Over the course of the past two years, HWTrek hosted 80 hardware creators and accelerators to visit Taiwan, Beijing, and Shenzhen on Asia Innovation Tour 2016 (April), Asia Innovation Tour 2015 (August), and also on the first tour in April 2014. We’re organizing the next tour in November 2016 to Shenzhen, Osaka, and Kyoto. You can register on the HWTrek platform and create a project to apply to join the Asia Innovation Tour Winter 2016 cohort destined to meet manufacturing industry experts, see assembly lines in China and Japan, and gain insights about their consumer markets for smart, connected devices.
We reached out to a participant in our third tour HWTrek Asia Innovation Tour (Spring 2016), Anton Zriaschev (CEO and Founder of Glance Clock) to learn more about his project and his insights.
While on tour in Shenzhen, Anton had this to say: “Pretty excited to be here in China, so thank you HWTrek, to see how we are going to produce our Glance Clock.”
Please introduce yourself and your project?
I’m Anton, founder, and CEO of Glance Clock. Glance Clock is a smart wall clock that is integrated with your favorite Apps and devices and display valuable information at the right moment.
Glance Clock recently launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and reached its goal within two hours. You can support Glance Clock by pre-ordering here.
What’s the inspiration for your project? What problem does it solve or address?
I was inspired by a book called Enchanted Object by David Rose MIT Media lab professor. Rose explained the future of IoT where ordinary things become enchanted by leveraging Cloud connectivity and its power. These all connected devices and Apps generate data. People overwhelmed by notifications and incoming information. The only one way ho to interact with this data is checking your phone.
I’ve realized that I want to simplify the way of how people interact with digital data and get notifications. I did not want to develop a gadget but wanted to bring new value to a familiar object. After several brainstorms, we’ve decided to go with a clock.
What solutions did you use for hardware design?
Altium Designer, if I got you right.
What solutions did you use for prototyping?
3D printing, Laser cut, and manual finishing etc….
What resources have you used for sourcing and supply chain management?
We usually use Digi-Key and local providers.
What were the most difficult things to source for your project and how did you source them?
Sensors. It takes the time to find, test and approve a particular sensor. We usually order many different components and test them all.
Is your team co-located or do you work with remote team members?
We are all working at one laboratory.
What tools, if any, do you use for real-time collaboration on your project (with team members and partners)?
Slack, Skype for voice calls.
What’s the greatest challenge working with a team?
Organizing people and getting things done on time.
What are the takeaways and lessons learned from working on this project that you’d like to share with other hardware startups?
Iterate and make as many prototypes as you can afford.
What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to the beginning of your product development?
Work with professionals from the beginning. Cheap labor cost two times more.
If you are planning a new version of your project or future devices, what will you differently?
Listen to early customers.
We all know the phrase “hardware is hard.” Is there something that was much easier than you had initially thought when you started out on your hardware journey?
For me “Hardware is fun.” I love to develop things and am passionate about good design. I usually over expected the required effort so I have noticed with such situation that you’ve mentioned =)
What trend do you see that is changing your sector/industry or what shift would you like to see happen?
It’s happening right now. Many things around us have become connected and utilize displays. It’s a huge potential for my business.
What’s next for your project?
Launch and Shipping.
You joined the HWTrek Asia Innovation Tour to China this past spring, what did you learn or what are the significant takeaways you have from the experience?
For me, it was really interesting to see how manufacturers work. How thousands of Chinese people carefully assemble product by product.
And now for something completely different, fun questions:
What are your ‘go-to’ sources for tech information and news? (Do you have any recommendations for a must-read/watch/listen to article, book, blog, film, or podcast, etc.?)
I read all tech news such as TechCrunch, Mashable, and The Verge, etc. I love to read biographies of famous entrepreneurs like Elon Mask, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates. Listen to IoT podcasts and watch TED talks.
What’s currently on your playlist, what are you listening to these days?
Armin Van Buren – latest iTunes podcast.
What fuels you (coffee, tea, or….)? When you’re low on creative juice, what is your #1 method to get back on track?
Walk across the city or take a long shower.
What do you recommend (place to go/see, what to eat) for a visitor to Singapore (or anywhere you’ve lived that you’d like to share)?
In Singapore go to Marina Bay Sands Hotel roof during the night and look down at the city. This is awesome view! In every city go to the highest possible viewing point and stay there. It’s the best way to glance behind the horizon.
What gadget would you love to have from your favorite science fiction film or book?
I don’t know… maybe something like flying camera from “Mr. Nobody.”
