Joe Jonas says his management team knew Alexander and brought the idea of investing in Ember to the Jonas brothers. He does say the company is forecasting profitability by the end of 2019, and the long-term plan is to go public or be acquired. Revenues this year are well north of $10 million, though Alexander won't be any more specific. According to Alexander, the company has raised $45 million, all from individuals, and it's valued at $140 million. "We sold about 110,000 units in the first six weeks." Ember mugs are now sold in Apple Stores as well. "The biggest problem that you have is waterproofing, wash-proofing, drop-proofing," he says.Īlexander then bombarded Starbucks for two years before he got his product in front of top management, and the first Ember products started being sold in Starbucks in 2016. Alexander says he invested about $500,000 of his own money, money he'd earned on the GE light bulb, but he had several hurdles to overcome. It took years to get the technology right and contain it all in a sleek travel mug and coffee cup. "It was amazing." But Alexander says he switched from plates to mugs as he watched the coffee market take off. He started experimenting with temperature control circuitry until he had a self heating plate. This is the 21st century, at a bare minimum, my plate should be able to keep my food at a decent eating temperature.'" "When my eggs got cold, I thought, 'OK, I've got to fix this.
Then one morning in 2009, "I was sitting there in my kitchen having scrambled eggs with my wife," he says.
"I had a microphone on it, and I was talking to the players."Īlexander started several businesses over the years, but he hit it big a decade ago when he sold an invention to GE that became GE Infusion LED light bulb. "I made this hat, and it had a cooling fan on it, a big old battery in the back, like a lantern battery," he says.
Clay Alexander, 43, has been inventing things since he was a kid going to see the San Diego Padres play. The mug was created by a self-professed geek.
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