Anthony Pigliacampo wrote me last night in response to my Geek Project’s bleg:
So I have to admit, I cheated. My background is in product design, I worked for a few years at IDEO and designed products for everyone from Proctor and Gamble to Nike.
We didn’t mean to exclude people with education or work experience in product design. We just want to see what sort of innovations are possible for individuals or small groups outside of corporate R&D. Anthony’s projects definitely qualify:
I was constantly frustrated by all the cool things we designed never hitting the market or getting raped and pillaged by corporate marketing departments. While on a climbing trip in May, a friend of mine and I decided that we needed a coffee press that fit inside of our Nalgene water bottles.
Some napkin sketches led to some prototypes which led to some more prototypes which led to many sleepless nights and all eventually led to the Press-bot.
Anthony, who Google shows to be quite an athlete (swimming, running, biking, and climbing) looks at his water bottle and thinks – “this could be better.” And so he turns it into a coffee press. Make sure to check out the video at the Press-bot website.
While he was developing the Press-bot, Anthony got the idea for the Gel-bot. Apparently long-distance runners and cyclists benefit from nutrition taken during a race – and a gel is a handy way to get it. Anthony decided that this gel would be even handier if it could be incorporated into his water bottle.
[Then I] had another pet idea that I made real, or at least am in the process of doing so, Gel-bot. Both projects were self-funded by myself and a fellow tinkerer/engineer. We sourced everything ourselves and have done everything from marketing to supply chain management.
I really don’t think it would have been possible to release a product like this on a shoestring budget 5 years ago. We have made use of every possible technology to help our cause, from open-source software to create finance spreadsheets to free VOIP calls with our manufacturers in China. We have exploited everything we could find.
We even hacked a trade show (read “snuck in”) with a big sign and made our own booth in front of an electrical panel. We built our own booth for the next show we attended (which involved drilling about 300 1/8†holes through aluminum strips help together with quick clamps). We actually paid to attend that one.
Overall I am amazed at the progress we made. It all feels like one big hack because everything has moved so fast but the product is awesome, works great and has been getting great reviews.
Cheers!
Anthony
And all it took was a little creativity, a lot of hard work, and I’m guessing he had some fun too. Thanks Anthony. Make sure to check out the Press-bot and Gel-bot websites. Both sites have product demonstration videos.
If you’d like your project to be featured in a future edition of “Geek Projects,” please email me at:
mrstg87
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