Shanghai-based American businessman Shaun Rein has made a name for himself as a strategic market researcher and author of successful books including “The End of Copycat China” and “The War for China’s Wallet.”
His 18-old-son Tom Rein recently found early success on a different path from his dad: drone-making in the United States.
Tom, a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, is the founder of Tom’s Aerial Vehicles, or TAV, a startup that aims to produce drone hardware. Started with family and friends funding, TAV received an undisclosed amount of early-stage funding last month from Genesis, an investment fund that also provides mentoring to UT Austin students.
TAV aims to close a gap in U.S. manufacturing of drones for public safety that’s lead to a huge American reliance on China. More than 1,400 police departments in the U.S. use drops, but a majority come from Chinese manufacturer DJI, according to a Genesis press release.
“Tom Rein is an impressive longhorn,” said Genesis Executive Director Jacob Cordova via email. “We look for founders that are hands on, determined builders, driven to make a positive impact on the world with their business. Tom’s past experience creating electromechanical audio components and handling business and sales demonstrated great capabilities, and his startup today is tackling a market with strong growth potential.”
