Freshman recognized for work

Freshman Ketan Rahangdale recently won the Kairos 50 award for his development of a wireless alternative for wired devices. The device would allow any owner of Beat headphones to listen to music without being physically connected to the music player.

Rahangdale and his business partner Jaiyu Ni, a student at Babson College, were inspired to start EarTop as a result of their love for technology. Rahangdale performed as a DJ at local parties and concerts starting at the age of 13.

“Upon our meeting, we realized how there was a trend in the technology industry of everything, including premium quality products, going wireless,” Rahangdale said.

Ni joined Rahangdale  because he wanted to “re-revolutionize” the music world. He helped develop an early-stage Windows-7-based tablet PC.

“I love music and also spend lots of money to buy high performance earphones and headphones. Therefore, this company is simply a means to realize some audio ideas I really want,” Ni said.

The Kairos 50 award recognizes the world’s most innovative business ventures started by university students. After receiving an invitation from the Kairos Society, Rahangdale, an entrepreneurship major, applied and was accepted into the society. A member from the Kairos Society’s board of directors then nominated Rahangdale, launching his company’s exposure.

The major benefit of receiving a Kairos 50 award is the networking that occurs at the annual Kairos Global Summit in February in New York City. At the summit, which was held in February, the Kairos 50 entrepreneurs showcased their ventures on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and were invited to a private reception with a group of world leaders.

“To be able to meet the marketing officer from Verizon and business people that are in those high positions and receive their feedback was amazing,” Rahangdale said.

Rahangdale believes that anyone can create something just as successful, regardless of age.

“If you pursue a business, which is part of a personal passion, then work becomes play, and age goes out the window,” Rahangdale said. “Do what you love and success is guaranteed in the form of happiness.”