Lucidity Lights Inc., doing business as Finally, is an American company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2012 by John Goscha, the company makes energy-efficient light bulbs that use induction technology and are being offered as a substitute for incandescents and LEDs. Company appears to be no longer in business.[1][2][3]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
| Founded | 2012 in Woburn, Massachusetts |
| Founder | John Goscha |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | |
| Website | finallybulbs |
History
editThe Finally Light Bulb Company was founded in 2012 by John Goscha, who as an undergraduate at Babson College, founded IdeaPaint. Goscha enlisted Victor Roberts, a former General Electric engineer, Walter Lapatovich from Osram Sylvania,[4] and engineers from Philips for technical expertise in lighting technology.[1] With Roberts and Lapatovich, Goscha was able to adapt induction lighting technology, previously only used in commercial light fixtures, and miniaturize it for home use.[4] The light bulb was officially launched and began sales in May 2014,[4][5][6] with $19 million in initial funding from several investors including Babson College professors.[1] The company was founded in Woburn, Massachusetts, but later moved to Boston, Massachusetts.[2][7] The company's business model is focused on the 2020 phase-out of incandescent light bulbs in the United States mandated by federal law.[2]
In January 2017, the company received an additional $15 million in funding from investors.[8] As of July 2017, the Finally reported a total of $38 million in funding and employed 32 employees. In August 2018, Scott Almquist became CEO and President, and Goscha became Chairman. Almquist previously led four private equity-backed companies as CEO, President, or Chief Customer Officer, having spent the first twenty years of his career at Procter & Gamble. At the time, Finally light bulbs were available at Staples, Ace Hardware,[3] Amazon,[9] Wayfair,[2] and Walmart's online store.[3]
In March 2018, a new round of funding of $50 million brought the company's total funding to $93 million. The company announced that its products were added to The Home Depot and Costco stores, bringing the total number of stores where the products are available to almost 3,000.[7]
Product
editThe company claims that Finally light bulbs create a light similar to incandescents and better than LED light bulbs.[2][10] Based on technology developed by Nikola Tesla,[7] the bulb utilizes induction technology to create omnidirectional light in a traditionally-shaped light bulb.[1] The tungsten filament in incandescent light bulbs is replaced by an induction coil.[6] An electronic driver, and the three-inch antenna with a copper coil excite a mixture of argon gas and mercury vapor in the bulb to produce ultraviolet light which excites the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass to create visible light.[1][7][8][11] They are "75 percent more efficient and last 15 times longer than incandescents."[6] The current generation of LED lamps on the market have surpassed this by a substantial margin however and Finally is one of the few manufactures still marketing induction lamps.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Cardwell, Diane (2014-05-04). "New Ideas in Lighting Get Closer to Market". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e Mascarenhas, Natasha (2017-07-28). "Finally Light bulb believes it has a brighter idea". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b c Feldman, Amy (2017-05-12). "What It Takes To Sell To Walmart: Three Entrepreneurs Share Their Stories". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b c "Cambridge company's bulb brings back warm glow of incandescents". The Enterprise. 2014-05-24. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ Harris, David L. (2014-05-06). "IdeaPaint founder John Goscha unveils new light bulb". Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b c Borchers, Cal (2014-05-05). "IdeaPaint founder out to reinvent the light bulb". BetaBoston. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b c d Rosen, Andy (2018-03-14). "Traditional incandescent bulbs are going away. This company says it has a replacement". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ a b Woodward, Curt (2017-01-03). "Investors light up Finally bulb company with $15M". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ Woodward, Curt (2015-08-13). "A bright (but not too bright!) idea". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ Clark, Patrick (2014-05-29). "Finally Light Bulb Is Energy-Efficient, Pseudo-Incandescent". Bloomberg Business. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
- ^ Prindle, Drew (2014-05-05). "New "acandescent" lights are just as efficient as LEDs, but also a bit cheaper". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2018-09-20.
External links
edit- Official website - company appears to be no longer in business.