Inkodye
| |
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Founder |
Jesse Genet Stephan Ango |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Website |
www |
Lumi is a Los Angeles-based company founded by Jesse Genet and Stephan Ango that manufactures packaging and branded supplies. The company got its start developing Inkodye, a photo-reactive vat dye that develops its color through exposure to UV or sunlight.
Jesse Genet began experimenting with different printing techniques as a teenager in 2004, attempting to print photographs on cotton T-shirts. Unsatisfied with the results of screen printing and dye-sublimation she pursued her research and found what became a precursor to Inkodye, a chemical formula from the 1950s owned by a retired engineer. After meeting Stephan Ango while studying at Art Center College of Design, the pair acquired the chemical formula and began modernizing it.
Lumi launched a Kickstarter campaign in December 2009 to fund R&D of the technology. The company raised $13,597 and rewarded its backers with wallets, bags and other products printed using the process. The project was an early success for the Kickstarter platform and went on to win Kickstarter's Best Design Project of 2010. In June 2012, Lumi launched a second Kickstarter campaign with an initial fundraising target of $50,000 to commercialize its printing process, Inkodye. The project was successfully funded, reaching over 500% of the initial target and raising a total of $268,437. Rewards included Inkodye printing kits allowing users to create personalized photographic prints on cotton and other natural materials. In February 2015, Lumi appeared on ABC's Shark Tank and received 2 offers, but Genet did not accept either of the offers.
In March 2015, Lumi announced its new software platform, Lumi.com, for designing and ordering custom-made packaging and branding tools such as rubber stamps. The service was funded by seed capital firm Y Combinator. Lumi's platform was inspired by the challenges the company had faced in producing packaging for Inkodye. The platform was compared to other services such as Blackbox by Cards Against Humanity and Make That Thing! by , provided by companies that also found success via Kickstarter and looked to simplify fulfillment and manufacturing for others.
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