Solar Echo: Smarter lighting.
We're here to shine a light on a big problem and provide a more elegant alternative to interior lighting. Our first product, Solar Echo, is just the beginning.
Here's the skinny. Most Americans spend about 87% of their time indoors. And another 6% in their vehicle. Yikes. Let's face it, this life indoors is just not that great, especially in the working world.
And while interior design has come a long way, it's still quite repetitive, exhausting, depressing and poorly lit. In fact, with all the money we spend on smart lights, we'd expect to see a more natural experience. Instead, we get better cell-phone powered lightbulbs and more bronze, copper and plastic than we can know what to do with.
For Jake and John, this experience was no different. Rarely did they see the light. Two lives spent living inside the 5-5 corporate design. Separate industries (advertising and finance), but still wasting away in a cold, poorly-lit world. That is, until they stepped outside.
The indoors can actually be great.
Humans are always drawn to the brightest point in the room, but when the entire room is bright and uncontrollably blue (at peak emission), our natural sleeping and waking patterns are more likely to be disrupted. Our productivity goes down and overall moods are...well...as bad as the lighting.
That's why we decided to move forward with Solar Echo.
We're here to build smarter lighting. Not smart lights.
Solar Echo fights back against stale lights by providing a naturally shifting lighting experience that compliments and works with your natural routine.
Solar Echo is not a smart light. It's smart lighting. You see, while our current prototype works with simple mobile controls, we see a product family that works together using everything it knows about the environment to create a custom lighting experience that works with you.
Solar Echo is a home lighting experience that adjusts to your environment and unique needs. Solar Echo adjusts its petals along with its hue and brightness to guide you through your day.
More on the people
Jake and John founded Solar Echo.
Jake is an industrial designer, inventor and enthusiastic tinkerer. John is a designer and marketer. Together, they drew from their collective experiences and skillset to craft this patented lighting solution. Check out the website or stalk these guys online to learn more.
What We Need & What You Get
Jake and John have spent the last nine months bringing Solar Echo from an idea on paper to a fully functioning prototype that has been installed in Jake's kitchen for the last 2 months.
Here is what we need to get across the finish line:
-Pay for sourcing, tooling and fabrication of our first production run
-Improve our app. Consolidate Solar Echo's 3 functions into one smooth, user friendly control
-Push the product design even further*
*For example if we exceed our goals, we'll be able to move further down our roadmap which includes custom petal materials and design, motion-activated petals, smaller outdoor versions, and more. Your support will ensure that we can deliver the highest quality product at an economical price.
The Impact
This is not a product we need, it's a product we needed to make. Listen guys, we've spent the last nine months behind the scenes, working nights, weekends, mid-day child breaks pouring all of our time into something we love. And we know you'll love it too. Your donation is not going to save the world, but it may save people from a few bad days. Fewer bad days means fewer people running from the office. Fewer people running from the office means more work and less resignations. Less resignations is better for business and better for all. So maybe this does do a little good...
Risks & Challenges
The difficult engineering challenges have been solved. Our main challenge ahead is taking Solar Echo from a prototype to a production ready product.
We are already in contact with suppliers to obtain production level quantities of the materials necessary for our first run. While the fragility of the current supply chain is always a risk, at this point we don't anticipate any significant delays in obtaining our raw materials. John and Jake's experience creatively solving complex problems will lend itself to tackling any potential challenges we face in the future.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute, that's ok. If you believe in our product like we do, please share it to your networks! Anything helps.
