andStartup

AlphaGenics

Ever wonder what you might be genetically predisposed to doing?  Or how your genes may have guided your likes and dislikes throughout your life?  Well a new company, AlphaGenics, seeks to answer some of those questions and bring some of the more fun aspects of genetics to a wide consumer audience.

Their first product, SkyGene, intends to give people a method to share genetically relevant information about themselves in a completely social context.  With the purchase of a SkyGene package, you’d get a small device capable of storing genetic information about you that you can choose to share with other people.  Some obvious traits, such as hair color and eye color, can be stored, but even information about athletic ability, personality, likes and dislikes can be captured.  You can compare your profile against someone else who has the device, and determine if you’re a match for a friendship…or more.  Perhaps it’s no surprise that the first group they’re targeting is the 20-35 “singles” and 35-60 “newly single” crowd, but they lay the foundation for more interesting applications of this technology in the future on their web site.

What’s the concept?

Leveraging gene information as a social tool, and perhaps using it in the future to truly customize products for consumers.

Why should you care?

Because this may be the next “hot thing” you see popularized in coffee shops and nightclubs if it catches on with young up-and-coming singles.

How do they make money?

They’re seeking funding to execute their first round of products, and currently anyone who wants to participate in the “beta” program will have to pay for the device that stores their gene information.

Will this company last 5 years?

Tough to say.  In this economic environment, it isn’t easy to see a scenario in which this type of technology is adopted quickly among budget-conscious consumers.  If their true target is singles in their 20s, it may be necessary to get an aggressive advertising campaign and for that, venture funding will be key.

Suggestions for improvements?

None that I can think of.  This is such a novel device that there is really no precedent on which I can base a comparison.  I just think they’ll need some serious advertising and networking to generate buzz and interest in this product.