Mark Clayton, a former NFL player, raised $1 million in funding for his LIVV Audio brand of high-performance headphones he designed in high school.
The wide receiver, who spent most of his seven-year career with the Baltimore Ravens, created the headphones for athletes and those interested in fitness.
Clayton’s Idea
Clayton started designing the concept for his headphones while studying business administration and management at Babson College.
However, the idea for the headphones came to Clayton during his pool-based rehab sessions after recovering from a knee injury when he joined the then-St. Louis Rams. The NFL player found that his over-ear headphones regularly fell off his ears.
“I made it to St. Louis and had a season-ending injury. And a lot of the rehab we did was in the swimming pool,” Clayton told Afrotech. He added: “So, of course, I want to wear my over-ear headphones, but they would start to fall off, and then I have to take ’em off because I don’t want ’em to fall in the water, and I know they’re not waterproof.”
$1 Million funding
The product launch was supported by a $1 million seed round, including involvement from previous tennis player Mark Knowles. Clayton says, “We’re looking forward to blessing many people with headphones that do much more than what’s out there on the market today.”
According to a press release, the LIVV audio headphones are water resistant with a 50-hour battery life, removable earpads, and a dynamic sound profile.
“Wanting it to be premium that just incorporated all the other tech that is standard in premium headphones, having an IR sensor that you know can detect when they’re on your head or not, which ultimately is awesome for your battery life,” Clayton says.
He adds: “And so [I] wanted to just incorporate all the things that were premium and then add what LIVV brought to the table, which was the more secure fit and the water-resistant piece with the ear pads that help you get more active.”
Image credit: LIVV Audio
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