A commitment to innovation in architectural lighting guided California business owners and brothers Jake and David Hakimi to team with the Mark Cuban-backed online marketplace for American-made products to showcase their newest collection of commercial-grade lighting for healthcare, industrial kitchen, workspace and retail applications. Alcon Lighting, headquartered in Los Angeles, announced that the company will offer their unique line of lighting products where shoppers now find American-made products 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.
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 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 opportunity. … America is full of hungry, genius entrepreneurs.”
Cultivate’s affirmative philosophy aligned with two young entrepreneurs of one of the nation’s leading commercial 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 Digital 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. 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.”
