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Are you a big fan of camping, but you can’t convince your family to leave the comfort of your home for a few nights? Your wife finds it difficult to cook on an open fire; Your kids don’t feel comfortable sleeping in a cold tent... In just 10 minutes you can change their minds forever: The Frontier Plus can be easily installed it in your tent, shed, tipi or tiny house. You can use it for cooking or remove its top to have direct heat from the flames. Yes, that is inside the tent, and it’s safe. Join us today, as we talk with Holly Carberry from Anevay about the evolution of the Frontier: from its humanitarian origins to the commercial market success. Find out how they kept their promise of making it better, more sustainable and still helping people. And if you feel like contributing as well, they give you the option to get one for yourself and send one to a family in need. Essential Learning Lesson From These Makers: Part I01:04 – The touching inspiration behind Anevay’s first stov

Have you ever walked to the office and arrived sweaty and feeling your clothes are uncomfortable? Have you ever felt embarrassed that you have to walk around in damp clothes? Sebastien, the founder of Le Lab, realized that people around him were constantly complaining that they felt uncomfortable because their clothes were damp from humidity, or slight activity. He started to pay attention, and wrote down every time he heard someone with a similar story. After just a few weeks, he was shocked to see how many times the issue was coming up. We are still applying 100 year old thinking to how we design clothes. The reality is that many people are active during the day. Our clothing should not be designed to work only in ideal conditions and perfect temperature. We enjoyed talking with Sebastien. He is down to earth, funny, and very helpful. We designed a shirt that looks like a dress shirt, but works the way an active shirt or sports shirt does. @Le Lab Essential Learning Lesson From These Makers: Part I - Behind

Are you a drone fan and want to buy or build your own? Then you probably know already how expensive or complicated that can be. Austin Kelly mixed 3D printing technology with his passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education (STEM) to create SkyBot, a drone that is both affordable and easy to build. His robotics kit has all the parts you need to put together a lightweight yet durable flying bot. Simple instructions and no soldering make this a great tech project for your child. It was time somebody made drones more affordable and easier to build! Thank you, @skybotvegas Essential Learning Lesson From These Makers: 00:47 - Austin’s background story that inspired him to make drones widely available03:23 - Getting acquainted with 3D printing and STL files04:55 - The hardest part of the campaign07:01 - The work before the work: pre-launch preparations09:23 - How did it all start to show in articles about the SkyBot10:10 - The golden number of campaign days11:23 - Why having good content on

BCI - Brain Computer Interface. The need?You probably have seen one of the dozens of sensor products that can measure your heart rate, the number of steps you take each day, and other information about your body in real time.  This movement has a fancy name - “Quantified Self” which basically means measuring things that are happening related to your body and health. People find this kind of tech extremely useful and even motivating. Why? Because when you can quantify your heart rate, the amount of exercise you are doing, or even how much you are sitting down per work session - you can dramatically improve your habits - and know for certain that you are getting there. But what about your brain? Is there a way to know if your mind is restless? In the same way that sensors now measure your heart rate, is there a way to measure how your brain is behaving? That’s the idea behind BCI. It’s going to sound very technical, but really it just stands for Brain to Computer Interface. That&rsq

What will backers and crowdfunders learn from this interview?Click on the audio player above to learn:
 * Why the protein you are currently eating or feeding your children might not be as clean as you think. * How you can save money every week and create a more sustainable ecosystem. * The development process behind this innovative product. * How to communicate, educate, and involve your community in your crowdfunding campaign even before you launch. The need?Something in the back of your mind might remind you that processed foods from the supermarket are full of unknown chemicals, hormones, food coloring.  Every few years, we learn about some break out of disease on the farms where animals are not kept in the right conditions. There has been mad cow disease, bird flu, and probably a lot that we don’t hear about. What if there were a cleaner, more sustainable source of protein? The solution?Katharina Unger was traveling around the world and realized that other societies especially in Asia were able

Background You are not alone if you want to brew beer in your own house. Over 1.2 Million people are doing it already according to [homebrewersassociation.org] http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/membership/homebrewing-stats/ If you are a backer or “someone on the fence” check out the audio to learn:
 * What Bill learned from talking to dozens of home brewers that resulted in the specific design changes he made for Pico. * How you can get your favorite micro-brewery to participate in the Pico program. * Will you able to adjust and tune your beer, exactly the way you want to? * How Pico is developing a community which will make home brewing much more fun for beginners and beer connoisseurs. Lessons for Crowdfunders * How does PicoBrew engage their 2-sided community to make both sides win? * How should you tell the story of your product in a way that people want to be part of it, and want to share it? * How to engage your partners, in this case micro breweries, in a way that helps them build

The need?Most people have had at least one bad experience where a salon has cut more hair than they wanted.  This especially happens when you just want a "trim" and the salon thinks you should be getting more done for your $30 price. The point is, we just want a trim!  On the other hand, paying $30 or more to get your hair trimmed regularly can end up costing you $300+ a year.  If you look at the cost of going to the salon, including the time of traveling there, making your appointment, and waiting for your stylist to be available. It can add up. Many people get their hair cut once a month, and obviously if you have a family that needs regular hair cuts that can be even more expensive. On the other hand we want to look our best. The solution?The Zylist was created by Rachel Croft, who realized that people need to get trims constantly to look great but want to save money and time. Rachel realized that professional stylists use their fingers to pull your hair to an even length, and then cut your

The need?People want to share videos of their snow sporting experience.  But having a camera sticking out of your helmet is not a good idea.  You know at some point you are going to fall, and that equipment is going to break. Beyond getting great video, when we are snowboarding we want an integrated communication system so we can find our friends on the mountain, or even take calls without taking off our gloves! The unique solution?Imagine that a group of extremely smart engineers, who know how to build strong safe helmets, and with design backgrounds sat down together to make the best helmet possible for snowboarding and ski enthusiasts. The Forcite Helmet is strong, beautifully designed, but most importantly it allows you to get incredible video footage, share it easily, and in addition to all of that it helps you to stay in touch with your friends on the mountain. Ok. I feel I need to take a breath now. Who are the makers?I spoke with Julian.  It's a great interview, in which he shares a beh

Note: This campaign was acquired by another company. That's great news, and we think you'll still love hearing the story. Who are the Makers? Chris Kesler is a passionate creative film maker who likes to create immersive experiences for audience. He dedicated himself working on Allison Road in order to make Allison Road the best horror experience for users. Essential Learning Lesson From These Makers:How much time and effort to create a sample content and the video for the Allison Road game. The process of setting up the game engine, watching the tutorials, and developing the game Chris was so generous sharing his journey of learning how to use Unreal Engine UE4 to design, and build up the Allison Road. He shared a very specific steps and guideline of how to set up the game engine, watch the tutorial, and create the real game. and inspiration. How to develop narrative story create a memorable and shocking experience for users. Talking to Chris, we learn a lot about character development process, game dynamic,

Essential Learning Lesson From These Makers:Are you a Pathfinder player? Or a dice fan? Or a fan of shiny things in general? Then this product is for you. Agnieszka shares some great tips on how to how to price your product. How partnerships helped Q-workshop reach almost $300K. Kickstarter campaign promotion strategies no one is doing that actually work. Essential traffic tips to kick start your crowdfunding campaign. How to promote your Kickstarter Campaign successfully on Social Media KEY STATISTICS Backers: 2,387Pledged: $299,483Successful ?  yes!   LINKS       Crowdfunding campaign: Metal RPG Dice Set on KickstarterCompany website: q-workshop.com

The need?Most parents want their children to have a strong beginning. Parents read books, watch videos, and talk to other parents just so they can do the best for their children. Until recently, we might have known that language acquisition is important, but how can you know if your child is actually hearing enough words? Researchers found out that the critical period for language acquisition is before kindergarten. The unique solution?One of the secrets to doing anything well, is to track your effort over time.  Starling is a small, cute looking unit, that you can put next to your child's cradle or attach to their stroller - and it will measure the number of words your child hears each day. Starling helps parents know that their child is being exposed to the right number of words. The important thing is that most children do not spend the whole day with their parents. They are sometimes with the grandparents, elder siblings, or other caregivers. Starling let's you know that during these times your child

The need?If you drive a premium car, and want to get the most enjoyment out of it, if you are someone who loves to take road trips, or someone who does sports driving, you have probably wanted to capture your journeys. Capturing high quality video from cars is a special challenge because we need data about what the vehicle is doing as signals that something interesting is happening. Normally we drive for 30 minutes to several hours at a time. Sorting and sifting through all that video footage becomes a huge chore. What if the video camera was smarter, and could determine the most interesting video segments for us? Standard sports cameras are not designed to handle the night time driving conditions. A lot of driving happens under less than ideal lighting conditions. Shouldn't the video camera be able to handle that? The unique solution?Meet WAYLENS.  Within 5 minutes you can connect it to your car's onboard system. That means, WAYLENS is a camera which knows your speed, RPMs, and other critical data direc

The need?People want light computers. We pay thousands of dollars to get a slimmer laptop. Why?  Because freedom to travel and take our computing system with us has become a way of life. But really the ultimate would just be to put the computer in your pocket, and have it work when you plug into the monitor.  You might have thought that was decades away... Wrong. It's here now. It's called MagicStick. It will blow your mind. More importantly, it will get the job done, and the kicker... it will pay for itself in a few months. Read on to find out how. The unique solution?I'm going to tell you two critical things you need to know about the MagicStick. It will pay for itself within a few months. It's a real computer with fast memory, a strong processor, and the ability to play games and do real office work. At this point, I encourage you to check out the links below, and back this project. (The MagicStick ships anywhere in the world.) Who are the makers?Before I spoke with Niraj Kumar, I didn't really

The inspiration?Do you ever wish you could stop sitting in traffic jams, breeze along the bike lane, cruise up hills without breaking a sweat and fold your bike in seconds to bring it into the subway, bus, or the elevator to your  office? The problem is that most bikes are not designed to fit into small spaces, and that prevents a lot of people from being able to complete their commute to work. The unique solution?The Gi FlyBike is an electric bike with the unique feature that it can be folded in 1-second. When it is folded, it will automatically lock after a few seconds. The folding position adds extra security to the lock. Another unique feature is the ability to share the bike with your friends by unlocking it remotely from the app. This is especially nice if you live in a house with several roommates. Who are the makers behind Gi FlyBike?Lucas Toledo and the team behind FlyBike are people who wanted to create a bike that would be the perfect way to commute to work. The electric bike is an awesome cho

The need?We love our tablets, but having our fingers get in the way of the display means that we can’t fully enjoy playing games, watching movies, or even editing text - because we are watching everything with our fingers on top of the display.   For many people, using only your thumbs (in front) of the tablet also means your hands will get tired quickly. For children, their hands are just not big enough to reach over the entire screen. Having your thumbs or hands in front of the display also makes it much harder to show the display of your tablet to your friends. Again your fingers, hands, or thumbs they are in the way of the display. Why shouldn’t there be a more innovative and new way to interact with your iPad or iPhone? The unique solution.Imagine if you could move your hands behind your iPad and it would work just as if you were touching the screen! That means you can type from behind, you can move the mouse, you can move virtual controllers to play games, and so much more. That’s

The need?   Hot Plates are an essential appliance for any kitchen. We use them for family gatherings on holidays and to keep Dad’s dinner plate warm. Unfortunately most hot plates on the market are direct current, poorly insulated and cheaply made with ceramic parts that break easily. For those reasons, hot plates are high risk for electrical shorts and fire. The unique solution? Now we have an opportunity to own a safe hot plate. The Shabbos Safe Hotplate is made from stainless steel and uses oven-type coils to conduct the heat instead of  live wires. The electric cord is utility grade with a polarized ground plug and ground fault interrupter (GFI). The unit is raised so heat from the appliance does not touch the counter top. Who can benefit from this product?All of us who depend on the help of a hot plate can benefit from a safer more durable appliance. The Jewish community in particular needs a safe long lasting hotplate . The hotplate  is essential  to keep prepared food at

The need?People sit for hours each day, and know their back is taking damage, but they aren't sure what to do about it.   In addition to knowing our own backs are tacking damage from sitting for long periods of time in the wrong position, we also constantly see those we care about doing the same thing - sitting in the wrong position. There are two common positions that our backs go into when we are sitting.  Unfortunately, the most common one is called the "C-Position". The C-Position is where our body's make a "C" shape, and that means we are hunged over. This is not good for our health and particularly our backs. A much healthier position is called the "S-Position."  As you might guess, the "S-Position" means that you are sitting with a bit of curve in your back, such that your body makes a bit of an "S-shape" (although it should not be an exaggerated "S"). Knowing all this might be helpful, but really we need a way to automatically remember how to sit properly. As you read these no

The need?Most people want to save power for two important reasons. We know electricity is expensive. In some cities, our electric bill can add up to $100 per month - which means over $1,000 per year. Even if your electric bill is half that amount, we are still talking about $500 or more per year. Take that over a 3-5 year period and we are talking about a few thousand dollars in electricity. That's already enough of an inspiration to create a solution, but the other side is that every watt of power that we save is less stress on the environment.  Putting in place simple systems that work with our existing electronics is much easier than buying whole new appliances. Finally, there is something magical about having your coffee maker turn on automatically, or lights turn on when you enter a room and turn off when you exit without you having to do anything. Each step of the way, you know you are saving money and putting less stress on the environment. The unique solution?Crownstone connects to any elect

What's unique?Casual meets rogue-like game, with procedural generated game campaigns for re-play-ability with the option to play solo, or to team up with your friends online. Unique unlock-able lore that persists and builds over play sessions, so that the play experience For The King evolves from session to session and gives you a rewarding sense of progress. Lore is connected to the land you discover.  You gather lore as quest rewards or loot drops, then choose where to invest it. Those game tiles provide you with more options the next time you play. For example, if you invest lore into game tile that has an "alluring pool" you can upgrade that game tile to act as a fast transport to other parts of the world. This ability to keep upgrading the world, provides a sense of continuation over play sessions, while still challenging you to handle the outcome of each session - which includes the real chance of meeting death! The definition of rogue-like games is that you know you can die. It's what makes it cha

The need?Ever been in the middle of a critical phone call and wished you had just a bit more power?  Imagine that you are  driving down a snowy highway, you will reach your home in about 10 miles but the visibility is getting worse.  Something happens and the car stalls. You manage to pull over to the side, but the car is dead. What's worse is the electric system is not working. You pull out your phone and you realize it is almost out of power. What can you do in this kind of circumstance? But actually we don't have to imagine something so dire to understand the need for this product. Many of us use our phones extensively during the day, and we can't always be sure exactly how much charge we will need. That's fine on normal days, but on those occasions where you have an important call to finish or you are late to meet someone and your phone is near the end of it's battery or it is completely out of juice... it's really frustrating. The unique solution?GOkey is a very small beautifully designed