History
Founding
ExSilent was founded in 2005 by three entrepreneurs: Mark Kaal, Aeldrik Pander and Michel Havenith.
Aeldrik Pander, an audio engineer with background in electronics and software development, stood at the base of the initial products and concepts of ExSilent. As Senior Developer he continues to play an active role in product development.
Michel Havenith is a musician with a technical background and combined these skills to build the vision of ExSilent. Michel Havenith contributed immensely to the development of new and pioneering products and took care of early product training and education for new distributors and partners. In 2011, Michel has taken up his old profession and passion of conducting and teaching again.
Mark Kaal – the Managing Director from 2005 until 2010 – has extensive expertise in coaching start-ups. Mark Kaal was instrumental for the first partnerships of ExSilent. He built the joint teams in the United States and the Netherlands. In 2010, Mark started a new venture in Canada, also focused on the Hearing Aid industry.
2005-2008
ExSilent focused on developing next-generation hearing aids to offer people the future of communication. In a fast-growing market, where more and more young people become hearing impaired, ExSilent launched the world’s smallest, virtually invisible instant fit hearing aid. Together with strategic partners in the hearing aid industry and the academic world, ExSilent offers a range of high tech consumer-friendly and vendor-friendly hearing solutions. Our aim is for our products to become much more than just a hearing aid. The company started off in Amsterdam as a design company with the emphasis on developing modular, invisible hearing aids. ExSilent has been supported by a venture capital company right from the early beginning, therefore ExSilent has had the capability to do explorations outside the traditional design process.
During 2006, ExSilent did first steps towards investigating wireless capabilities together with technology partner Delft Technical University, focusing on power and size reduction.
After the initial field tests with the Q modular CIC hearing aid – focused on invisibility, ExSilent was nominated for the Dutch Design Award and explored the options of the product launch.
2008-2010
In early 2008, ExSilent recognized the potential of the Q, and step-by-step the company and the Q were introduced in selected countries. Market research at a local level was performed in Asia and Latin America, whereas business relationships started to come alive in Europe.
The key here is that there was a need for instant-fit, invisible devices:
- End-user benefit: attractive cosmetics and natural sound quality
- Audiologist benefit: Instant fit and a broader client base
In launching the Q and Qleaf hearing aids, we did not just become part of the establishment. We presented the world’s smallest digital hearing aid in the world that completely fits in the ear. As more and more young people become hearing impaired, we felt we had to consider their needs in our designs.
After collecting and analyzing all the retrieved market data, ExSilent prepared itself for a full launch of the Q in 2009, which meant participating in major events like the AudiologyNow! conference in the USA and the IFOS congress in Sao Paulo, Brazil. By the end of 2010 ExSilent exports to 35 countries around the globe.
The success of our expansion led to an ExSilent subsidiary in Eden Prairie, MN, USA, expanding our R&D and sales capability significantly. We also became ISO 13485 certified, and the R&D team doubled in manpower to secure future product development.
2011
In the beginning of 2011, the new Qleaf Pro device was introduced with our AirTAP functionality. AirTAP allows the user to easily change listening programs with a slight open-hand touch on the ear.
Our latest addition is the Ytango, the world’s first BTE hearing aid with the microphone and receiver in the canal, for optimal directionality and natural hearing – with the ExSilent edge!