Joe Tran
Age: 29
Company: Hitoki
Title: Co-founder
Jack Tran
Age: 27
Company: Hitoki
Title: Co-founder
The Trident might be the most innovative smoking accessory since the invention of the disposable lighter. It’s a bong with a frickin’ laser beam attached to it.
Need we say more?
Hitoki co-founders Joe and Jack Tran started the company in 2019, but Joe has been developing the patent-pending bong for about five years.
“It’s a smoking device with a high-powered laser that mimics the same effect of the sun in a magnifying glass,” he says.
“We wanted it to be very clean and sleek looking, and we wanted to change the subject of cannabis and push it toward a new light,” adds Jack, who helped bring Hitoki to life, but credits his “stubborn” older brother with the vision.
“This whole project was pretty much his brainchild,” Jack says. “To be honest, I thought it was a great idea. It was unlike anything on the market. But more so than anything, it was Joe’s drive that made me believe it could really be something.”
Joe says he “wanted to get into something big” and considered his various passions — food, family and travel — before ultimately deciding that cannabis provided the best opportunities to create a new business and beginning development of the prototype for a high-tech laser bong. The company went through several rounds of development and prototyping to incorporate a variety of safety measures, refine the futuristic aesthetic and bring the Trident to market.
The Trident is currently being sold online, and the company is seeking retail partners and distributors.