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Edi Demaj
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Prishtina, Kosovo[1]
Alma materOakland University
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCo-founding Rocket Fiber
Co-founding KODE Labs
SpouseAriana Demaj
Children2
RelativesEtrit Demaj (brother)
Websitehttps://edidemaj.com/

Edi Demaj (born 1985) is a Kosovan-American businessman based in the Detroit metropolitan area. He is best known for being involved in the development of Detroit as technology hub by founding a number of technology companies, including Rocket Fiber, a high speed ISP, and KODE Labs, a company providing cloud-based building automation software.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

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Demaj was born in Prishtina, Kosovo, in 1985.[1] His family fled to the United States from the Kosovo war as refugees in 1999 after their home was destroyed by the forces of the Serbia and Montenegro.[5][6]

During his studies, Demaj worked with his family, which briefly entered the restaurant business before turning to small-scale real estate investment and rentals. He attended high school in Rochester Hills, and completed a BA in Political Science and an AA in Business Management from Oakland University.[7]

Demaj was eventually hired at Detroit real estate management firm Bedrock Real Estate.[8] Bedrock is owned by billionaire Dan Gilbert, who later became an investor in Rocket Fiber, one of Demaj's companies.[1][9]

Career

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While working in the real estate industry, Demaj began to develop software and has since founded a number of companies. He first developed iziSurvey, a software tool designed to facilitate conducting surveys and presenting the results, together with three other Kosovars in 2014.[10] The project began as an internal tool for university professors, but was later offered to commercial researchers as well.[11]

The same year, he secured $31 million in financing from Dan Gilbert to launch Rocket Fiber,[12][13][14] a Detroit-based Gigabit ISP.[15] Demaj, along with his co-founders, were motivated to found Rocket Fiber after reading about Google's Fiber Initiative in Kansas City and the economic effects it had on the city.[16] The team envisioned installing gigabit internet as a way to attract more tech entrepreneurs to Detroit and support the local economy.[13][17][18]

Service launched in downtown Detroit in 2016.[19] The company has constructed 40 miles of fiber in downtown Detroit, and was acquired by Cleveland-based ISP Everstream in 2020 for an undisclosed sum.[20]

Together with his brother Etrit, Demaj took over management of Reozom in 2016.[21] The company provides a multiple listing service for real estate listings.[22]

Demaj co-founded KODE Labs, a company that provides building automation software, in 2017.[23] The software is cloud-based, as opposed to most building management software, which rely on on-site servers. The name of the company is a reference to Demaj's origin and new residence; KO is short for "Kosovo" and DE for "Detroit."[24] The company was self-funded by Demaj and his brother Etrit until 2022, when it raised an $8 million funding round led by I Squared Capital.[24]

Demaj is a partner in gjirafa.com, the largest Albanian language search engine, e-commerce, and digital media platform.[5][25]

He is still involved in real estate industry as a developer and investor[2] and is also a co-owner of a restaurant located in the Detroit metropolitan area.[26]

Personal life

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Demaj has one son, Kaon, with his Kosovo-born wife, Ariana.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "TEDxPrishtina | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "40 Under 40 - Edi Demaj". Crain's Detroit Business. October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Edi Demaj: A high-speed mind in Detroit". Kosovo Diaspora. March 31, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  4. ^ Witsil, Frank. "Techweek bringing techies to Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Edi Demaj". Crain's Detroit Business. May 24, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  6. ^ CNBC.com, Tom Cunneff, special to (October 9, 2017). "If DACA killed, the US could lose $433 billion over the next 10 years". CNBC. Retrieved October 21, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Jaupi, Fiorela (November 1, 2016). "Edi Demaj: Një mendje "me shpejtësi të lartë" në Detroit". Business Magazine Albania. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  8. ^ "2 brothers escape war to live the American Dream". WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit. July 28, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Calabrese, Dan (July 20, 2015). "Hyper Speed". DBusiness Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  10. ^ "Joint team from diaspora and Kosovo launches data gathering platform iziSurvey". Kosovo Diaspora. January 13, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  11. ^ "Daily Research News Online no. 18430 - Academics Launch New DIY Platform iziSurvey". www.mrweb.com. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  12. ^ "Edi Demaj (Rocket Fiber)". Startup Grind. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Xconomy: Will 10-Gig Internet Help Revitalize Detroit? Rocket Fiber Says Yes". Xconomy. March 10, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  14. ^ Araj, Victoria. "Rocket Fiber Gets New Digs, Detroit Gets New Opportunities | Opportunity Detroit". Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  15. ^ Burns, Matt (February 23, 2015). "Detroit To Finally Get Fiber-Optic Internet Thanks To Dan Gilbert". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  16. ^ Walsh, Tom. "Rocket Fiber gives nation new reason to rethink Detroit". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  17. ^ "Fiber to the Home Top 100 List". Broadband Communities Magazine: 67. July 2017.
  18. ^ Noble, Breana. "Cleveland fiber network to acquire Dan Gilbert's Rocket Fiber". The Detroit News. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  19. ^ Burns, Matt (November 12, 2015). "Rocket Fiber Launches 100Gb/s Internet Service In Downtown Detroit". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  20. ^ Burns, Matt (February 26, 2020). "Detroit-based Rocket Fiber acquired by Everstream". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  21. ^ "ETRIT DEMAJ | 27 |". Crain's Detroit Business. May 19, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "MI startup aims to update real estate industry". WXYZ 7 Action News Detroit. March 11, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  23. ^ Smythe, Christie (August 26, 2021). "Meet the former refugee whose "smart building" startup is sparking a post-COVID office space revolution". www.businessofbusiness.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Burns, Matt (September 21, 2022). "Kode Labs raises $8M to advance its smart building platform". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  25. ^ Butcher, Mike (March 25, 2019). "Gjirafa raises a $6.7M Series B from Rockaway Capital to digitise the Balkans". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  26. ^ Houck, Brenna (September 5, 2018). "New Restaurant Brings Oysters and Coconut Udon to Detroit's Vinton Building This Month". Eater Detroit. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  27. ^ "Home". Edi Demaj. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
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