MaxMyTV - Connect and Control anything at your home
Some good news for couch potatoes. That big black screen that takes up so much space in your mind can now be put to better use. MaxMyTV, an over-the-top (OTT) solutions company, is putting together ways to integrate various parts of your life to the idiot box. Which means you can not only tweet, check Facebook and email from your TV, but also install video surveillance and control your household devices. Think Internet of Things meets Social TV meets Smart TV.
The Beginning:
After around 12 years of developing various kinds of Embedded systems products for companies like DELL, Tata, and Larsen & Toubro, Robert was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug. He was mulling over a couple of ideas like interactive TV, online buying/selling platform and video storage/sharing portal.
Around then, Robert’s wife, also a software developer, moved to Pittsburg for a year on an onsite product and he decided to use the opportunity to launch his own enterprise. While he was working on a couple of ideas, the Startup Weekend – a global Startup event – came to Pittsburgh. This was 2012.
Robert pitched the idea of an interactive TV – the only hardware pitch at the largely software event and found an encouraging response. One of the attendees was Andrew Moore, a Google vice president.
Geared up from the positive reactions to his pitch, Robert returned home and began working on his product. He roped in former colleague and hardware expert Saravanabhavan and a friend Evenageline as co-founders. Evangeline would look after marketing and business development in the U.S., while Robert and Saravabhavan focused on building the product.
Challenges:
The challenges were plenty. Starting with getting to the Start-up weekend. “I got a old car and was driving for the first time in Downtown Pittsburgh. I didn't have a GPS at that time. I took a wrong turn and there I was in the middle of a bus only one way road. I used my Chennai driving sense and made a U-turn and drove back on the “Oneway Bus lane”. I knew if seen by a cop the consequences would be severe. But I was so desperate to pitch my idea that nothing else would have stopped me.”
And other upheavals:
“That was the weekend the apartment management had asked me to vacate from my apartment due to some unforeseen reasons. So for all 3 days of the Startup Weekend I had to work during the day and then move everything to the new apartment in the night. Without the help of my wife I wouldn't have overcome all the challenges. My choir friends in Pittsburgh also play a big part in helping me overcome the challenges.”
Business potential:
The market of Internet of Things is estimated at $19 trillion. while the market size of Social TV is $151.14 billion now estimated to rise to to $256.44 billion by 2017.
About the product:
The device will enable you to control home sensors and access detailed analytics right from your TV, and access home automation devices right from your smartphone. Alerts from Sensors, Video from IP Camera or Social Media conversations can be seen while watching a TV program or LIVE event. You can also install surveillance devices and monitor them via IPTV.
What next?
The company is analyzing different manufacturers and see how well they can scale. On the software side we are also adding more security features to the Home automation part. “We will also be testing with 3rd party sensors so that ideally a consumer should be able to plug in any popular sensor and make it work with our smart hub,” he said. All entrepreneurs are risk takers and Manohar is no exception. “The riskiest thing which I have done so far is quitting DELL-FORCE10(which was one of the highly paying employers in Chennai) and travelling to US to build my own product,” he says.
Couch potatoes, weigh in here. IS this something you would like to see in your living room? Share your thoughts here.
Check out MaxMyTV for more details - http://www.maxmytv.com/