Winter 2024: Soft Opening & What's Next!
The last six months have gone by in a blur. We secured a permit to open a recycling center. (Catch me in the Effingham Daily news here) We finalized version 0.1 of our automated recycling line. We built that line (x2!) and installed it. We had actual fire and building officials sign off that our site was safe to operate. This month, we officially opened our doors to a select group of customers. 🎉 We are so excited to get our product in front of customers and start building the crucial feedback loop we’ll need to build something truly great.
🚀 Early Success and Setbacks
Here I am with about 150lbs of cans. Since launching, we've helped divert hundreds of pounds of cans and bottles from landfill, a testament to the impact our platform can have. We’re seeing repeat customers (a milestone we hit 4 weeks earlier than our goal!) and positive word of mouth leading to organic growth. (shoutout Snapchat)
Our current capacity limits our ability to handle the growing influx of customers. While our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) proved invaluable in validating core user experiences, it's time to upgrade from skateboard to kick scooter .
🌟 Customer Spotlight: Laura Ann Tays
Meet our very first customer, Laura Ann Tays. Laura Ann works part-time at her children's school, and was disheartened by the lack of recycling options there. She's excited to treat her book club to snacks and drinks funded by her recycling rewards! Laura Ann's story reflects how we can empower folks to build toward their own goals while contributing to a more sustainable future.
🛰️ Technical Spotlight: Remote Reliability
To ensure low maintenance and minimal overhead at our physical stations, we prioritize reliability and remote operability. This involves building in physical redundancies like self-resetting circuit breakers and designing software for remote configurability. We are using a light weight post-mortem process to learn from issues and improve reliability over time. These measures help our stations operate efficiently with minimal physical intervention, ensuring scalability.
🛠️ Team Spotlight: Meet Our Mechanical Engineer
Jake Doedtman, our talented mechanical engineer, started his career building skyscrapers in Chicago. He moved to rural Illinois 20 years ago to raise his family. He now runs his own design, prototyping & fabrication shop, Prairie Land Design Solutions. Jake's expertise has been instrumental in designing, iterating, and bringing to life our automated recycling line. Jake understands early stage development and ensures there is adjustability in all our equipment so we can keep iterating as we learn. He has designed everything from pallet-building robots to precision screw fabricators, expertise we’ve been able to mine for the variety of tasks our line must accomplish.
🔮 Looking Ahead: Our Next Milestone
We're gearing up for our grand opening (GA) celebration on Earth Day. We're incredibly grateful for the support of the local Chamber of Commerce, who have played a key role in helping us identify the most effective marketing channels to reach customers in our community.
🔉 How you can help
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