woman with great resourcefulness and a history of entrepreneurism. The idea intrigued her.
Jennifer began to study how capacitive touchscreens work. Contrary to popular belief, touchscreens are not heat sensitive. They are capacitive, meaning the screens work as tiny amounts of moisture, salts, and oils in the skin allow electrons to flow between you and your device. However, when you put something non-conductive between you and your device (say, an ordinary pair of gloves) the device won’t work.
The answer was to create a warm glove that could conduct the body’s own bioelectricity to the capacitive touchscreen. The new product is called Agloves. Hint: “Ag” is the symbol for silver on the periodic table and is the most conductive element. With Agloves, the body’s natural bioelectricity flows through the glove to your touchscreen device and maintains near-perfect connection. Agloves provide a snug user-friendly design with tech-savvy functionality; Agloves delivers incredible accuracy and intuitive operation. Wearers can swipe, pinch, and pull at normal speed, as they would with bare hands. (Apart from being conductive, silver is also a thermal regulator – making the gloves warmer than most knit gloves – and antimicrobial!)
A product’s value is measured through acceptance by the public. The next step was to commercialize the product. Working as a mother-daughter team, Jennifer and Jean used an innovative social media strategy to level the playing field with other computer accessory and glove companies. Their new company could not afford to purchase television advertising, but they could out social media the rest of the competitors. And they did.
Circumventing the traditional retail stick and brick strategy, Agloves launched its ecommerce site on September 29, 2010. By December, Agloves had sold in 43 countries and were selling at a rate of 1 pair per minute. Tech-savvy consumers around the globe were falling in love with Agloves.
Agloves were acknowledged as one of the “Best of CES 2011” and among MSNCB’s “Top Winter Gadgets 2010.” PCMag included Agloves in "Best Winter Gadget LIst 2011", MacWorld give Agloves four mice, and Agloves has had media coverage including Fox Business News, The New York Times, MSNBC, Yahoo News, via AP, National Public Radio, and Gizmodo
List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:
http://www.Agloves.com
http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow_viewer/0,3253,l%253D260262%2526a%253D260260%2526po%253D1,00.asp?p=n}
http://www.whatsnewdoc.com/index_011411.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/04/11/135324466/get-a-grip-high-tech-gloves-for-golfers-skiers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYGv4Zxciuw
Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):
A mother-daughter team.
Jennifer Spencer, 52, is a creative thinker and entrepreneur. Jennifer has been instrumental in myriad start-up companies and innovations over the last 20 years. Jennifer's marketing and business development strategies have provided actionable solutions her clients. Jennifer is President, of Agloves.
Jean Spencer, 23, is VP of Communication. After receiving a Bachelor’s of Journalism, Jean decided to take a leap from the world of newsprint and into the world of online communications. Jean heads all things social, communicative, or networked for Agloves like media relations, PR, social media and online presence
Choose one (even if both apply):
At least 50% of the shares in this company are owned by women.