Digital Home for the Rest of Us

Picking the Brain of EI Founder: Seale Moorer

Q. What was the tipping point that made you think the time was ripe for mainstream home system integration?

A. After several other successful ventures, I started a custom installation company to learn the business from the ground up -- doing everything from unrolling cable to driving the truck. I was dismayed and intrigued by how primitive a lot of it was. Meanwhile, I was carefully studying trends in converging technologies -- the growth of broadband, for example, and the increasing compatibility of many wireless products. Marketing data from Forrester Research indicated that the crunch time for home networking would begin in earnest in five years. That was five years ago.

Q. How are custom installers and the CE industry in general accepting EI's Lifeware concept?

A. It's been very refreshing -- the reception has been much better than expected from both high-end and mainstream CE companies. Our training classes are booked months in advance. The reception from homebuilders has been incredibly gratifying. They can't believe the ease of implementation. The development of the smart home in the face of continually rising energy costs has great appeal for both home builders and home buyers.

Q. Your business is booming. Where do your customers come from?

A. More than half our business is from word-of-mouth referrals. People go into an EI smart home and see how easy it is to use, and just have to have it. The simple, consistent user interface is a huge selling point. We don't expect any leveling off in the industry for a very long time -- there are 120 million homes in the U.S.

Q. How about the rental market? How can Lifeware technology serve apartment dwellers?

A. Everybody benefits from energy management. Wireless connectivity means that systems can be portable rather than permanently installed. Just like your home entertainment system, your smart home components can travel with you to your next residence.

Q. How long did it take to make your vision a reality?

A. It's an ongoing process, but from the time I started my own personal "custom installation boot camp" to launching Exceptional Innovation on its current path took about three years. I'm now more of an investor and managing partner than a day-to-day worker. I'm proud to say that EI is destined for greatness.