Lisa Arboleda is the CEO of Aurorascope, a company that produces VOSAP, a new patented technology that enables books, greeting cards and other products to connect to social media sites, run multimedia and store digital content.
VOSAP is patented technology that stands for
Virtual
Operating
System and
Applications. It is a chip running an Android Operating System that is embedded inside of traditional products such as toys, greeting cards, books or packaging. You plug in your product via a USB connection or a wireless connection, and it launches a fully customized window where you can incorporate videos, games, music or other digital content, as well as connect to Facebook and the Internet.
Aurorascope allows for a rewarding outlet to take some of the creative ideas and bring them to market. For instance, we are merging two of our product lines as we are embedding our LOST NOBLES series of products and books with the VOSAP system. The ability to merge traditional products with emerging technology in ways previously not seen before creates an ongoing inspiration to work with Aurorascope.
Interactive multimedia in print has unfortunately often been looked at with a limited view. You often only have two choices, electronic readers or traditional print. VOSAP however, allows for a third choice, one where you can have the best of both options. VOSAP allows the consumer to have traditional print materials with low cost embedded electronic components which require no proprietary readers. I believe that the future of interactive multimedia in print will depend on the acceptance of hybrid solutions such as VOSAP which allow for the benefits of electronic and traditional print to be leveraged.
The most rewarding aspect of being a startup has been watching our products develop from concepts to products with supporting patents and IP along the way. In addition to being rewarding, this allows us to be in a stronger position when we do decide to seek outside investment.
The most challenging aspect of our startup has been our own decision to fund all aspects of our products without outside investment. Although this allows us to keep full total control of our products and allows us to run very efficiently, at times it can lead to more conservative financial decisions than we would sometimes like.
I would define innovation as step in a staircase which allows creativity and technology to move forward. One of the realizations I've come to, is how one innovation can set off a host of other innovations. In the case of VOSAP, we are experiencing useful applications for it every day. One innovation often leads to other innovations that would otherwise not be possible.
In my experience, innovation is often stifled by the daunting number of obstacles a startup has to face in order for an innovation to become a reality. I've seen people give up because the process is too long or costly. If the government was able to partner more with startups, I think this would be immensely helpful.