ENTREPRENEUR - SOCIAL ENGINEER - COMMUNITY ARCHITECT
ENTREPRENEUR SOCIAL ENGINEER COMMUNITY ARCHITECT
British-born entrepreneur & social engineer with a passion for building products that make it easier for people to connect in a more meaningful & useful way.
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I expanded my work around engineering serendipity to create more connections by researching and developing an analytical approach to quantifying the social characteristics of physical environments. This included visiting and capturing data from 120+ coworking spaces and writing about my insights in easy to understand posts on SocialWorkplaceDesign.com.
Thomas Bekkers
WeWork
As part of my work on quantifying human connection, I completed a Social Environment Analysis project focused on measuring and increasing the strength of shared office communities. This included designing an algorithm that reallocated seating based on matching behavior patterns in order to increase the probability of relationships forming.
Sarah Smith
Maslow
In my late 20s, I founded Maslow, a social conversations App designed to get people talking. It used personalized question feeds to encourage friends to discover new information about each other, triggering new and more meaningful conversations.
Clair Edwards
Dating Devs
Dating Devs was dating coaching which initially focused on helping programmers navigate the New York dating scene. Instead of basing it on my experiences, I interviewed over 400 men and women in NY about their dating experiences to better understand the key problems people were encountering.
Thomas Bekkers
Eshac
At 25, I moved to New York and founded Eshac, a social network for unsigned musicians that captured music fan's behavior on the site to predict which artists or bands could be commercially viable.
Sarah Smith
Promethean
After university, I joined Promethean (an international EdTech company), where I developed a pressure pen for their interactive whiteboards, before moving on to work on the ActivTable, an interactive table that allowed up to 6 children to collaborate with each other.
Clair Edwards
Created For Fun
Smart Umbrella Stand
I designed and built an umbrella stand which automatically lights up when it's going to rain, so I know when to grab it when I'm running out.
Thomas Bekkers
Empire State Building
I recently converted a LEGO Empire State Building into one that automatically lights up to mirror that day's colour(s) of the actual Empire Sate Building.
Sarah Smith
Stone Sculpture
To try something a little different, I took up stone carving. With just a few thousand blows of a hammer, I turned a chunk of stone into an abstract bowl.
Clair Edwards
Made When I Was Younger
Swarm Robots
For my final project in my Masters in Mechatronics and Robotic Engineering, I built a group of robots which communicated and collaborated with one another.
Thomas Bekkers
Beach Buggy
At 17, I converted a 1978 VW Beetle into a beach buggy, just as my father had done when he was younger. When it was finished, I drove my uncle to his wedding in it.
Sarah Smith
Model Traction Engine
At 16 as part of my DT class, I built a model traction engine (like the one above) from scratch, including casting the wheels, machining the piston and welding the boiler.
Clair Edwards
A Few of my Firsts
First Time Coding
When I was 13, I went to computer summer camp where we learnt the basics of coding and built my first game. I was hooked and went back the following year.
Thomas Bekkers
First Company & "Exit"
When I was 12, I bought some DJ equipment, started "Party-On", and spent my weekends being hired for entertainment at people's parties. After running it for a few years, my friend bought the equipment and took over.
Sarah Smith
First "Invention"
When I was 10, I sent an early "invention" (idea) to the BBC. It was a robotic (spelt "robotik") replacement heart to help people live longer. And of course most importantly, "If shot in the heart it will not harm you".