Why does technology have to be so complicated? How do I get my ______ to work? (put any device’s name where the blanks are) Who can I call to get this working? I hear that a lot from family and friends who don’t have the patience, persistence or experience to work out the kinks with their tech devices. Remember that big, red Easy button that used to be advertised on TV for a major office chain? That’s what I wish existed for these people. Sometimes I have a pretty good idea what they need to do because I’ve experienced it already or I know somebody else has and they just have to Google their problem to get someone else’s fix…people are great about contributing their solutions online to help others…and where would we be without YouTube?
Now don’t get me wrong, tech has come a lonnnnggg way to being simple for anyone to setup compared to the days before their were connected mobile devices with touchscreens which could walk you through the setup process for anything or provide live chat lines to tech support. I’ve also experienced some great new tech products which I love, like my Nest doorbell camera or my Canary home camera system, which were dirt simple to setup (at least I thought so). Still, difficult setup processes and software setup issues remain which plague customers and provide lots of income for trained installers and support professionals.
The fact is…we love technology and how it has made our lives so much easier by giving us the freedom to work, play, socialize and shop just about anywhere with our mobile devices and also stay connected to our homes, offices and friends and family.
This is my first blog and I thought this would be an appropriate topic since I’m in the process of launching my own products into this connected world…often referred to as the “Internet of Things”. I want to tap my years of experience and create something which will truly help as many people as possible to get the most enjoyment and benefit from their cars and homes. I want to make it as easy as possible for them and do it in a way that truly provides value…defined as a fair return for what is exchanged. Nobody wants “buyer’s remorse” shortly after they paid good money for something only to find out that what they paid for wasn’t a good value.
This might be a good time to talk a little about why my ideas for products are any better than other ones already out there. Someone once said “it’s not my first rodeo” and I can truly say that about what I’ve started with my company, Blue Eclipse. From the time I bought my first vehicle, a 7-year old Chevy van, when I was sixteen using earnings from my part time job and had to immediately teach myself how to keep it running, I had started my education in vehicle technology. Not content with driving it as is or “stock”, I soon had a vision for what that vehicle could become and started working on improvements. By the time I was finished, I had upgraded it with a Corvette V8 engine, modified transmission, custom interior and paint job with cool wheels and tires. I then moved on to what still remains my favorite car, a 1970 Olds 442 with a 455 V8 and four-speed tranny, which underwent a complete rebuild and repaint before I sold it. There are lots of other car stories in there which culminated with joining the General Motors aerospace division right out of engineering school and working in avionics (i.e. aviation electronics) as an expatriate in Southeast Asia before eventually moving into their automotive electronics division, Delco Electronics.
Delco later spun out of GM into Delphi Automotive and that’s where I learned everything I know about designing and manufacturing OEM-grade products for global automakers. I worked in lots of roles, including engineering, program management, marketing, product planning and, ultimately, research & development. R&D was where I really learned that I enjoyed developing new and innovative products, like the Delphi Connect aftermarket connected car system which I conceived in 2011 and which a great Delphi team I guided brought to market as a Verizon Wireless and Delphi-branded product in their stores in 2013. This product and service went on to win six different best products awards. Before leaving Delphi (now Aptiv) in 2013, I was honored to be admitted into Delphi’s Innovation Hall of Fame for intellectual property contributions.
On the home technology front, in parallel with my aerospace and automotive work, I was heavily involved in home building…first with helping a friend build and wire his new home but then with my own two home builds and other homes which I’ve owned and improved upon. In every case, I was putting improved home technology into my homes long before smart home was a buzzword. I can remember going into my homes during the construction phase and running structural wiring for internet, TV and whole-home audio since I didn’t want to add the significant cost of paying the builder to have it done when I knew how cheap it would be for the materials and my time. In every case, it began with a vision for what I wanted to have in place when it was all completed to make our lives easier and more enjoyable.
What these life experiences have done is to give me a consistent approach to solving problems through effective use of technology combined with an informed understanding of customer wants and needs as well as the practical application of that technology into the user’s environment. In the case of Blue Eclipse and its products, that translates to my vision for key criteria of all products:
- Simple, easy-to-install do-it-yourself (DIY) products…and no professional installers needed
- Universal designs which work for all cars and homes…both new and existing
- Provide compelling and useful features which meet or exceed those available from new cars and homes at a very attractive price…in other words provide value
I hope that at least some of what I’ve written here will resonate with you and you will be encouraged to follow Blue Eclipse on our journey to product launch. We’re preparing for a crowdfunding launch and to build a group of followers who also want to help beta test our products. I’ll be writing more blogs going into various areas regarding our product vision and which explain my thought processes involving them. I also encourage you to follow me on one or more of the following platforms and also to engage in dialogue with me.
All the Best!
Craig