Where is Sknow Ski in 2021?
The team at Think Outside wants to extend our sincere thanks to all of you for your support and patience although it has been a while since our last update. Operating a startup is not a straightforward process and we were running quite smoothly through 2019 and into the beginning of 2020. We had significant plans for 2020 to be the year that really defined the company. However, we ran into a few bumps at the beginning of the year, not to mention the COVID-19 pandemic that has uprooted all of our lives.
We transitioned the entire team to home offices and began to get accustomed to participating in our two accelerator programs virtually. In addition, financing became an issue. While we had blossoming interest in Sknow Ski as a final and complete product, we had a difficult time finding partners willing to fund the development. Our two accelerators helped us survive 2020 by funding our low burn organization after a dramatic team reduction and a company pivot to additional customer segments.
2020 was a valuable year for the further development of our tech and radar processing. By the end of the year, we saw success in our pivot while, as always, challenges remain. We have postponed the launch of the Sknow Ski device as it was previously scheduled, but the technology we continue to develop is paramount to the success of Sknow Ski. Our work continues with our research partners Sintef and NGI on our research grant to develop the best ski-mounted radar sensor possible.
Additionally, we’re elated to say we’ve secured new investments to support us through 2021 and into the future. Our core competence, thorough analysis of the snow and snowpack, remains our primary focus and we believe in it strongly. The immediate focus of our efforts is on partnership with the European hydropower community and the team is excited that our tech can make such a valuable impact on the world of renewable energy.
Our goal for Sknow Ski remains the same: to provide the ski community with a reliable, portable device that improves every adventurer’s knowledge about the snow beneath them. The path to achieving that goal has been winding. However, we are truly excited to know the value of our tech to both the ski community and the hydropower industry. We will continue working through 2021 with more confidence in our company than ever before.
I know you might have more questions — and I’d like to give you all the answers. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly and I will be happy to have a conversation about our 2021 goals. I want to sincerely thank all of you who have teamed up with us along this journey.
Sincerely,
Monica Vaksdal, CEO
