Sol Republic

Sol Republic, Inc.
Privately held corporation
Industry Consumer electronics, audio accessories
Founded 2010
Headquarters Wilsonville, Oregon
Key people
 Scott Hix (founder)
Seth Combs (founder)
Kevin Lee (founder)
Owner Kevin Lee
Number of employees
 100
Website solrepublic.com

Sol Republic is an American manufacturer of audio products based in Oregon. The privately held company was founded in 2011. It has its headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon and has a large design office in San Francisco, California. Sol Republic partners with a number of musicians and DJs.

History

The company was founded in 2010 by Scott Hix, Seth Combs, and Kevin Lee.[1][2] Lee had worked at Beats Audio, while Hix had been an executive with InFocus.[2] Lee's father, Noel Lee, founded video and audio cable company Monster.[3] The name is an acronym for "soundtrack of life".[2] By December 2011 the company had 33 employees split between headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon, and San Francisco, California.[2] In July 2011, the company received $5.2 million in investment funding, followed by $22 million in July 2012.[4] Sol Republic introduced its DECK portable speaker in August 2013 in partnership with Motorola Mobility; the system was designed to work with the Moto X.[5] At that time the company had grown to 85 employees.[5]

The company raised another $27 million in March 2014, by which time it was employing 100 people and had its products in 26,000 retail stores.[6] The funding came from Riverwood Capital and Greenoaks Capital Management, and was expected to be used to expand into international markets as well as new product development.[7] Sol Republic's main distribution channels at that time were through Apple, RadioShack, and Best Buy.[7]

Products

Sol Republic sells a variety of audio products, such as headphones, portable speakers, and ear buds.[5][8] To help in marketing the products, the company has partnered with musicians and DJs such as Calvin Harris, Deadmau5 and Steve Aoki.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Entity Details". Division of Corporations. Delaware Secretary of State. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Siemers, Erik (December 16, 2011). "Sol Republic makes noise". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Rogoway, Mike (April 26, 2014). "Sol Republic seeks share of crowded audio market by blending fashion, technology". The Oregonian. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Siemers, Erik (July 13, 2012). "Sol Republic raises $22M". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Stevens, Suzanne (August 1, 2013). "Soaring Sol Republic amps Moto X cool, debuts new speaker". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  6. ↑ Spencer, Malia (March 31, 2014). "Wilsonville's Sol Republic lands $27M". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rogoway, Mike (March 31, 2014). "Sol Republic, audio technology startup with offices in Wilsonville, raises $27.5 million for new products, global expansion". The Oregonian. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 O'Brien, Ciara (March 27, 2014). "The Soundtrack of Life for music lovers". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

External links