Democratizing the Internet of Things — Smart Home Tech accessible for everyone.
They say good things come in small packages. If you’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a three-course meal at a fine dining restaurant you know this saying could not be any closer to the truth. You might have a small plate with delicate decoration and a splash of sauce over it. But when you take your first bite, that small meal with incredible taste is more than enough to satisfy your palate. Only a select few are able to enjoy these amazing three-course meals. This is what one would consider a luxury. But we can no longer see as “luxury” the technology that is being developed in our modern world. With the advancements we have experienced in the tech field, it is hard to think about going back to the days where we had to stand in the kitchen on a landline talking to a friend or having to use 3 different devices to listen to music, take pictures, and find a location using a GPS.
Because we now have better tech that can pack more features and abilities into a smaller form, it’s easier to understand the importance of creating easy-to-adopt smart home technology for your average Joe/Jane. For example, we can easily use an app to see who’s at the front door, activate our security system from our smartphone after leaving the house, or turn on or off our lights with a voice command. We are even able to leave behind our furry loved ones knowing they will be safe and that we can keep an eye on them all from our fingertips. But because of how complicated these technologies can be (not to mention the high cost) many people simply do not have the time nor desire to spend the money to purchase smart home products, let alone learn how to use them.
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid
A paper was published in 2002 by Stuart Hart and Coimbatore Krishnarao Prahalad, commonly known as C.K., named “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” [in the journal “Strategy + Business”]. It talked about how there is a whole underserved market occupying the lowest strata of the economic pyramid (the so-called bottom billion) and that this has become a viable economic market. In this paper, C.K exclaimed that “The Bottom of the Pyramid market potential is huge. 4 to 5 billion underserved people! If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers, a whole new world of opportunity will open up. “
The idea to serve this silent billion market is simple. Take existing goods and services, make them orders of magnitude less expensive, then sell them on a massive scale. But most importantly, make sure they work! When you start a business with this idea in mind, it is easier to offer a product starting at a lower price and improve the quality and integrity of the user base as you develop the product together. Though as the co-author of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”, Hart, stated, “It is very difficult to remove cost from a business model aimed at higher income customers without affecting quality or integrity.”
Mainstream Tech
Despite the fact that there are amazing technologies that exist today that would significantly enhance a person’s way of living and comfort, it can sometimes seem impossible to get your hands on these life changing products. I work at Wyze Labs, a startup that understands this issue and we are gathering the like-minded people to change the status quo. The team we are building is determined to make a difference in the IoT space by creating the next wave of tech: one that everyone will be able to use and enjoy — mainstream tech. We are starting by reducing the price point of these products and making them easy to use. Also, we communicate with our users and gather feedback to create some of the products that are most popularly asked for via our support team, our forums, social media, and other means.
Wyze is a company with a business model aimed to serve everyday people regardless of income or if they are tech-savvy or not. We welcome people from all walks of life to come over and take a look at how we envision and build these amazing products that excite us to come to work every day. Wyze is a company, as our CEO Yun said, “By the people and for the people.” My name is Josias, and I’m a Product Specialist at Wyze, working with the team in charge of answering questions to everyday people and relaying feedback to our development team. Our articles will help shed a light into the people of Wyze, and I’d like you to join us in our journey in Democratizing the Internet of Things, day by day. Are you ready to see what’s in store?
Leave a comment below if you are excited to see what Wyze is brewing! Start or join the conversation. Wyze not? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
