Audio technology has been stagnant for years.
Valtteri Salomaki is looking to change that.
Although he doesn’t come from a sports or athletic background, he’s taking sports venues and arenas by storm with this new, revolutionary fan experience.
In this interview, we discuss how the idea for EDGE Sound Research came about, how he built relationships and partnerships with some of the top sports organizations, as well as his predictions for how fan engagement is going to change over the next several years.
Check it out below…
Hello, who are you and what is the name of your company?
I’m Valtteri Salomaki, CEO of EDGE Sound Research.
My background is in emerging technologies, which I specialized in during my MBA studies in Information Systems at the University of California, Riverside.
It was at this university where I first crossed paths with my Co-Founder, Dr. Ethan Castro.
The inception of EDGE Sound Research is deeply intertwined with Ethan’s unique life journey. Born prematurely and experiencing hearing loss, he developed a profound reliance on touch to connect with the sound he couldn’t fully hear. Despite his hearing loss, Ethan pursued a career as a professional audio engineer, DJ, and composer.
Today, as a Ph.D. researcher, he is dedicated to exploring multimodal experiences that combine both hearing and touch, allowing him to navigate his personal relationship with sound.
This dedication resulted in the creation of Embodied Sound™—a patent-pending audio technology capable of transforming any object into a source of sound, effectively creating speaker-less environments where sound is not only heard but also felt in high fidelity.
The current state of audio technology has stagnated, largely due to the maturity of speaker technology. While advancements have allowed for smaller speakers and the use of software to spatialize sound, the impact on the overall audio experience remains marginal year after year. In contrast, other technologies that engage our senses, such as visual technologies like AR/VR, have rapidly evolved.
To address this issue, Ethan and my shared vision revolves around embedding multimodal audio systems into various contexts, promising to redefine how we perceive and experience sound.
For the first time, Embodied Sound™ engages our entire body, providing a comprehensive and immersive sound experience that unlocks the future of content streaming and broadcasts.
What was the process of getting the company off the ground?
The journey of building EDGE Sound Research is quite unique, as we faced significant odds against us. In November of 2019, Ethan Castro asked me to assist with his PhD research, which aimed to explore the possibility of multimodal audio allowing a human to hear and feel sound in high fidelity.
Within six weeks, we received an invitation to present our work at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Despite not knowing how to properly articulate this groundbreaking invention, I found myself on stage, addressing an audience of over 100 tech enthusiasts at the world’s largest tech convention.
The response was unequivocal – no one believed it was possible to transform objects into sound solely through vibrations that could reproduce the entire range perceptible to the human body.
However, as we wandered through CES, it became evident that nearly every industry was attempting to incorporate “feeling” into their products in various ways. This early conviction convinced me that there was something extraordinary about this invention by Ethan.
Three months later, I completed my MBA studies and made the life-changing decision to quit my job at a tech company, ESRI. I moved back home with my mom to reduce expenses and wholeheartedly committed to building EDGE Sound Research with Ethan. It was a risky move, but in hindsight, it’s a decision I would make again without hesitation.
Recognizing that the two of us alone could not transform this research into a viable technology, we expanded our team to include Winson Bi, a software engineer, and Julian Bell, an electrical engineer, both from the University of California, Riverside.
With early grant funding, we hired Vincent Zhang, a Product Designer and Mechanical Engineer, to help us transform the technology into a product. Our primary requirement was to create a device that could be easily mounted on any object starting with chairs, turning it into a reliable source of sound.
Securing Angel or VC funding at this point proved nearly impossible for us. Our technology was an embedded experiential technology that needed to be personally experienced to be fully understood.
Unfortunately, the pandemic meant that in-person meetings were almost nonexistent, and Zoom calls often led to investors misinterpreting our project based on existing audio solutions, associating us with haptic research.
We managed to obtain additional grants and capital from family and friends, allowing us to convert the research into our first Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in approximately 18 months. This MVP device was subsequently utilized for Dr. Ethan Castro’s Ph.D. dissertation project, creating the first multimodal audio experience.
Demonstrating the foundational feasibility of our technology caught the attention of Techstars, and we were accepted into the Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars. This provided us with the early capital needed to acquire more resources and determine the most suitable market application for our patent-pending Embodied Sound technology.
Initially, we aimed at the gaming industry with a B2C product that could be attached to the back of a gaming chair. Hearing and feeling video games created an incredibly immersive experience.
However, after collaborating with 50 alpha users, we quickly realized that entering the consumer market for a novel technology required substantial capital, especially without an abundance of experience centers for customers to easily trial our new technology.
As a result, we pivoted towards the B2B market, focusing on the live entertainment industry to address the issue of fan engagement.
We completed our first pilot with the Minnesota Twins to validate our ability to provide a new fan experience with Embodied Sound™.
Fans could now hear and feel every moment of a game, such as the crack of the bat and the pop of the mitt. This experience guided our product development in the direction necessary for a solution that could be used in all live event venues.
Our success caught the attention of NBA Launchpad, and we were selected as one of seven global startups for the program at the start of 2023.
Throughout our 6-month R&D project with the NBA, we had the opportunity to test Embodied Sound™ during live NBA games with the Sacramento Kings and NBA 2KL.
We also implemented the best practices we showcased at the NBA Summer League. The positive feedback from fans reinforced our conviction that the live entertainment market was the ideal beachhead for Embodied Sound™.
As a result, we have streamlined our product development efforts to address audio signal issues and provide more flexibility in the experiences fans can enjoy in the future, both within and outside of a venue.
We are grateful to now be collaborating with our first NBA team partner, the Indiana Pacers.
This partnership allows us to rapidly test and validate the level of audio signal control that fans desire to become fully immersed in the game action. We are also assessing how this experience can impact ticketing and determining the best approach to scale Embodied Sound™ within a venue environment.
How is the company doing today and what does the future look like?
Our company is rapidly gaining momentum as we engage with early customers and partners, including the Minnesota Twins and NBA Launchpad. These collaborations have provided us access to numerous live entertainment venues where we can pilot over 100 of our Embodied Sound™ devices, enabling us to standardize our system.
While we have generated some revenue through paid pilots, our primary focus has been on accelerating product development to establish dominance in the emerging category of multimodal audio with Embodied Sound™.
These pilot projects have also offered valuable insights into the perspectives of ownership groups, venue operators, and fans, further refining our value proposition and existing tech stack.
One significant area of emphasis for expanding our partnerships in the live event venue market has been the creation of a dedicated demo space. This space allows us to showcase the capabilities of Embodied Sound™ and how it can be applied to various objects such as flooring, seats, walls, and more.
We can easily demonstrate how this technology enhances the fan experience by playing various content.
This is why our team recently unveiled the Embodied Sound Demo Pod at CES 2024, attracting the attention of top entertainment executives and serving as a powerful tool to illustrate the use cases of Embodied Sound™.
The Embodied Sound™ Demo Pod is now located at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, alongside our first permanent installation of Embodied Sound™ seating in a suite. This move is part of our strategy to centralize our sales and logistics operations in Indiana through our partnership with the Pacers, further expanding our presence in the live event venue market.
Our short-term goals involve dominating the live event venue sector by expanding our tech stack from signal capture to reproduction. This expansion will enable us to redefine the immersive audio market for the next generation of content broadcast/streaming.
Our long-term vision extends beyond the entertainment industry, as we aim to build a multimodal operating system that unlocks multimodal technologies across various industries.
Through starting the business have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?
Starting EDGE Sound Research has been an immense learning experience, particularly as a first-time founder navigating the development of both hardware and software solutions while pioneering a new category of audio technology. These lessons have encompassed various aspects, from effectively communicating our research to identifying the necessary resources for executing an idea.
Our journey was intensified during the pandemic when we had to remotely assemble hardware components to create our initial prototype. Unfortunately, we couldn’t physically demonstrate the technology to potential stakeholders at the time.
However, this experience proved invaluable in identifying our blind spots as we built our venture. Consequently, we established a robust advisory team to address various aspects, including manufacturing strategy and audio format commercialization.
As we progressed and developed our prototypes of Embodied Sound™, I gained insights into effectively showcasing the technology to potential partners and investors, creating new opportunities. This involved not only articulating its current capabilities but also conveying its future potential as we continue our research.
While Embodied Sound™ has the potential to impact multiple industries due to its development of a new category in audio, I’ve come to appreciate the critical importance of focus and the identification of beachhead markets.
Given our resource constraints, it became essential to validate our concept within markets that could serve as launching pads for larger use cases.
These cumulative learnings have provided us with a strong foundation to build upon, and we are excited to now be receiving recognition from both audio industry leaders and investors for our groundbreaking technology.
What advice do you have for founders looking to raise capital?
When it comes to raising capital, building a software startup differs from a hardware startup, each with its unique pathways. Software startups can bootstrap to develop an MVP and demonstrate initial customer traction to attract VC funding.
In contrast, hardware startups face more significant challenges, requiring upfront capital just to begin and a longer time horizon to validate early customer interest.
Typically, for hardware ventures, prioritizing grants and securing family-friend capital is essential to create a functional prototype to showcase to potential customers and investors before seeking additional funding.
In the early stages, investors consider the founding team more important than the idea. Therefore, besides achieving momentum in revenue and product development, assess whether your team possesses the capabilities to execute your vision successfully.
When pitching your startup, especially if it involves a grand vision and you are a first-time founder, investor conviction may be harder to obtain. Prepare a comprehensive data room, and a polished pitch deck, and have a target list of investors aligned with your company’s thesis, ensuring a strategic approach when seeking capital.
Lastly, raising capital should be aimed at accelerating your journey to a key milestone that paves the way for subsequent rounds or makes your venture self-sustaining.
Many SaaS solutions can scale without the need for extensive venture capital, allowing you to retain greater ownership. However, if your total addressable market is substantial, seeking VC funding may be a viable option.
Keep in mind that rejection is a natural part of the fundraising process, and you may encounter multiple “no” responses before securing your first “yes.” All it takes is one believer to propel your startup forward, so don’t be discouraged by rejection.
Personally, I pitched to 84 investors to secure our pre-seed round.
What are some predictions you have for the industry over the next year?
I have several predictions regarding the evolution of the sports and entertainment industry, particularly in terms of fan experiences, both in venues and for at-home consumption:
- The ongoing renovations and construction of sports venues, equipped with cutting-edge technologies in networking and power infrastructure, will usher in new fan experiences. There will be a significant emphasis on creating multisensory experiences, similar to those offered by MSG Sphere, which will elevate the live sporting event experience, making it more memorable and immersive compared to watching from home. In today’s landscape, venues must compete for attention not with other venues but with alternative entertainment options like video games, making these innovations essential for attracting the next generation of fans.
- New streaming providers, including Amazon and Apple, are positioned to acquire media rights for various leagues, posing a challenge to traditional linear broadcast providers. These streaming platforms will strive to provide fans with an experience that brings them closer to the action, harnessing technology to enhance the viewing experience.
- Advancements in technology, such as Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3, will enable new formats for consuming sports broadcasts. The possibility of VR/AR/MR broadcast streams and volumetric broadcasts has been discussed for some time. While the visual aspects are rapidly advancing, audio technology needs further development to make these formats a reality within the next few years.
- The introduction of innovative venue spaces such as COSM and MSG Sphere will establish new destinations for sports fan experiences. However, I believe these immersive venues will primarily serve as validation for more personalized at-home experiences that can be offered by companies like Apple and Meta. This shift will define the future of how broadcasts are consumed within the confines of one’s home.
In summary, the convergence of multisensory experiences and new broadcasting/streaming formats will significantly impact the sports and entertainment landscape over the next decade. These innovations are set to redefine how fans engage with their favorite events and content.
Are there any particular tools, software, or resources you use to be more productive?
Research with Perplexity AI: Perplexity AI streamlines data analysis and trend discovery, aiding in making informed decisions.
Organization with Notion: Notion serves as an all-in-one workspace for optimizing project management and information structuring.
Visualization with Miro: Miro simplifies complex idea representation and collaborative design work, enhancing communication and creativity.
Design with Figma: Figma facilitates collaborative UI/UX design and prototyping, essential for creating marketing collateral and user-friendly products.
What advice do you have for founders trying to build a team and hire talent?
To attract and hire top talent for your startup, you must effectively convey your vision. If potential hires don’t believe in the future you’re building, recruitment becomes challenging.
To reinforce our vision and promote transparency, I initiate each week with an all-hands call to ensure every team member aligns with our core objectives.
These meetings commence with a straightforward question about our vision statement, fostering consensus on our shared direction.
Additionally, I openly share information about available resources, company achievements, and setbacks, establishing trust in the company’s trajectory by utilizing measurable key performance metrics.
In EDGE Sound Research, we typically initiate the hiring process by bringing candidates on board as consultants or part-time contractors. This approach allows them to immerse themselves in our company culture while we assess their work style and adaptability. In an early-stage company, flexibility and willingness to learn are crucial attributes for potential hires.
When it comes to hiring, the mantra is “hire slow and fire fast.” This lesson has become increasingly apparent as attracting top talent is paramount for a venture’s growth.
Building something extraordinary demands extraordinary individuals. Rushing the hiring process can be costly, as a new employee’s impact on company culture and runway can be significant, especially in its early stages.
Are there any books & podcasts you recommend?
A few books I recommend:
“Zero to One” by Peter Thiel provides a strategic guide for entrepreneurs looking to pioneer new markets, offering a structured approach to developing innovative ideas and transforming industries.
“Contagious: Why Things Catch On” by Jonah Berger delves into the science of virality, equipping readers with a comprehensive understanding of the principles behind idea propagation and word-of-mouth marketing, enabling them to make their concepts widely recognized and adopted.
A podcast I recommend:
The “How I Built This” podcast offers invaluable insights into the journeys of successful entrepreneurs and their startup stories. It provides real-world experiences, lessons learned, and entrepreneurial strategies, making it a valuable resource for those aspiring to build their own startups.
Are you currently hiring and if so, where can people apply and find out more?
We are not currently hiring.
