The Future Is Now: Omri Moran of Nimble On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The Tech Scene
I wish someone told me to be prepared for extraordinary obstacles, and to be okay when those obstacles force your timeline to change. Covid hit right after I moved to the United States to begin plans to launch in early 2020. Obviously, that was all put on hold and rearranged. Like most people, I never saw a global pandemic coming, but it taught me to become more flexible and resilient.
As a part of our series about cutting edge technological breakthroughs, I had the pleasure of interviewing Omri Moran.
Omri Moran is a technological entrepreneur with a successful track record in both startup and public corporate leadership roles. Omri’s experience includes team building, business development, operational oversight and product management. After 7 years with the Israeli Air Force, where he ascended to the role of Lieutenant, Omri co-founded KitLocate, cutting-edge mobile technology that enables “always-on” location monitoring without draining phone battery. KitLocate was acquired by Yandex, which led Omri to his next role, CEO of Yandex Israel. As Israeli CEO of the multinational corporation, Omri was responsible for overseeing R&D, as well as strategic partnerships and investments. Omri’s commitment to innovation led him to Co-found Nimble in 2016.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
I never expected to become an entrepreneur, in fact, I was studying industrial engineering and management when everything changed. I remember the exact day when the entrepreneurial seeds were planted. Back in 2011, in the early days of smartphones, I was looking to buy some new shirts so that my friends would stop making fun of me for always wearing the same color (green). Because I was a college student, funds were tight, and I tried to find some discounts online to no avail. I went to the mall and grabbed the cheapest shirts I could find, but on my way out of the store, I saw a better deal for the same exact shirts. There were no returns or exchanges in Israel at the time, so there was nothing I could do. My disappointment led me to thinking about how I could make shopping easier, not just for myself, but for others. I talked to a friend with a technical background, we teamed up, and started working on a solution which would eventually become my first company: KitLocate. A year later, I paused my studies, became a full-time entrepreneur and never looked back. I was determined to spend my life using innovation to solve everyday problems.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The acquisition story of my previous startup, KitLocate, was one of the more interesting experiences in my career as an entrepreneur. I flew to Moscow to meet with Yandex (NSDQ: YNDX) executives at their headquarters to learn more about their digital services as part of my business development efforts. The meeting went really well and Yandex decided to implement KitLocate’s platform in some of their apps, but it didn’t end there: the Yandex execs offered to invest in KitLocate. I was thrilled and agreed to bring Yandex on as investors. By the time my plane landed back in Israel, I had a terms sheet sitting in my inbox. When I looked through the terms of the deal, I was surprised to see the Yandex execs included a full acquisition of KiLocate. Not sure what happened in the few hours I was in the air, but by the time I landed, my first-ever startup was on its way to being acquired.
Can you tell us about the cutting-edge technological breakthroughs that you are working on?
I just launched Nimble; a beauty-tech device that will revolutionize the way people paint their nails. Nimble provides salon quality nails, from the comfort of home, in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional nail painting methods. While the concept of Nimble is easy to understand, the technology behind it is extremely complex. Most of my work has focused on teaching Nimble to precisely identify fingernails, define how to paint only the nail, and execute a perfect polish application. I would say that creating a device that supports all of these complex mechanics, while being easy to operate, maintenance free, and at an affordable price point for the customer has been the biggest cutting-edge technological breakthrough I’ve been working on.
How do you think that will help people?
It’s no secret that the nail industry hasn’t had many advancements since acrylic nails were invented in the mid 50s. Overall, the industry has not caught up with the fast-paced tempo of today, almost every service is available at the touch of a button in half the time and cost it used to take, except for painted nails. Many women who don’t have time or money to go to the nail salon, or do their own nails, give up pampering themselves all together. Nimble changes this. It gives people flexibility when it comes to painting nails. Nimble provides perfectly painted nails, from the comfort of home, and only takes 10 minutes per hand (including dry-time) — it’s a device created to fit into the schedule of a modern individual. Nimble can paint nails in the dark, when the kids are asleep and the TV is on. It makes painting nails less of a messy, expensive hassle and more of a reason to kick back and relax.
How do you think this might change the world?
I envision Nimble adopted by 10s (or 100s) of millions of households worldwide, eventually becoming part of the “normal routine” by creating new, more convenient manicure options for our customers. Nimble will enable people to have beautifully painted nails — whenever they choose.
Keeping “Black Mirror” in mind can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
I think Nimble is a technological advancement which will make many people’s lives better. A potential drawback, some may point out, is that Nimble might take away job opportunities from existing nail technicians. However, I don’t see it this way. I believe many industries are being disrupted and as a result, existing players are required to refine their positioning to find ways to keep providing value for their customer base. This process is an inevitable, healthy part of innovation that directly benefits the customer.
Think of Nespresso and coffee shops. Nespresso is widespread, but coffee shops still exist and are prospering. However, coffee shops have had to evolve to compete with Nespresso. In response, coffee shops started to provide better pastries, brunch foods, specialized coffee and more, whereas Nespresso took care of the “morning coffee” or the “simple espresso shot” needs. Coffee shops give a valuable experience to their customers, while Nespresso makes lives easier. I believe Nimble will have a similar relationship to nail technicians and salons. Nimble is here to make life easier.
Was there a “tipping point” that led you to this breakthrough? Can you tell us that story?
As with my entrance into entrepreneurship, I didn’t plan to invent a better way to paint nails, but I found myself fixated on this solution when a problem presented itself to me after a date in 2016. I was meeting my date for dinner, and after waiting, waiting, and waiting some more, I was ready to accept the fact that I was probably being stood up. At the last minute, my date arrived, profusely apologetic for being late. The reason? Her manicure. Ironically, not wanting to be late, she left her nail salon appointment before her manicure was completely dry resulting in ruined nails. So she ran home to fix her brand new, smudged nail polish — which only ended up making her manicure worse. Realizing how late she was, she took off her polish and ran out the door. I was surprised to hear what a hassle getting her nails done was. Being the problem-solver that I am, a lightbulb went off for me that night. “What if there was a device that could quickly paint and dry nails?” And so, the early concept for Nimble was born, a device that could hack the nail industry by providing efficient, accurate manicures in a quarter of the time it usually takes. By the way, that late date? She is now married to me and Nimble’s biggest fan.
What do you need to lead this technology to widespread adoption?
My team and I will need to invest a lot of energy refining our product and offerings. We want Nimble to become an integral part of the day-to-day and, in a way, own the habit of painting nails. For that to happen, we need to build an intimate connection with our customers, to understand what works well for them and what needs to be improved upon or amended. We are also working on building a brand our customers love as well strategic partnerships to support worldwide distribution of Nimble.
What have you been doing to publicize this idea? Have you been using any innovative marketing strategies?
We were basically doing the opposite of publicizing Nimble until now. We were developing the technology behind Nimble under the radar for nearly five years. The reason for this secrecy was that we didn’t want to advertise a product we couldn’t back up. But as our technology matured and we felt ready to hit the market, we decided to launch via Kickstarter. Kickstarter champions entrepreneurs and innovators which aligns with our mission as a brand. Even though Kickstarter is not the traditional go-to market for a beauty tech device, to our pleasant surprise, we’ve enjoyed enormous demand for Nimble.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
It might be obvious, but my wife plays a crucial role in the inspiration behind Nimble. Not only that, but she has a lot of skills that complement mine. I value her opinion because I know that every piece of advice she gives me comes from the heart with the sole purpose of helping me in my journey to make Nimble succeed. Oftentimes, my wife provides great perspective because she analyzes situations differently than I do, her opinion opens my mind and enables me to see the full picture.
How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?
I am committed to sharing my success by helping other startups and founders. I was a mentor at a leading acceleration program where I helped 10 startups get off the ground and I always try to be available to provide advice when it’s needed. Additionally, I invest in startups myself. I like to support founders and companies I want to see succeed. Even though investing in startups could be financially risky, I believe in uplifting innovative thinkers with world-changing ideas.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)
- I wish someone told me it could take years before being ready to launch. My co-founder, Ron, has gone from no kids to father of three, all before our first customer will even receive their Nimble. We knew it was going to be hard to develop Nimble, but we didn’t realize it would take 5 years.
- I wish someone told me to be prepared for extraordinary obstacles, and to be okay when those obstacles force your timeline to change. Covid hit right after I moved to the United States to begin plans to launch in early 2020. Obviously, that was all put on hold and rearranged. Like most people, I never saw a global pandemic coming, but it taught me to become more flexible and resilient.
- I wish someone told me that when you make a product that could potentially revolutionize the way people exist in their day-to-day life, those people will have a lot of opinions on your product. Every person I’ve met since starting Nimble, has given me advice on how to build the device. I feel lucky to have built up a big log of consumer input before even launching the product.
- I wish someone told me that highly specialized products require highly specialized VC. Some VCs don’t invest in consumer products, some don’t invest in deep tech or hardware and some don’t invest in beauty. It wasn’t easy to raise funds for a deep tech hardware D2C product in the beauty market, but luckily, we found good and visionary partners.
- I wish someone told me that it all works out in the end. It was hard to know if we were moving in the right direction, especially facing all these large and unexpected obstacles on our road to launch. Once we did finally announce Nimble to the world, the market responded by basically giving us a huge hug. Seeing the enthusiasm for Nimble on Kickstarter is living proof that we were always on the right path.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Wow, what a great question. I think any idea/startup in the medical space which can cure a deadly disease or remove pain/suffering due to a common medical condition would be an incredible contribution to society. Yes, if the product or idea is successful, the entrepreneurs will greatly financially benefit — but so will all of humanity. I know that innovation in medicine faces a lot of hurdles (FDA, approval process, etc…) but finding ways to breakthrough with a truly spectacular service would help inspire others to do the same.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
It’s a quote my dad once told me — the direct translation from Hebrew is:
“Would you like to eat grapes or fight with the guard?”
To explain, imagine there’s a guard in a grape field — would you rather fight with him (“be right”) or eat the grapes (“be smart, bypass him, and enjoy yourself”). Sometimes we have the urge to be right, but often it’s best to put the ego aside and act smartly.
Some very well known VCs read this column. If you had 60 seconds to make a pitch to a VC, what would you say? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Nimble has developed an at-home device that paints nails better and faster than a salon manicurist, using top of line nail polish stored in capsules. This innovation addresses a $120B global nail market, and can provide 80M U.S. women with a vastly more convenient option. Following a successful pre-launch campaign on Kickstarter that demonstrated an extraordinary market demand for Nimble’s unique offering, the company is gearing up for mass production in the post-beta phase. Nimble’s founding team includes second-time entrepreneurs, who are backed by leaders in the beauty industry, and have deep roots in tech hardware. The company has raised $10 million to date and is located in NYC (HQ) and Israel.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
https://www.instagram.com/nimble_beauty/
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.
The Future Is Now: Omri Moran of Nimble On How Their Technological Innovation Will Shake Up The… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
