New York entrepreneur partners with Virscient
Based in New York, celebrated for bringing fashion and innovation to the world, Peripherii’s founder and CEO, Priti Moudgill wanted to inject style into wireless audio technology. Staying connected is more important than ever, and she was frustrated that women couldn’t have both style and functionality. Priti saw a massive demand for earrings as hearables that stay on securely, are attractive without sacrificing comfort and convenience, don’t need to go into the inner ear, have solid audio quality and top Bluetooth connectivity, all while being discreet and practical.
Thankfully Priti was not alone in bringing her ambitious vision to life. Partnering with Virscient’s audio and technology design experts, Peripherii now has an elegant and highly marketable product that ticks all the boxes for looks and functionality.
Here’s the story of this partnership.
The backstory: Peripherii before Virscient.
Peripherii’s prototype only had Bluetooth 4 connectivity, not enough features, and although it was
light, it was larger than desirable.
Priti knew they had to shrink the size for comfort and discreetness, while bolstering the features,
Bluetooth connectivity and audio quality – all while balancing the need to be light in weight.
To make this all happen, there were five key phases:
● Choosing the right technology partner
● Project scope and solution
● Hardware and software design
● Production advice
● Ongoing support and communication.
1) Choosing the right technology partner.
Getting the audio chips right was crucial. That’s why Priti approached Qualcomm – a leading American multinational who specialise in semiconductor and wireless communication technologies and products – for recommendations on which company would help her achieve her goals.
Priti says:
“Qualcomm gave us a shortlist of trusted companies that they work with, and that led us to Virscient. After we did some research, we chose three potential contenders. A lot of the other companies gave us opaque, roundabout answers. It was hard for us to figure out the business processes, even the ballpark costs, and how they would work with us. [But] with Virscient everything was very transparent. It was easy for us to make the decision. We zeroed in on Virscient fairly quickly.”
2) Scoping the problem and conceptualising the solution.
Priti had a clear idea of what the technology needed to achieve – improved battery life; decent audio quality for an open-ear design; sensors that tell the difference between when the earring is on the ear, being held, or in a box; and the ability to swap earrings because wearers don’t want to wear the same accessory day in, day out.
While smaller, less experienced players might be overwhelmed by this brief, Virscient didn’t see the inevitable challenges as stumbling blocks but opportunities to embrace the need for lateral thinking and innovation.
“Virscient were really fantastic in helping me figure things out. For example, what happens when somebody’s wearing the earring and they’re not using it? Virscient would lay out things for us….this is how it is and this is where things could go wrong.”
3) Hardware and software design – including miniaturisation.
After gaining a clear understanding of the potential problems and available solutions, Virscient could move onto design and development.
We added more features, upgraded to Bluetooth 5 connectivity, and shrunk the size of the audio node – meeting Priti’s specifications for an enhanced version of Peripherii.
“Virscient were pretty much our perfect business partner for designing the circuit board. Virscient did manage to shrink [the product] quite a bit. They met the specifications and needs for the weight.”
4) Advising on production, including supply chain challenges.
Not only did Virscient design and engineer the circuit board, we also provided production and supply chain advice.
“Dean [Armstrong] was great – when we had a very aggressive deadline initially – he told me that we would need to order Qualcomm’s chips and some of the other components six months ahead of time. We had expected two to three months, but he was on the nose. That’s exactly what it turned out to be – six months. Virscient acted as our technology arm, I would say.”
5) Staying in touch and supporting through every phase.
Through regular meetings and updates we were able to advise Priti on the bigger picture from design to execution, supply chain to speed to market, and handle the details – effectively acting as their complete technology and production advisors and keeping Priti aware every step of the way.
“Bridget Sonntag (GM Operations) drilled down with the requirements to the minutiae – which is so important because otherwise things can slide… Bridget is very organised and would give us regular updates.”
Virscient takes care of the complete experience.
When summarising the experience of working with Virscient, Priti says we are:
“Reliable, trustworthy, transparent, and technologically capable. We were always [made] aware of the challenges. It was a very positive experience. Virscient treated us no differently than their bigger customers.”
Do your feature-rich audio expectations seem out of reach?
If you’re tired of earbuds that fall out when you exercise; clunky, unattractive – and even unhygienic – hearables that look incongruous with earrings; or the need to have your phone on the table when you’re in a meeting or out to dinner – you need Peripherii earrings.
If you’re looking to develop game-changing products just like these, you need an experienced design partner like Virscient.
Virscient has an enviable international track record of helping multimillion dollar clients bring their ground-breaking audio concepts to life. Virscient has the expertise, skills, and strategic outlook to turn your innovative ideas into highly sought-after products. No matter where you’re based or how complex your ideas may be, we can provide the technical know-how and support you need to succeed.
Please reach out to us via Contact – Virscient. We’d love to have a chat to explore how we can help.
