It’s happening !
This project has been in the kitchen for a while now. Some of you guys probably assumed it’s dead. I know I did, a few times.
But guess what! It’s happening !!!
Don’t know about you guys but I am thrilled right now. So let me quickly update you, look back on the hazy past, touch the present reality, and perhaps dream a little about the future.
3 years ago (early 2020) I was working at Jason Bruges Studio in London when I came across these LED matrices. For those who don’t know, they are extensively used in commerical billboards, video walls etc. The issue is that they are very difficult to use - you need to use dedicated controllers which are awkward, the cables are everywhere, and the software makes you want leave the room and get some fresh air.
And there it was, a clear and simple opportunity. Take this amazing piece of hardware, and make it easy to use. Make it accessible to artists and creators. All you need is a well designed controller accompanied with an easy to use app.
First prototype running on a Raspberry Pi.
Fast-forward to May 2013, frustrated with my job at UCL, I got something called the Global Talent Visa. Let’s talk about this for a few seconds. Immigrating is hard. I am not talking about the boats in Mediterranean and Atlantic seas, that is beyond my understanding. I am talking about the easy way. You know English. You get accepted for a uni, or get a job. You pay a lot of money to apply for a visa, with no guarantee that you will get it. You come here, and realise there are no rooms available - so you naturally find a relatively clean staircase (aka box room) and live there. Any money you make, you spend on potatoes and alchohol. All your holidays and savings(not that you had any) get used up in visiting your family. And finally, getting uprooted from your space, your culture, your family, friends, support system is not easy and is a sadness which never leaves you, not really. But the national trains here always have seats available, so not all bad.
To be fair, London is probably the best city to live in. Made lot of friends, learnt a lot, found love, a boat (not the immigration type), so no regrets. Anyway so I got the visa and quit my job. I didn’t need a break, I knew what I want to do. And so I got to work. There were ups and downs, but here we are, launching Livegrid. For real this time.
So where are we? We have a product almost ready to go. We have a pretty good idea of what it does. We also added a bunch some environmental sensors to it. Besides a few hiccups, we are ready with the product. I know some people have questions like - do you have the certification? Patent is essential otherwise Samsung will do it better. You need to think about security? To all those people, I say you are right, but I will never launch like this, so I am going to press the go button anyway.
So we are launching on Friday 4th August. Unfortunately I don’t have enough savings to build a stock - so we have to do the pre-order thing. Taking into account some holidays, shipping delays etc, the shipping will be on 1st November based on the well known ‘underpromise and overdeliver’ philosophy. This will also give me enough time to make some final refinements, get certifications, etc.
Also if you don’t like what you see right now, we are rapidly evolving the designs right now. But hang around, lots of things to come soon.
Lot to talk about, but we will end this post here. But as we go further, expect regular updates. There are a lot of exciting details around every aspect of this project - software, hardware, marketing, design, logistics - all worth talking about. One step at a time. It’s happening !