Dome Audio

Dome Audio is looking to revolutionize the music industry with their triple patented, Bluetooth, bone conduction headphones. With a team of serial entrepreneurs, a Super Bowl champion, and a 5x Grammy winner, they are looking to start scaling their business with the investments they receive in this round of funding. We are raising an equity crowdfunding round on PicMii Crowdfunding! Please check out our raise at: https://www.picmiicrowdfunding.com/deal/Dome%20Audio/

Business Description

Dome Audio is the multi-patent holder of the world’s first Quad Bone Conduction fidelity, Dual Air-Bone Conduction fidelity, Surreal Sound, Bluetooth headphone. Dome’s technology inherently combines a unique audio experience with limitless fashion capability and brand collaborative opportunities (via licensing, i.e., mobile billboards, a.k.a headphone real estate) in one unmistakable design. Music lovers from all walks of life will instinctively love the features and versatility. At the same time, celebrities and brands admire the possibilities of seamlessly collaborating via showcasing their brand with a ubiquitous technology platform found only with Dome Audio.
Dome Audio’s USPTO Granted IP: Trademarks, No. 87,924,765, No. 87-557-478 Patents, US D897,986 S, US D884,670 S, US D902,888 S.
The company has raised more than $400,000 to date and has established a veteran executive team and a global manufacturing partner with VTech. Reinvestments in the company have provided state of the art, in-house, rapid prototyping, to include 3D modeling and printing, electronic software, and app beta development, as well as an in-house digital infrastructure, to manage and scale the company’s digital media and marketing needs, hence preempting significant marketing capital expenses.
Dome Audio’s media assets include grammy producers, celebrities, ambassadors, and influencers, as part of its strategic marketing plan to achieve market share through an ever-evolving customer base via scarcity marketing campaigns, digital banner ads, social media promotion campaigns, direct to consumer engagement, and nationwide pop-up shop promotion events.

Problem

Headphones have become a permanent accessory for most people. During workouts, commutes, or even sitting at a desk, many people constantly listen to music, podcasts, Clubhouse, and various other media. Analytics suggest headphones are the fifth most consumed tech product on the market.
Having headphones in all of the time causes two problems:
1. Wearing headphones all the time can be damaging to our ears.
2. Headphones are distracting, leading to dangerous situations, especially when behind the wheel of a car.
Dome headphones’ “open-ear” listening capability solves the problem of “closed-ear” headphone listening. On, in, and over-the-ear headphones (an intrinsic feature in all headphone brands on the market) pose two potential health and injury problems.

Hearing Degradation

Headphones that go over the listener’s ears can damage hearing if used at high volumes for long periods. They are not as much of a risk as earbuds: Having the sound source in your ear canal can increase a sound’s volume by 6 to 9 decibels — enough to cause some problems.

Headphones can cause damage to your ears the same way other loud noises do, resulting in what audiologists call “noise-induced hearing loss.” Over time, the sounds from your headphones cause the hair cells in the cochlea to become stressed and fatigued. If they do not get time to recover, the damage can be permanent. Headphones do not even have to be extremely loud to damage your ears.

Injuries or Death from Distraction

According to recent studies, pedestrians killed or injured while wearing headphones have more than tripled in six years. More than half of the vehicles involved in the accidents were trains. Lichtenstein said that based on the data they collected, it is unclear whether these pedestrians were crossing train tracks. 70 percent of accidents resulted in deaths. Roughly 90 percent occurred in large cities. About a third of the vehicles’ drivers reported sounding a horn as a warning before the crash.

Solution

Dome Audio’s multi-patented headphones provide open and closed ear (when suitable) listening options and therefore radically reduces SA (Situational Awareness) deficits and subsequent bodily injuries associated with conventional (closed-ear) headphones, without compromising a full-fidelity audio experience, only found, until now, with conventional headphones.
Dome’s technology also solves the aesthetic limitations inherent in conventional headphones via its Dome “noise isolation” Covers. Not only can its fashionable look and design be changed instantly, but the option to go private (block out ambient noise), when appropriate, is just a click, click (pop on Covers) away.
Dome’s four speakers (open ear system) allows audio content, e.g., music, navigation, news, or podcast, to be heard in full fidelity (unlike leading brands in bone conduction headphones having two speakers) while simultaneously hearing important ambient sounds in the environment. Dome headphones provide novel health and environmental safety features.

Business Model

Dome Audio deploys the 3 C’s of Scarcity Marketing: Control, Cool, and Collaborations. Control: Dome intends to control its supply with limited product releases, thereby enticing consumer demand while proliferating its brand presence. Cool: Dome hopes to use its “Cool” factor to create a cult-like following to its products. Collaborations: Dome plans to collaborate with fashion brands, pop culture, influencers, ambassadors, athletes, and celebrities to transcend conventional headphones. As a result of the 3 C’s, Dome Audio plans to touch a broad spectrum of collaborators across various industries, thereby benefiting from collaborators’ social media following and subsequently optimizing Dome’s brand equity. Dome Audio generates revenue via direct-to-consumer e-commerce.

Recent success for Dome Audio includes new strategic partnerships with 6X Grammy-winning producer and engineer, “Bonzai” Caruso, as well as 5X Grammy-winning producer, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, manufacturing partnership with a multi-billion-dollar global firm, VTech, strategic partners in the e-commerce space, brand asset development space, hard of hearing space, 3PL product fulfillment, and celebrity/brand acquisition space.

Completed Milestones

Electronics Development
Designed schematic circuit with Bill of Materials (BOM)
Designed Printed Circuit Board (PCB)
Received independent design review.
Received initial PCB prototypes.
Developed firmware and software.
Enclosure/Mechanical Development
3D computer models.
Prepared 3D model for high-pressure injection molding
Designed retail packaging.
Prototyped packaging
Developed Asset Portfolio
Created, tested, and implemented Facebook advertising.
Initiated negotiations with brand influencers and brand ambassadors

Team:
Ben White
Chief Executive Officer/Chief Technical Officer

Background

Ben is the founder and IP developer of Dome Audio, Inc. He has over 20 years of experience in the Music Industry as a Producer, Song Writer, Musician, Engineer, and Serial Entrepreneur. Ben holds multiple patents in technology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Metaphysical Science and is responsible for providing the company’s leadership and intellectual property. His professional career in Neuro/Biofeedback technology and its applications in peak performance training began in the late 90s. In 2002, he received board accreditation from The National Registry of Neurofeedback Providers as a Certified Neurofeedback Associate. By 2004, the Institute of Neuro Learning designated Mr. White as Master Sensory Integration Specialist, and in that same year, he placed as a finalist in the Charles B. Benenson Entrepreneur of the Year Award, presented by Project Enterprise, New York.

Tim Wright
Chief Strategy Officer

Background

Tim Wright personifies the meaning, “More Than An Athlete”. Throughout his career at Rutgers University as a student-athlete, he maintained high honors with a niche focus in sociology. After graduating, he went on to the NFL, earning record-breaking success, and was instrumental in winning a Super Bowl with a world-class organization in the New England Patriots, catching 6 touchdowns from legendary Tom Brady during that season. Wright is a visionary and strategic thinker who is in sync with social behavior and societal trends. Being an entrepreneur and enthusiast of the world’s most successful business models has afforded him insight and foresight to implement strategies that optimize consumer engagement and market growth. His understanding of consumer psychology and business tactics helps deliver productive and successful outcomes.

Christopher Chambers
Chief Financial Officer

Background

Chris is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (BS, Engineering) and the Wharton School of Business (MBA, dual degrees in Finance & Multinational Management). Mr. Chambers founded a growing simulation company, Serious Simulations, which has paved new technological ground in the fields of Virtual and Augmented Reality for training. He also was a key leader at Laser Shot, Inc. (a military Simulation company), where he served in various positions, including President, Chief Development Officer (CDO), and Vice President for Corporate Strategy and Business Development. The company experienced a tripling of annual revenue (to $27 M), with an additional contract backlog with $21M profit. Throughout his experiences in high-growth companies, Mr. Chambers chose to retain direct responsibility for all Business Development activities. He booked many strategic contracts and subcontracts worth dozens of millions of dollars including two DOD Programs-of-Record worth over $54 Million.

Davide Ivaldi
Sr. Exec. Dir. of Supply Chain

Background

Davide is an Engineer and Supply Chain specialist whose career spans 30 years in Manufacturing, Business Integrations, and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). After attending the USAF Academy and graduating from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1991 with an Electrical Engineering degree, Davide filled multiple, industrial automation roles both as a Process and Applications Engineer. He has over 20 years of progressive roles in the Supply Chain arena covering Commodity Management, Systems Integration, Strategic Outsourcing, M&A due diligence through Startup/Commissioning, and numerous project executions primarily in Consumer Audio, Medical Equipment, and Industrial Instrumentation. As a former Configuration Manager, he has years of experience implementing PLM, Change Management, and Quality Systems. He brings an experienced, keen eye for both technical infrastructure and supplier relationships with an emphasis on maintaining Value & Quality throughout the supply chain.

Eric Helmstetter
Sr. Exec. Dir. of Packaging Design

Background

Eric Helmstetter is the creative energy behind the 30-year success of ThinkWork Creative, specializing in all things packaging. Recipient of 6 Communicator Awards and 3 Summit Creative Awards, Eric’s keen sense of spatial relations helped grow ThinkWork into a nationally recognized firm. His insatiable passion for all things creative has earned him clients such as Mars Wrigley, Crayola, Ferrero Roche, Bayer, TD Ameritrade, Oneida, Sherwin Williams, Maxell, and Coldwell Banker Commercial. A graduate of Kutztown University, Eric cut his teeth at a mid-sized package design firm in Manhattan, where he took on the firm’s first computer-generated design project. Six short years later he left NY to partner with longtime friend Michael Pfeiffer in the launch of their ad agency Pfeiffer Helmstetter Design. The agency quickly gained recognition when they entered and won the Scholastic Magazine ad design contest, “Keep Our Kids in School”. Written up in Ad Weekly as a “fresh new agency with big ideas”. The duo used the notoriety to land clients like Pioneer Electronics and Johnson & Johnson