Why LEEO is the most disruptive startup in the Connected Home space

It’s just a night light that listens for alerts from alarms you already have. Big deal, right? What are these guys thinking? That’s what I originally thought.  

Then I started thinking.

Does every device in the house need to be smart? Do we really need to replace every smoke detector? Isn’t there a better, cheaper, easier way to get the benefits of connected home tech? 

I was also doing some ruminating on architecture and urbanism, as I am wont to do, and then then I figured it out. All these hard-wired smart devices are targeted to single family homes. But over 50% of Americans live in multi-family housing. Many people rent. Sure, some renters may take the punt, but not if there’s an easier solution.

I’ve also been looking at all the cool arduino sensors available. I personally like the WunderBar by Relayr. Doing a simple integration with WunderBar, or using something like IFTTT, you could have most of the benefits of a smart home without installing a thing. Plus, you can take it with you when you move without having to uninstall anything, either.

This is massive.

Leeo addresses the larger market. They have developed a product that is relevant globally. This brings the smart home revolution to everybody. The potential impact is huge. It’s portable, affordable, and can easily go global.
Others in the connected home space are just glorifying existing devices. They are taking the approach that all they need to do is make everything in the home a $300 design piece.

Leeo is actually solving the same problem in a much simpler way. They are taking advantage of the vast amount of smoke detectors already installed throughout the world and found a smart way to provide mobile alerts. I dare say it’s also a greener solution than junking all our existing tech.

How to Build a Unicorn From Scratch – and Walk Away with Nothing. →

heidiroizen:

This is a grim fairy tale about a mythical company and its mythical founder. While I concocted this story, I did so by drawing upon my sixteen years of experience as a venture capitalist, plus the fourteen years I spent before that as an entrepreneur. I’m going to use some pretty simple math and…

Well, I think she just spoiled Silicon Valley’s story arc. But good info to be had here, for sure.

Design In Tech

John Maeda, now over at KPCB, has a great presentation on Design in Tech. Following in the footsteps of Mary Meeker, John’s presentation shows the increasing influence of – wait for it – design in tech.

As an early evangelist of posterous, I bore witness to how design can disrupt startups. While posterous was a great platform, tumblr simply had better design. It took tumblr a fair bit of time to iron out some of their tech, and initially they lacked many of the features of posterous, but in the end tumblr won. Posterous was acquired by twitter and summarily shut down.

Today, slack is in the process of doing the same thing in their segment. Slack entered the fray with a better design and upended the entire market. I really like basecamp, but guys, slack is going to drink your milkshake. (The slack API has RoR integration, so at least there’s that.)

Every startup, every company, has to worry about a competitor disrupting them with better design.

Enter the VP of Design, Chief Design Officer, or Corporate Design Guru.

What do they do and how do they do it?

Facilitate. To make easy. The design guru needs to facilitate the incorporation of design thinking into corporate cultures that are bearing the weight of many chains. Value chains. Supply chains. Distribution Chains. Demand chains 

This is no easy task.

Constrained in their movements by these many chains, they must still bring to market their vision. They need to communicate their vision effectively so the whole team can see the big picture.

But does everybody see the same thing?

Their ability to clearly define the vision is important. However, if they don’t understand how others see they will have problems communicating that vision. They may be frustrated by the disconnect. Without an understanding of how others in their team see they won’t be able to fill the gaps.

Learning to see. It’s not as easy as it sounds. It requires some unpacking to determine what is meant by that phrase. In architecture we learned to see by sketching. At first you’d miss some details in your sketches. Once you were finally able to see all the details then you could concentrate on the essence. A sketch that can capture the essence in as few strokes as possible is a thing of beauty. Line weight and contour can be very evocative.

Business leaders have their own journey where their senses are opened to other realities. So when designers speak of design problems, the reflexive response from B-school types is usually, “there are no problems, only opportunities!” This sets the frame for the exchange from that point forward.

In business, problems are bad and need to be dealt with or avoided altogether. Hence they try to turn that frown upside down. Yet in design, problems exist to be solved. Designers will want to clearly define the problem space first. Once the issues have been identified they set about finding solutions. Nobody is being negative or dismissive when they bring up problems. They aren’t trying to kill ideas. They are helping to define the problem space so complete solutions can be found. (Ok, maybe some people are trying to kill ideas, but that’s more about office politics, which is beyond the scope of this essay.)

It can be quite a bit of fun helping others learn to see. It can also be time consuming and frustrating. It takes time and patience, which are rare and expensive commodities in the startup universe. Communication between people who see things in differing levels of detail is a real challenge.
This is the power of what John calls Story Listening.

Story listening enables the designer to see what the others on the team see. It’s not about right or wrong, but understanding each other. Instead of making a right or wrong value (boolean?) judgement, being able to appreciate what others are seeing facilitates the work. This unblocks a major barrier to communication. It creates a collaborative frame.

With technology the ability to have design, engineering, and business on equal footing provides a unique opportunity to advance together.

IV. Keep In Touch

This can be the hardest and most irritating part of the job. You want the firm you hire to be on the ball, take the initiative, and be proactive in managing contact. As you are well aware, this rarely happens. Next thing you know it’s been several weeks, and you haven’t seen much progress. You get in touch to discuss what the next steps are, and the project seems to be stuck in the same place it was the last time you spoke with the team. A six week turnaround turns into six months because there is a bottleneck somewhere.

There are an endless number of reasons this could happen. E-mails could have gone to a spam filter, the consultant might be waiting for some feedback, they might have had other projects they needed to prioritise (and are therefore happy to let you stall your own project), and so on. With so many potential bottlenecks and reasons for delay it is almost impossible to find out what the actual problem is. You can’t un-clog the drain if you don’t know where the clog is.

Keep reading

III. Interfere With Their Creativity

The reason you don’t want to interfere with your consultant’s creativity is because you haven’t done your research and aren’t bringing anything to the table. Instead, you’re going to send them on a scavenger hunt trying to figure out what it is you want. But you don’t know what you want, you’ll just know it when you see it.

Think about that for a minute. This is either going to cost you a ton of money as they try everything under the sun to divine what it is that you want, or they are going to come up with nothing. This is a very low-percentage approach. Don’t do it.

If you’re lax to interfere with their creative process then you don’t know too many creative people. Creatives really don’t have a problem doing their thing. If they disagree with your direction, or think there’s a better approach, they’ll tell you. Some may be nice about it, others may be blunt. But they have an opinion and will let you know about it one way or another.

When you come to the table and present your opinion and design notes what you’re doing is stirring the pot. This is great because it gets the ball rolling. Without a point of departure you’re stuck in limbo. Once you set the destination then the consultant can chart a course.

You do this by clicking through all the screen grabs you captured when you were doing your research when you’re meeting with the consultant. You also use some of the industry lingo you picked up. If what you’re looking for is flat design, long shadow, skeuomorphic, minimalist, classical, or something entirely different, be sure to use the right terminology and show them an image of what you think that means. Now, make sure to zoom in on just what it is you like in that image. If there is anything on the image you show that you don’t like you had better make sure the team knows what it is. Use no uncertain terms. Be emphatic. They should be taking notes, so point to the note taker and ask them if they wrote down that the client doesn’t like whatever it is that you don’t like. Be funny when doing it. Smile, make a joke about what it is you don’t like. Make your point and move on. You don’t have to be mean or domineering to get your point across. But you don’t want to leave them with any doubts.

Keep reading

II. Understand the Process

You don’t have to like the process, you don’t have to abide the process, but you need to know that a process exists and there are very good reasons why.

Once a consultant has been around the block a few times and manages to stay in business they either develop their own client engagement process or hire a business manager to be their ‘handler’. This is a good sign. If a consultant doesn’t have a process then they might be a little wet behind the ears. This isn’t a bad thing, especially if it’s a talented group with a great body of work. However, if they don’t have a process then you will have to shoulder the responsibility for managing the engagement.

Let’s talk a little about all three.

If a consultant has their own client engagement process then they are trying to get into the mind of their client. They have crafted a method that may contain workshops, interviews, and roundtable discussions. This may seem like a lot of philosophical mumbo jumbo that doesn’t get down to business. It might seem overly academic or not engaging reality. Yeah, maybe you’re right. But by talking through the issues affecting design the client and consultant can build a rapport and keep lines of communication open.

Keep reading

I. Bring Something to the Table

Do you really think that you don’t have to do any research? If you don’t know the basics, don’t know the lingo, and don’t know how consultants do their thing then you’re going to waste months learning it all. In order to give clear direction and ensure timely delivery you just have to know these things.

If you go in cold then you’ll be deluged with totally new information that you then need to parse so you can make informed decisions. Because the clock is ticking you will have less time to grok the data dump and will more than likely make decisions based on your gut feel. While your gut may have served you well in your area of expertise, to follow that instinct outside your AO is a recipe for disaster.

A little bit of research on your part could save you months of time, lots of money, and prevent some potential miscommunication.

You save time by being well prepared. Once you know the lingo, industry trends, and service delivery model you’ll have a better understanding of what the consultants can and cannot provide. You’ll have a solid baseline which you can use to review potential consultants. You’ll know the argot of their industry and be able to provide clear direction and detailed feedback. Consultants spend a lot of time educating clients and managing the feedback loop. You want to make sure they give you the post-graduate level good stuff, not the 101 basics when it comes to education. You also want to shorten the feedback loop so time isn’t wasted waiting for critiques and approvals.

Keep reading

Getting The Most Out of Your Design Consultant

You can’t simply give your consultants a blank sheet, a deadline, and a budget then expect fantastic results. I know you might not want to interrupt their creative process. I know you might not know what you want, but you’ll know it when you see it. But this abdication of responsibility on your part isn’t going to help. Your going to confuse your consultants, waste your time, waste and waste their time. In the end you feel like you’ve been ripped off because the process took so much longer than quoted, and the finished product simply isn’t anywhere near the quality you were expecting. To make matters worse, towards then end you were finally beginning to see the team moving in the right direction, making some great strides, but you ran out of time, budget, and patience.

The consultant is none too pleased, either. They spent a lot more time on the project than they expected, blew their budget, and have probably spent a lot of time trying to get you to pay their invoice.

Keep reading

Why Tesla Should Bring Back the GMC Motorhome

Webvan, amiright? Nah, that’s not what I have in mind.

There needs to be an all electric competitor in the panel van segment. Sure, the Mercedes Sprinter is nice. The Fiat/Dodge Ducato is fairly clever, as well. Those two will take over from the Chevy/GMC and Ford Econoline vans in short order. The Econoline is also due to be replaced by the Ford Europe Transit (not to be confused with the smaller Transit Connect). These euro vans, while new to US shores, have been around the block elsewhere in the world. They are practical, cost effective, and flexible. They have been used as people movers, delivery vans, work trucks, and camper vans. None of them, however, are cool. Dowdy is perhaps a more appropriate description.

The MB Sprinter is perhaps the spiritual successor to the VW bus of old. Many have converted it for use as campers similar to the Westfalias that pioneered the segment. Yet it doesn’t have that cool factor that the VW had (and restored versions still have). It just happens to be cooler than the others, which isn’t saying much.

Mercedes sold 252,418 Sprinters in 2012.

So should Tesla build a new VW bus or an MB beater for this market segment? Too boring! Snore.

I would suggest they look for inspiration at the GMC motorhome of the early to mid 1970’s. The design still looks fresh today, the volume within the vehicle is amazing for its size.

It has an incredibly low entry height. The chassis is ideal for using the Tesla battery pack. The design could be modified to allow the four rear wheels to propel the vehicle. Did you notice there are no rear axles?

The large rear opening of the original design allows for easy construction and would afford the flexibility required of the panel van segment.

The modular design of the GMC allowed for 23’ and 26’ lengths. It was available as a motorhome, or as an unconverted transmode shell.

The original GMC motorhome with a 0.31 drag coefficient topped out at 11 MPG, downhill with a tailwind. Interestingly, Airstream converted a Chevy van last year and it achieved a whopping 11 MPG. In other words, there has been no improvement in this area since 1973! That’s pathetic.

The original, and still best, GMC motorhome was range limited by the 50 gallons in the twin gas tanks. This means on a flat road, at the then mandated 55MPH, the motorhome could travel 495 miles with a 10% reserve. Not bad, but not great.

There just so happens to be a nexus of GMC enthusiasts concentrated in and around Orlando, Florida. They even have the original molds! They would be a great resource for discussing the pros and cons of this design concept. At the very least they could help Tesla get a mule based on the GMC platform up and running in short order. 

This is a segment ripe for disruption. The right vehicle with the right design can penetrate this market due to the current shakeup. And it can be the coolest thing ever.

Tesla Model E?

What letter will the Tesla’s 3 series competitor wear? The model S might harken to the Mercedes badging convention, but the Model X follows the BMW mold. J reminds of Infiniti’s mid-range model, C might be saved for the sub-compact model. For now I’m going with E. No reason, it’s just a placeholder.

Make no mistake, the E will be aimed straight at the BMW 3er. Not the i3, not the Prius, and not the Active-E’s out there. The 3er represents the sweetspot of the market. The i3 is fringe. The Model S wasn’t looking to be a luxury Volt or Prius, it was going to be a world class luxury saloon powered by electricity.

That, by the way, is what the people want. A real car, not some dowdy looking thing designed around Calvinist principles of self denial.

So when the E is released we’ll have a real car in the size, weight, and performance category of the 3er. Tesla will have more charging stations in place, any kinks will have been worked out of the home charging systems, and the reliability of their vehicles will have an established track record.

My hope is that Tesla maintains the mature and refined design language of the S and X for the E. Nothing too aggressive like the Lexus IS, or too mundane like anything by Honda. Hopefully they mirror the Germans who have mastered the art.

The E doesn’t need to be a 3er clone to be a huge success. As a matter of fact there are a number of ways the E can be much better than the BMW. Steering feel in the 3er has been a major letdown as of late. The turboed fours have replaced the magnificent inline sixes in most of the 3ers on the market today. Great engines, those fours, but not quite the same as the silky smooth snorty inline six. The high tech package that can add upwards of $5k to the purchase price of a new 3er is buggy. It won’t take much for Tesla to surpass BMW in these areas.

I say that with a certain amount of regret. I’ve owned several BMWs over the years. Very few cars can compare. My favorite was my first, a manual e46 328i. It was spectacular. Going through the twisties at speed was akin to skiing downhill with a finely tuned pair of Atomics. The car would settle in, plant itself, and carve through the turn. The seat of the pants feel was great. There was no electrickery to distract, confound, or annoy. The inline six was plenty powerful, made a wonderful noise, and managed 31MPG back in 1999. Other cars were in the high teens or low twenties back then. The ergonomics were perfect. Every control fell to hand, I could see every gauge, dial, or screen with minimal head or eye movement. Even on long trips I’d arrive relaxed thanks to the quiet cabin, smooth ride, and ability to avoid trouble. The Z4 was fun, the M5 was amazing, but the 328i was just right.

It’s that perfect fit that keeps me enchanted by the 3er. If Tesla can crack that combination they’ll win converts in droves. I look forward to seeing what they conjure up.