Ohad Nezer, a 2008 graduate of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, is spending the summer working on Knocki, a device that senses knocks on surfaces. The device can be attached or embedded into any hard surface to make the surface digitally interactive, and it can also be hard-wired to an electrical system and embedded in a wall in place of light switches. The interactive area of Knocki is so large that entire tables can become interactive, regardless of size, when Knocki is attached to the underside of the table. Proposed uses for Knocki include sending a text message to a user when someone knocks on the user’s front door, and allowing a user to turn off all the lights in their home by knocking on a nightstand.
Ohad Nezer and his cofounder Jake Boshernitzan are currently building a prototype of Knocki at Seed Sumo, a for-profit business accelerator that helps launch early-stage ventures in 90 days. Seed Sumo is hosting seven companies this summer, after opening last summer. Knocki was one of the 1,200-plus ventures that applied for Seed Sumo’s seven 2015 spots, which guarantee a minimum $50,000 investment in an early stage venture.
Although Nezer graduated from Mays Business School seven years ago, members of the Mays community still remember him. The Mays staff points to a prophetic blog post featuring Nezer called “Opportunity Knocks” that was published in 2009 on the Mays website.
“I do not always remember past students, particularly from years back, but I specifically remember Ohad and his teammate from SeatKarma as they worked on that project during my class six years ago,”said Richard Lester, the executive director of the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at Mays. “It was evident that Ohad had a great career as an entrepreneur, and I am extremely pleased to see his venture is going well.”
Both Boshernitzan and Nezer are accomplished entrepreneurs. Boshernitzan, the co-owner of Swan Solutions, is a serial entrepreneur who founded Ridester, the first online ridesharing marketplace. When Nezer was an MBA student, he founded SeatKarma with his fellow MBA student Chris Nicolaysen, raising $30,000 in seed capital. SeatKarma was an event search engine that searched ticket resellers for the best prices on athletic, theater and music events.
“We didn’t accept Ohad and Jake into Seed Sumo because of their idea,” explained Brian Bulte, the Managing Director of Seed Sumo. “We accepted them because they are extremely talented entrepreneurs. They understand ‘lean’ and can maneuver a business model.”