Talk given at the BLN IOT Forum on March 11th 2015.

1. Coming out of the coalmine.
The grown up challenges of the internet of things.
@iotwatch / @GNLamp
designswarm.com / goodnightlamp.com

2. About me
First distributor of the Arduino in the UK in
2007-2010 (Tinker London)
Consultant since 2010 (designswarm)
Founder of the Good Night Lamp, a family of
internet connected lamps for your global family.
Organiser of the London Internet of Things Meetup
(Biggest #iot meetup in the world)
On @iotwatch

3. Some Clients

4. No longer problems
Real problems
Non-problems
This talk is about:

5. WARNING
This talk will not apply to you if you are
B2B
Large corporation

6. No longer problems
I’ve been organising @iotangels and we are now
getting VCs coming when this was targeted at
angel investors.
Industrial design firms are starting to work with
startups to help with better engineered products
for crowd funding campaigns (Hackaball, Evos).
Lots of competitions with cash prizes and
incubators to choose from.
Large corporations understand this isn’t a fad.

7. Interoperability implies that corporations
have a vested interest in working with their
competitors.
Security & Privacy will always be an issue as
long as we ask people to create an account
and a password online or offline.
Non problems

8. Incubators / accelerators are not necessarily
attracting entrepreneurs.
“It was great while I was there but there was
no support after”
Are they replacing an MBA or design
course?
Real problems 1/

9. A 1 month residency with free access to
manufacturing resources, talent, advice and
no money whatsoever.
An entrepreneur will know how to make that
work to their advantage.
Digital Catapult have a part of that model.
More needs to happen.
Idea 1

10. Real problems 2/
A strong market for a consumer product is
built over the course of many years.
This clashes with the startup discourse and
financial success we know from web/app
startups.
We should look to the cottage industries
model instead. (Sugru, Tatty Devine)

11. Real problems 3/
Most consumers have no idea what we’re on
about.
We are terrible at explaining the value of
#iot to consumers & citizens which is why
most smart city programs are not funded
with council tax money.
Decision makers are nervous about how
these applications will be perceived.

12. Idea
The UK government created the Council of
Industrial Designers after the 2nd World War
and started a high street showcase of British
designers work.
Let’s do that again for #iot.
Give consumer and retailers an opportunity
to learn from this and get familiar with new
products.

13. Real problems 4/
It’s a goldrush, so people are selling shovels.
(Software platforms, Hardware tools &
education platforms)
Let’s not stop there.
We need to support consumer applications
that are solving real problems (Kemuri) but
aren’t shiny and entertainment based.

14. Idea
Someone start an #iot investment fund with
a bank please?
Returns within 7 years, not 2.
Seed & Super angels investments (up to
£250K) will go a long way.

15. Homework
Think about what you know you should be
doing with your investment fund or R&D.
Think about how many actual entrepreneurs
you know and how you’re helping them, not
just learning from them.
Think about how many times you say ”too
risky” instead of “why not”.

16. By walking, one makes the road and upon
glancing behind one sees the path that
never will be trod again.
- Antonio Machado.

17. Good luck.
alex@designswarm.com
@iotwatch / @GNLamp
designswarm.com / goodnightlamp.com