Anna Stork, Andrea Sreshta

Born: 2010

Biography:

LuminAID is an emergency lighting company and the name of its key product, a solar-rechargeable light that packs flat and inflates to diffuse light like a lantern. LuminAID technology was invented in 2010 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta. The company is based in Chicago. The company was founded in 2011 by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, who invented the technology in 2010 in response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake while at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. They later experienced firsthand the damage caused by large-scale disasters while on a school trip during the March 2011 earthquake in Japan. The inventors saw its potential as an outdoor recreation accessory in the US and began marketing it in that way. The company has been committed to social good since its inception and has been recognized for its efforts in this area. The company has won several business competitions, including the $100K Midwest 2013 Clean Energy Challenge, the William James Business Plan Competition, and the Chicago Booth School of Business Social New Venture Challenge. In 2016, LuminAID was granted a patent by the United States Patent Office for their lighting technology. The company has also been recognized for its efforts in the field of technology and entrepreneurship, with co-founders Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta standing as strong positive examples of women in tech and entrepreneurship.