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While many perceive that those born with a golden spoon tend to take life easy, Varun Srinivasan begged to differ. As a school finalist, Varun not only excelled in studies, but bagged Microsoft Imagine Cup, a contest which aims to help resolve some of the world's toughest challenges.
That was in 2005.
He then went to the U.S. to study at Carnegie Mellon University and graduated in Information Systems. In his final year at Carnegie Mellon, this youngster from Coimbatore, co-founded Class.si – a SaaS (Software as a Service) start-up that helped professors at universities manage classroom rosters, collect homework assignments from students and distribute grades.
The same year, he floated another consulting company – 3S Development, that helped small and medium businesses build their brands, develop their online presence and enhance visibility.
He was placed on-campus by Microsoft, where he worked as a Technical Programme Manager for three years. But his quest to move on and be on his own, drove Varun to establish a venture.
In June 2013, he moved to Silicon Valley and started SoundFocus, along with his erstwhile friend at Microsoft – Alex Selig.
SoundFocus
SoundFocus incidentally was started with the goal of building revolutionary audio processing technologies that empower people to hear better.
“Everyone hears differently. To create amazing sound, you need audio products that are tailored to each person's hearing, taste and the environment around them,'' says Alex, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive of SoundFocus.
Amp – intelligent sound system
The company has launched Amp, a product that is very similar to a smartphone case, but with intelligent sound system. ''The Amp case uses an audio test that creates a finger print of the user's hearing pattern and listening preference, so all sound from the phone is tailored specifically for the individual and not the masses,” explains Varun, briefing about the product, adding ''Individuals can customise the sound the way they want, no matter where they are.''
We later learnt that the duo looked at this functionality on smart phone as Alex suffered hearing impairment, and the two friends thought that there could be a felt need for such a tool, not just for the hearing impaired ones, but even for normal human beings.
“Over the past decade everything about smartphones improved exponentially with the exception of sound quality. While these devices have become the primary channel for communication, the sound part of the equation has been completely ignored. We want to give you a great listening experience and Amp increases the smartphone's battery life by more than 25 per cent,” said Varun, the Head of Engineering at SoundFocus.
The company is now looking to launch the product in India.
The company plans to make the Amp case available for iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in the Indian market very soon.
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