Krystal Persaud
Grouphug is a sustainable technology company based in New York City. Founded in 2018 by industrial designer Krystal Persaud, Grouphug demonstrates how creativity and design can push renewable energy to be more accessible. Grouphug’s flagship product is the Window Solar Charger, a window-mounted solar panel for apartment dwellers to effortlessly charge their devices off-the-grid. The company creates easy-to-install, stunning solar panels of any shape or size. Grouphug’s “Solar Cat” is a giant 140-watt cat-shaped solar panel installed at the historic New York Hall of Science.
Prior to founding Grouphug, Persaud was the Senior Director of Product Design at educational toy company littleBits. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Design from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She believes that important innovations like photovoltaics are stuck in the past because of their lack of human-centered design. Make something fun and accessible and adoption will boom. Grouphug has been featured in numerous publications, including CNET, The New York Times, Apartment Therapy, and Inhabitat.