BluFlux RF Technologies.

• Position: TECH START UP

WHERE: Louisville / WEB:www.bluflux.com / FouNDED: 2014

Initial Lightbulb:

At his previous startup, 10AK Technologies, Ben Wilmhoff learned that testing wireless devices could be a pain point for small companies. Equipment is expensive and you usually have to work with multiple vendors. "We were not designing in the dark, but it still took us $50,000 to get through that process," he says.

"It dawned on us, this must be a real difficult process for people who don't have an RF [radio frequency] background," adds Wilmhoff, who wound down 10AK to launch BluFlux with lOAK's testing equipment. "The equipment is expensive and there's a learning curve."

BluFlux landed a plum gig right off the bat to develop the RF sensor for Google's Project Soli, a radar-based gesture controller that's small enough to fit in a watch. Says Wilmhoff, now CEO of the seven-employee BluFlux, "What they saw in us was a passion for this technology and how fast we could move."

In a Nutshell:

BluFlux is providing antenna expertise for next-gen mobile devices. Wilmhoff says customers include mobile phone manufacturers, wearables and products, where "there's simply not enough space for an antenna."

"We are realizing the three or four services we offer are really valuable to product developers," he continues, citing pure test, custom design, both for developers of wearables and "Internet of Things" products.

The company's RF testing lab is the only such facility in the West outside of California, he adds, and may be the only company offering design, engineering and debugging with its...