Instin co-founder Rodrigo Neri’s DIY project triggers a light bulb to turn on when one of his startup’s apps has a new user or dowload.
Numbers, analytics and reports can statically tick away on an entrepreneur’s computer with the hope that they will provide insight on a startup’s growth and trajectory. But what if the milestones motivating startups were dynamic?
Rodrigo Neri (left), co-founder of Kansas City education app-maker Instin, recounted on his blog Tuesday about his DIY experiment to convert user activity displayed on his computer to a light bulb lighting up.
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About a year ago, he read a tweet from Dwolla CEO Ben Milne about how he once wanted to light a bulb every time there was a new transaction, but now that bulb would be lit all the time because of his payment network’s growth. Neri liked the idea, but lost track of it until Big Kansas City about a month ago, where he had the opportunity to talk about it with Milne.
“The next day I couldn’t stop thinking about it,” Neri said in his blog post. “It would be really cool if every time we had a new myHomework user or a new download a light bulb would light up.”
On his blog, he lists the materials needed, links to instructions for controlling a light bulb with a USB connection and provides advice on possible hiccups. He also created a private API that returns the count of downloads and users to turn the light on automatically with each new mark.
“Sometimes you forget that there are actual people out there trying and using your products,” Neri said. “When you see that light turn on it reminds you that you are actually touching people lives and not just making software.”
Along with his co-founders, Keith Entzeroth and Ryan Niemeyer, Instin has been bootstrapped for about a year. They work from their homes, which means Neri is the only one who sees the light turn on. He looks forward to the day when he can share it with the whole team.
“Having these light bulbs introduced me to a new goal of have that light on at all times,” he said.
Credits: Screenshot and video from Rodrigo Neri’s blog.
