A commitment to innovation in architectural lighting guided California business owners and brothers Jake and David Hakimi to team with the Mark Cuban-backed Amazon-style marketplace for American-made products to showcase their newest collection of commercial-grade lighting for healthcare, industrial kitchen, workspace and residential applications. Alcon Lighting, headquartered in Los Angeles, announced that the company will offer their unique line of lighting products where shoppers find American-made products for online purchase on WeCultivate.
"I'm a big believer in buy-American, invest in America," Mark Cuban told FOX Business when he invested in the New Jersey-based enterprise. "Cultivate can be a big step forward." "Mark is a true visionary," Cultivate’s founder and CEO Harsh Khurana said. "He invested in us before the product was even a proof of concept. He's the only person I reached out to as a VC, and within a couple days, he said, 'Let's do this.
The coronavirus pandemic reinforced Americans’ demand for goods made in the U.S.A., particularly critical medicines and medical supplies, because the new virus constricted international trade and locked businesses down across the country, underscoring America’s dependence on Chinese-made products and supply chains as well as Chinese government controls. Using Cultivate's website, shoppers can browse American-made products directly from the platform's search tool or add Cultivate's browser extension, which shows a number of American-made products to someone shopping for a specific product.
Khurana notes that adding businesses such as Alcon Lighting to Cultivate’s e-commerce platform is of mutual value to both companies, pointing out that over 1,000 U.S. businesses, including family businesses and individual entrepreneurs, have joined Cultivate. Business owners get products featured on the site, and consumers are at liberty to trade in the U.S. economy directly through Cultivate, which features companies that produce U.S.-made products that match Cultivate's criteria. "This really resonates," Khurana said. "This is the land of opportunities. ... America is full of hungry, genius entrepreneurs."
Cultivate’s affirmative philosophy aligned with two young entrepreneurs of one of the nation’s leading architectural-grade LED lighting companies. “I admire Mark Cuban’s competitive spirit and commitment to entrepreneurship, so when he talked about investing in Cultivate for its founding ideal of high-quality, American-made products, it caught my attention,” said Alcon Lighting Chief Creative Officer and Co-Owner David Hakimi. “Our family business was born in Southern California and it’s a part of who we are. It’s our conviction that a healthy, thriving community begins at home. So we strive to source parts, components and supplies from manufacturers making the highest quality products here in the U.S.A. We trace our commitment to adding value with top quality products to lessons learned from our father, a Southern California lighting salesman for more than four decades. After studying Cultivate’s site and approach, we decided to act.” Hakimi, who runs the business with his brother, Jake, the Chief Financial Officer and Co-Owner, and their rapidly growing team of creative professionals, added that this is the moment to emphasize American-made products.
“Communities have been drained, stifled and challenged in recent months,” he observed. “Our customers, who are often architects and interior designers, contractors and property owners, want to simplify lighting for a variety of purposes,” he said, citing recent case studies such as fitness, healthcare and commercial lighting projects—including a Texas property for shared office space. “They want intelligent lighting systems that stand up to today’s highest design and technology standards,” Hakimi explained. “They also want products that last. They want it made, shipped and delivered with reliability and accountability. We’re enthusiastic about working with Cultivate to distribute our American-made lighting products.”
ABOUT ALCON LIGHTING, INC.
Alcon Lighting, Inc. is headquartered in Los Angeles, Ca. Co-owners Jake and David Hakimi take pride in Alcon Lighting’s work, knowledge and products, crediting their ethic to lessons learned from their father, a Southern California lighting salesman for more than four decades. Alcon combines this commitment to superior, American-made craftsmanship with LED architectural lighting design and distribution. Alcon Lighting sells products which align with healthy working and living, guaranteeing each customer 100 percent satisfaction. The company also publishes articles, newsletters and guides to educate buyers about streamlined design, cost and technological advancement on its blog, Language of Lighting.