In this episode, I am speaking with Alice Chun about her innovative creation of light boxes that are powered by solar light and created out of sustainable foldable material akin to an origami design. Currently, 1.6 billion people live without access to electricity and rely on kerosene to light their night. The solar lights that Alice has designed have won several product innovation accolades, been awarded two US utility patents, and lauded by leaders in design including MoMA, the modern museum of art. The company name is Solight and part of the product's USP is that Alice has utilised recyclable, biodegradable, light fabric and material technology, for ease of travel and to be stronger and more durable to withstand the most extreme weather conditions. The leverage of smart material technology has allowed Alice to design a power-free spectrum of light for homes without electricity. She recently visited and gifted many lights to citizens of Ukraine without power and light due to the Russian invasion.

Alice Chun is the founder and CEO of Solight Design and the inventor of SolarPuff, the world's only self-inflatable, portable solar light. She's won numerous awards, including the U.S. Patent Award for Humanity. Her products have been exhibited at MoMA in New York City.  Alice is a former professor of architectural design and material technology at Columbia University and The Parsons School of design. and focusing her work on solar energy after learning her son had asthma.  She invented ways to bring solar energy into everyday living, beginning to prototype an inflatable solar light in 2008. In 2010, following the  Haiti earthquake, Alice shared her solar technology research with her class of design students to create a solar light solution that could be used immediately in disaster relief situations. This led to Alice designing the SolarPuff in 2011, based on origami techniques to create a cube that inflates on its own, without the requirement to be inflated by mouth, which can pass on germs. In 2015 she launched a company Solar Design and crowdfunded the SolarPuff, raising nearly half a million dollars. Her invention has been featured in Hillary Clinton's docuseries, "Gutsy," on Apple TV+ and is currently undergoing clinical trials. In 2022 she was voted Forbes impact 50/50 a list dedicated to spotlighting women over the age of 50 who are breaking age and gender norms across every sector of business, politics, the sciences, and society. And finally, in the same year, she was voted one of Marie Claire’s most influential women. 

In the conversation we examine: 

· Background on Alice and her history of architecture

· Inception story of Solight – The revelation and need Alice saw

· The challenges in setting Solight up as a business

· Spectrum of emotions Alice has been through

· Some of the media attention Solight has received

· Alice’s opportunity to visit Ukraine

· The current projects Alice has got on

· What Alice has learned through the process of scaling her business

· Final thoughts and take-home messages from Alice.

Solight can be found here: https://solight-design.com/products/solar-lantern-light-sensor-solarpuff

Alice Chun can be found here: https://www.forbes.com/profile/alice-min-soo-chun/?sh=52d764664255

My thanks to Alice for a fascinating and engaging interview.