Taking A Completely different Tack – TL Tech Remodeling Lives with Sensible Dwelling Applied sciences

Estimated studying time: 9 minutes

2020 was a yr of many modifications and a yr which has ceaselessly modified our enterprise.  Once we initially began our enterprise, the imaginative and prescient was to be just like the plumbers of the sensible residence world.  A service very like every other residence commerce to assist individuals who possibly lack the know-how, instruments or time to do it for themselves.  Serving to individuals to get the most effective out of their residence environments and empowering individuals to be unbiased via expertise.  A wonderfully legitimate enterprise mannequin, till you consider a extremely contagious virus and the truth that our predominant buyer base are weak adults.

I wish to replicate on issues which have occurred.  It’s necessary for me to do that to then navigate the way in which ahead.  As Steven Covey says “stay your life by a compass, not a clock”.  Taking time to be sure to are on the appropriate path of journey is essential, regardless of how pressed for time you suppose you’re.

I don’t dissect each element, however as an alternative attempt to put issues into context. This enables me to maneuver on.  Throughout this reflective train I additionally really feel it’s important to seek out the nice, admire how far we’ve come and all of the issues now we have to be pleased about.  In doing so I’ve realised how pivotal the those that now we have met on our journey have been and the way wonderful our help community is.

We stay in an ageing society. However what does that actually imply?

Within the subsequent 20 years the stability of younger and outdated will shift to the purpose the place there will probably be one aged particular person for each two individuals of working age.  The problem this presents is two-fold, a discount in relations in a position to present help and a smaller pool {of professional} carers.

TL Tech is a Sensible Houses Options supplier with a distinction.  We assist individuals get the most effective out of sensible residence applied sciences and create distinctive residence environments to satisfy their wants and price range.  Our imaginative and prescient is to “create a house that cares for you as you age”.

Sensible residence applied sciences have the ability to remodel lives, particularly for the weak in our society.  This weblog collection will probably be seeking to showcase the alternatives, discover out extra concerning the individuals working on this discipline and the way we will create a world the place “sensible meets type” ®.

I’ve titled this weblog piece, “taking a distinct tack”, as Thomas is crusing fan, and I believe that it’s a very nice analogy for the way 2020 went for us.  As Franklin D. Roosevelt stated “a clean sea by no means made a talented sailor”.

In March 2020 the world modified, and we recognised that this transformation meant that how we ship our enterprise would want to vary, and that now greater than ever individuals wanted our help to get via these tough occasions.

So, what did we do?  We moved our service on-line.  We now supply on-line appointment reserving, a free information base, stay chat service, Fb help group with stay tutorials and YouTube channel with useful ideas movies.  We created our new Sensible Meets Variety model, together with efficiently getting this wording trademarked.  We began a daily publication.  We elevated our social media presence, curating, creating and sharing helpful content material. 

We took on our first employees member, Ecaterina Vidrascu.  Thomas was a finalist within the Abilitynet Tech4Good Awards.  We ran a very profitable small crowdfunding marketing campaign.  We took on a part-time Media and Communications intern, Victoria Nechifor, to assist with our movies and social media.  And this all culminated within the creation of our personal voice software known as Kindspace for Alexa to help individuals to handle their self-care and know when to succeed in out for assist.  You will discover out extra concerning the story of Kindspace right here.

Now this all feels like a massively optimistic set of achievements, but it surely’s just one aspect of the story.  We additionally have been thrown into residence education our 11 and seven yr outdated.  I nonetheless work half time within the oil business and there was a whole lot of uncertainty concerning the work I used to be supporting offshore having the ability to progress.  Thomas was placed on furlough from the work he does with Albyn Housing.  We utilized for lots of various funds to get our on-line help service launched and to construct the voice software, however didn’t get any of them, it has been a horrible expertise coping with a lot rejection.  We acquired quotes for help to create the tutorial movies and promotional content material, however these have been all too costly.

Reasonably than let these items act as boundaries, we simply needed to get resourceful, do issues ourselves and be taught alongside the way in which.  As Karen Salmansohn says “essentially the most difficult occasions convey us essentially the most empowering classes”.

For those who have a look at our first movies you will notice how unhealthy they have been, as we struggled with sluggish web, a sluggish pc, poor microphone and unhealthy lighting, however we felt it was higher to begin after which hopefully be taught and enhance than attempt to polish and excellent.  What mattered to us most was serving to individuals and displaying them how voice assistant expertise may help them whereas isolating and shielding.  I wish to focus this overview on the individuals who’ve helped us, fairly than fill this publish with all of the issues that now we have discovered (very often the exhausting manner), I’m planning on doing a separate publish on instruments for bootstrapping.  Once we discuss tech it’s by no means concerning the tech, it’s at all times concerning the individuals.

So, who has actually helped in 2020? Too many to say everybody individually, however I’d say that there have been a couple of which have (maybe unknowingly) strongly influenced our skill to climate the storm.   Right here’s a couple of examples of the ability of connection and serendipity:

• My brother Ian was placed on furlough and got here to stick with us to assist take care of the children till his work have been in a position to make changes and reopen on the finish of the primary lockdown.
• Elevator and the Enterprise Gateway service launched us to Roddy McLean (Feral), Bob Light (Amplify) and Lara Moloney.  Roddy helped with 1-2-1 help to show me about digital content material advertising and the way to suppose like a media firm, plenty of his ideas have been put into motion.  We’ve loved listening to Bob’s common podcasts and “assembly” his wonderful friends, to listen to their journeys and ideas.  Some favourites have been Ash Boreland a private branding professional and Col Grey from Pixels Inc who specialises in brand and model design.  Extra just lately Lara has shared all her B2B gross sales knowledge which has actually helped with the launch of Kindspace.
• We’ve an incredible community of mates via ONECodebase, together with Barclays Eagle Labs, Kate McKay (Design Dash Academy) and The Datalab.

2020 was a relentless yr, all of us dug deep into our reserves of hope and pulled collectively to get via.  Our attitudes to wellbeing, loneliness and psychological well being are ceaselessly modified.  These emotions are very actual and all of us now have a greater appreciation for the way it impacts our skill to perform.  Once we determined to construct Kindspace, I don’t suppose we solely knew what we have been getting ourselves into and to be sincere I nonetheless don’t, however the expertise has been fairly magical and nearly serendipitous in locations, so I’m simply going to carry onto that magic, and possibly on our subsequent crusing journey we’ll meet a mermaid (did I inform you that my favorite Disney Princess is Ariel from the Little Mermaid).

Earlier than I am going, I believed it is perhaps good to present you an perception into what now we have deliberate for 2021.  Whereas I say that is the plan, it’s a very unfastened plan and if final yr taught us something is that you must embrace change, search for the optimistic and preserve going, following the path of the compass.

In lots of respects, the exhausting work is barely simply beginning with Kindspace.  We’ve an ocean to cross (possibly fairly actually) to lift consciousness about Kindspace and acquire extra suggestions.  We began our journey with the query “can a dialog with a voice assistant present an perception into wellbeing, such that the person can then motion enhancements?”  Sustaining wellbeing requires well-timed nudges and continued motivational help.  To personalise content material, this wants knowledge and opens moral dilemmas about how the information is used.  Taking the time to map out the information technique is subsequently actually necessary in order that we will honour individuals’s knowledge and use it to meaningfully enhance their lives.

My final reward to you is somewhat video I created with some additional motivational sea themed quotes:

“Twenty years from now you’ll be extra disillusioned by the issues that you simply didn’t do than by those you probably did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the secure harbor. Catch the commerce winds in your sails. Discover. Dream. Uncover.”

Mark Twain

“The pessimist complains concerning the wind; the optimist expects it to vary; the realist adjusts the sails.”

William A. Ward

“We are able to battle the ocean, or we will embrace it. Generally she will probably be candy and typically imply as a snake. We should embrace the expertise and belief we’ll get via it.”

Michelle Segrest

“No pessimist ever found the key of the celebrities or sailed to an uncharted land or opened a brand new heaven to the human spirit.”

Helen Keller

For those who appreciated this publish, take a look at our different articles, now we have some very thrilling plans for 2021 with visitor interviews, which I believe you’re going to love.  You may as well subscribe to our mailing checklist to be notified when now we have new posts and help materials obtainable.

We love to listen to your tales of how you may have been utilizing sensible residence applied sciences and voice assistants and what ideas that you simply might need found to share with others, so please do get in contact additionally on our social media channels.  We’ve a devoted Fb Group neighborhood that you’re greater than welcome to hitch, simply click on right here.