The Bootstrapper’s Manifesto

I am a bootstrapper. I have initiative and insight and guts, but not much money. 
I will succeed because my efforts and my focus will defeat bigger and better-funded competitors.
I am fearless. 
I keep my focus on growing the business—not on politics, career advancement, or other wasteful distractions.
I will leverage my skills to become the key to every department of my company, yet realize that hiring experts can be the secret to my success. 

Solar Fiber

 

Aniela Hoitink and Meg Grant gave an artist/expert talk about Solar Fiber at the Gogbot Festival on 7 September 2012. They were there to explain the concept with proof-of-concept prototypes.

Meg and Aniela presenting the Solar Fiber concept.

Explaining our proof-of-concept.
We integrated fiber optic threads into fabrics and presented them as examples of how a 0.5 mm solar fiber could be used in everyday textile applications. Light travels from the surface of the fiber optic threads to the ends where we placed photodiodes.

Demonstrating our proof-of-concept by connecting a multimeter to the photodiodes and shining a bright light on the embedded optic fibers. The photodiodes generate about 0.5V.

After the presentation there was time for questions and discussion.

The month of september will be a busy month for the team behind Solar Fiber.
At these festivals we plan to present our first working prototypes of a Solar Fiber textile. The second step in the quest to make every sunlit surface on earth energy harvesting!
The agenda:
GOGBOT, Enschede, 6-9 september 2012
An art, music and technology festival.

PICNIC, Amsterdam, 17-18 september 2012
“Come explore how through the power of (connected) technology, consumers and citizens are (re)discovering the ability to take greater control over their lives, causing huge power shifts. The Occupy Movement, Arab Spring, the emergence of local barter economies, microfinance and crowdfunding, democracy 3.0, open design, quantified self, and the explosion of amateur content creation and distribution platforms are examples of the disruption of traditional organizing systems and business models.”

Discovery Festival, Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Eindhoven, 28 september 2012
Discovery Festival is a new innovating nighttime festival that is all about the kick of inventing new things! New science, new art, new music; Discovery festival leads you to exciting roads and forges unique connections.

 

The Solar Fiber project was conceived in May 2012 during Ideas Waiting to Happen, an initiative by Creative Cities Amsterdam Area (website in Dutch), Digiluce and Doe Het Niet Zelf (website in Dutch).

Ideas Waiting to Happen brings together scientists, designers, artists, technologists and makers with the goal of fostering innovation.  The four day event was sponsored by L&P Group and Philips, who provided prizes as extra motivation to the innovators.  Solar Fiber won the first prize of development money and support from L&P Group.  There were a lot of great ideas resulting from this initiative, so we feel very lucky to have won.  Aniela has a more detailed write-up on her site that’s worth checking out.

Our idea

The idea behind Solar Fiber is a flexible photovoltaic fiber that converts sunlight energy into electrical energy.  We aim to develop this as a yarn that can be worked into all sorts of fabrics.  This “smart material” will be able to be used in all sorts of applications where textiles are currently used, but with the added advantage of being able to produce an electrical current.

Development

Developing a photovoltaic fiber is not a completely new idea, nor is it a simple task.  We don’t want to wait for years to get people excited about this innovation, that’s why our development approach is two-fold:

1. First and foremost, we are working on a a photovoltaic fiber with a protective coating that will likely start its life as a 5mm fiber and eventually be extruded to 100µm.
2. Before we get there, we are working on proof of concept prototypes that will help to communicate our idea and show real life applications for the technology.

Keep up with our project

We’ll be posting regular updates in the Latest news section of this site.  If you want to ask us a question, feel free to contact us.

Projects

"Paparazzi lover" helps the wearer to remind photographers who the real star is. In a sea of flash lights, the interactive technology in the dress senses when the crowd needs a gentle nudge to properly direct their attention. In response to the photography, the 62 embedded led lights turn on to catch the eyes of everyone.
Ricardo O'Nascimento & Anbasja Blanken

Stolen Thoughts

These are excerpts from things I read, on the web or in books. They are a base for my thoughts, I tailor them to make them mine.

9 Beliefs

1. Time doesn't fill me. I fill time.

Deadlines and time frames establish parameters, but typically not in a good way. The average person who is given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust his effort so it actually takes two weeks.

Forget deadlines, at least as a way to manage your activity. Tasks should only take as long as they need to take. Do everything as quickly and effectively as you can. Then use your "free" time to get other things done just as quickly and effectively.

Average people allow time to impose its will on them; remarkable people impose their will on their time.

2. The people around me are the people I chose.

Some of your employees drive you nuts. Some of your customers are obnoxious. Some of your friends are selfish, all-about-me jerks.

You chose them. If the people around you make you unhappy it's not their fault. It's your fault. They're in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you--and you let them remain.

Think about the type of people you want to work with. Think about the types of customers you would enjoy serving. Think about the friends you want to have.

Then change what you do so you can start attracting those people. Hardworking people want to work with hardworking people. Kind people like to associate with kind people. Remarkable employees want to work for remarkable bosses.

Successful people are naturally drawn to successful people.

8 Things employees need most

When someone - like my coach or mentor - asks me how I like my current job, I grade this list.

1. Freedom. Best practices can create excellence, but every task doesn't deserve a best practice or a micro-managed approach. (Yes, even you, fast food industry.)

Autonomy and latitude breed engagement and satisfaction. Latitude also breeds innovation. Even manufacturing and heavily process-oriented positions have room for different approaches.

Whenever possible, give your employees the freedom to work they way they work best.

2. Targets. Goals are fun. Everyone—yes, even you—is at least a little competitive, if only with themselves. Targets create a sense of purpose and add a little meaning to even the most repetitive tasks.

Without a goal to shoot for, work is just work. And work sucks.

3. Mission. We all like to feel a part of something bigger. Striving to be worthy of words like "best" or "largest" or "fastest" or "highest quality" provides a sense of purpose.

Let employees know what you want to achieve, for your business, for customers, and even your community. And if you can, let them create a few missions of their own.

Caring starts with knowing what to care about—and why.