A smart doorbell named Chui is about to make staying in the new going out. Cofounded by two graduates of the Cox School of Business – Shaun Moore, former SMU football player, and Nezare Chafni, one of the youngest candidates for Moroccan Parliament in history – Chui launched in mid-March and surpassed its $30,000 preorder sales goal by 48%. You can reserve your Chui at GetChui.com.
Chui uses revolutionary facial technology to let you know who is at your door, as well as let those you don’t want around know they should leave. That’s just the start of what the world’s smartest (and best looking) doorbell is capable of. With Chui’s connected home features, your home becomes the most sought after venue in town – a living experience tailored to you. Simply walking through your door illuminates lights to your mood, adjusts the temperature to that perfect setting, turns on your favorite channel, and plays whatever music you desire, at just the right volume. And it will all happen faster than you can take a selfie.
Speaking of selfies, Chui delivers real time notifications of a visitor’s image, name and timestamp to your smart phone or computer. From there, you can communicate with them via audio and video. If you’re like everyone I know and running behind on getting ready for a big night, Chui gives you the option of unlocking your door for expected pre-game patrons, so they can make themselves comfortable, while you finish up for The Dallas Socials endorsed weekend escapade. “We believe that technology advancement should be focused on empowering the consumer,” says Chafni “which is why we designed Chui to put its owner in control.”
Part of that control is sharing the tailored-to-you-comforts of a Chui enabled home with your friends. For this reason, the world’s smartest doorbell offers yet another function – a personal bouncer for every gathering. “There’s nothing worse than grilling for your friends by the pool, and having to leave to answer the door,” says Moore. “Chui lets you leave automated message for welcomed guests and alerts you to uninvited ‘bring-down the good-times-Brians’ trying sneaking into your party.” Topping everyone’s unwanted guest list is the ex. Don’t worry, Chui will be sure to keep him/her them out – something no Uptown hot spot can do. The smart doorbell can even end a bad relationship for you. Think of it as the 21st century break-up text.
You can check out all of Chui’s functions in the video below and find out about its potential future uses (personal shopper and trainer) at GetChui.com. Before you share this article on all of your social media platforms (follow Chui on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google Plus), please take a minute to read the story of Chui below. And remember to preorder you Chui – they are going faster than it takes an above average phone-photographer to take a selfie.
The Story of Chui
Less than two years after graduating from SMU, Shaun Moore and Nezare Chafni came up with the idea for Chui while drinking Moroccan green tea in a hotel room in Casablanca. Nezare had recently come off the campaign trail, and Shaun, the former SMU football player, decided to leave his corporate job, trading in the comfort of cubicles for a one-way ticket to embark on his entrepreneurial dream. Shaun recalls the experience: “we knew this was our moment, but good ideas are just that – a moment. We then had to focus on the getting there.”
The “getting there” is difficult for any startup, but it becomes an intensely more challenging journey when two business partners are navigating previously unchartered waters of the tech world and have no experience in technology. The cofounders immediately understood they had to adapt to a new environment and be flexible with their decision making to make Chui the world changing product they believed it could be. This realization, and the sweet and sour recipe of anxiety and adventure that made the dish the pair would soon consume is where the name Chui came from.
Chui is the Swahili word for leopard, the smallest of the big 4 cats yet the most adaptable. Adaptability would be essential for two friends working in an unfamiliar industry. Empowered by the entrepreneurial spirit that led them to take a risk and find a for “the getting there” the two finance majors taught themselves many previously unknown skills, among them coding and at times working 17000 miles of sleep patterns and culture apart. The adaptability that guides Chui has brought its uses to endless heights.
An American from Chicago and a Dubai native drinking Moroccan green tea in a hotel room in Casablanca come up with an idea create a doorbell with facial recognition technology. Two years later, Chui’s potential is limitless.
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