INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
improve the ways that they can be used.In the latest development, a smart home startup from Santa Barbara called Shine Bathroom has raised
cleaning toilets; and to provide the tools to detect when something is not working right in the plumbing, even helping you fix it without
calling out a plumber.The longer-term vision is to apply technology and science to rethink the whole bathroom to put less strain on our
natural resources, and to use it in a way that lines up with what we want to do as consumers, using this first product to test that
the founder and CEO of Shine
two VCs also based in Southern California: Entrada Ventures (like Shine, also in Santa Barbara), and Mucker Capital, an LA fund
specifically backing startups not based in Silicon Valley (others in its current portfolio include Naritiv, Everipedia and Next
have something to say here, too) that this has been something of a years-long obsession, stretching back to when he made a trip to Japan as
toilet attachment is battery operated and comes in three parts: a water vessel, a sensor and spraying nozzle that you place inside your
The vessel is filled with tap water (which you replace periodically).That water is passed through a special filter that electrolyzes it (by
sending a current through the water) and then sprays it with every flush to clean and deodorize
Shine claims this spraying technique is five times as powerful as traditional deodorizing spray, and as powerful as bleach, but without the
harsh chemicals: the water converts back into saline after it does its work
(And to be clear, there are no soaps or other detergents involved.)Alongside the cleaning features, the second part of the bathroom
assistant is Sam, an AI on your phone
Linked up to the hardware and sensors, Sam identifies common toilet problems, such as leaks that trickle out hundreds of gallons of water,
by measuring variations in vibrations, and when it does, it sends out a free repair kit to fix it yourself.Users can also link up Sam to
work with Alexa to order the machine to clean, check water levels and do more in the future.The solution of monitoring vibrations is notable
for how it links up with a past entrepreneurial life for Herbert and some of his team.Herbert was one of two co-founders of Trackr, a
set of investors that included Amazon, Revolution, NTT, the Foundry Group and more
Ultimately, the basic concept was too commoditized (trackers are a dime a dozen on Amazon), and Tile emerged as the market leader among the
(including Herbert) scattered and a new leadership team came in and rebranded to Adero
Now, even that team is gone, with the CEO Nate Kelly and others decamping to Glowforge
and several of his ex-Trackr colleagues have now turned their attention to a new shiny challenge, the toilet and the bigger bathroom where
