Brett Skaloud and Jeff Feiereisen are both core members of some of the most innovative technology projects Amazon has ever produced. The purpose of these projects is often to focus on developing the company’s cashierless convenience store chain, Amazon Go.
After leaving Amazon, Brett and Jeff continued to dedicate themselves to technology with their own startup, Boona. And the first product they just launched a few days ago is called Tandem Shower – a double shower for those who don’t like being alone in the shower.
Tandem Shower dual shower product of startup Boona.
The first thing that Brett and Jeff emphasize about their product is: Tandem Shower will not integrate Amazon’s AI technologies, ensuring absolute privacy of users. “We both worked at Amazon, and I kept wondering if we should tell everyone that.”, shared Jeff, “Because there will be people who will be skeptical, like: “Does this shower have a hidden camera or microphone? I don’t want an Alexa shower in my bathroom.” Trust us, we don’t want a product like that either“.
Brett and Jeff got the idea for Tandem Shower from a conversation about bathing habits and personal relationships between two friends. Jeff said he enjoys bathing with his partner, while Brett is not very interested in sharing the shower with his wife, because the range of water flowing from the faucet is quite narrow, making him always cold every time. shared bath. Brett thought of having multiple faucets in the same bathroom, but the idea was complicated and also relatively expensive.
Soon after, the two did some quick research and were surprised to discover a simple, cheap solution that no one had thought of and had not yet mass-produced. They quickly created a prototype for testing, with the results being extremely positive. Compared to the technology projects at Amazon that Brett and Jeff were involved in, Tandem Shower is clearly a lot simpler.
After starting crowdfunding on Kickstarter last week, as of last Friday (May 6), Tandem Shower has received $525,000 (more than 12 billion VND) from 2,400 backers.
Brett Skaloud (left) and Jeff Feiereisen.
The Tandem Shower is just the first in a series of futuristic products designed to help people better connect in the bathroom, and elsewhere. Brett said: “We’re really intrigued by anything that can help people, bring couples together so they can chat, or improve relationships.“.
The product testimonial video on Kickstarter shows that the experience of using the Tandem Shower with a partner offers an extremely cinematic experience, “more like what you see in the movies, rather than the harsh reality that there will be 1 people suffer from the cold because they are pushed out of the water.”
Of course, 1 person can still use Tandem Shower as usual, although it will be quite “painful” because of the water bill. However, for those who like to take a double shower, this product will save much more water than using 2 independent showers.
According to information on Kickstarter, Tandem Shower is sold for 249 USD/set (about 5.7 million VND), including Tandem shower, and 1 additional shower. The product only takes “about 10 minutes to install,” and customers can also choose from three different colors. Deliveries will begin in 2023.
Promotional video of Tandem Shower.
The unexpected success, and still 24 days of crowdfunding, left Brett and Jeff in awe. The duo also admit this makes them feel a bit “overwhelmed and stressed”, as they have to answer thousands of questions from prospective buyers, and also have to think about how to get it. continues to maintain the craze that Tandem Shower has created.
And it’s a very different feeling than when they worked for Amazon or any other tech company before that. Jeff has been with Amazon for 4 years as technical director, responsible for managing hardware development for the Go store chain. Before that, he worked for Microsoft for 3 years. Brett has devoted seven years of his life to Amazon as the Go hardware design engineer and the Scout delivery robot mechanical engineer.
Feiereisen worked at Amazon for four years as a director of engineering who managed hardware development for one aspect of the Go store. He had worked at Microsoft for the previous three years. Skaloud spent seven years at Amazon as a hardware design engineer on the Go and as a mechanical engineer on Scout, the company’s delivery robot.
Tandem Shower will have 3 colors, cost nearly 6 million/set and will start shipping in early 2023 if the crowdfunding project is successful.
Brett said: “Being able to be free to create and invent products is truly a refreshing experience. At Amazon, being “at home with nothing but money” makes things a little easier and has great appeal for studying high-tech concepts. So I find it very exciting as we move from sophisticated, advanced electromechanical devices that require thousands of people and billions of dollars, to this type of product (Tandem shower).“.
Although Tandem Shower is as simple as that, the process to raise capital as well as conduct real production is much more complicated. Brett and Jeff had to learn a lot about marketing, advertising, product design, how to negotiate with customers, or the process of working with directors and actors to make a complete video.
“This project taught us a lot about empathy when starting a business or starting a business”, shared Jeff, “Even if there is no benefit, other than a great experience, and a great deal of sympathy, we will be very satisfied. But with the current situation, Tandem Shower will probably also do this“.
According to GeekWire