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Part iRobot and part Kate Spade, Nanda Home creates cute, clever products that are intended to "humanize technology." The company already has one hit: Consumers have snapped up more than 9,000 units of a US$50 plastic alarm clock which runs and hides until one hops out of bed to find it. Dubbed "Clocky", the little robot is manufactured in China and sold online and in design boutiques. The company also has a line of handbags designed to accommodate laptops.

Gauri Nanda designed Clocky as a graduate student in MIT's Media Lab. The daughter of entrepreneurs, she aspired to become a designer at a large technology company. "I was opposed to the idea of starting a company," says Nanda. "I saw the hours my parents worked."

After presenting Clocky to her class in the fall of 2004, she threw it in the back of her closet. She'd almost forgotten about it until the next spring, when several tech bloggers stumbled upon a photo of her invention online. Suddenly, Nanda was getting contacted by reporters and TV producers. Good Morning America called. She scrambled to fix the buggy prototype in time for its debut on network TV.

Nanda left MIT with a master's degree that fall and began considering her options. Licensing the clock seemed like the easiest move, but she couldn't bring herself to give up control. She recalled hearing about Alibaba.com from a family member, and decided to go there and try looking for a manufacturer.

Nanda was immediately impressed by the rich yet user-friendly supplier database of Alibaba.com. "I like the company profiles on Alibaba.com," she says. "They can be viewed at a glance to quickly evaluate important information like how large or small a manufacturer is."

Without any hassle, Nanda generated a list of potential partners using Alibaba.com and quickly had some ideas about which suppliers she could work with. To play safe, she still contacted them one by one, short listed a few Chinese manufacturers, and embarked on a trip to China to visit them in person. After several visits, she finally decided on a Hong Kong-based manufacturer – one of those that she pre-selected from Alibaba.com. The first run of 500 clocks produced with this supplier sold out almost immediately online.

Following the successful debut of Clocky, Nanda has put a lot of effort into expanding her retail distribution network. Nanda Home's merchandise is now sold in stores all around the world, from North America to Europe, Asia and Australia.