(PRWEB) April 09, 2014 -- Teleconferences are a constant factor in modern life. Technology makes it possible for people around the world to meet and discuss without anyone having to leave their location. But for many in those situations, it can be difficult to give their full attention 100% of the time especially when the agenda wanders off-track. Two expats living in Brazil faced this situation on a daily basis and decided to so something about it.
“Living in Brazil, but working with the US and Europe, I spend most of my business day in teleconferences. It can be hard to remain focused on every call,” says Michael Ford. He and fellow expat, Soren Jensen, spent some time looking for a solution and came up with the Totem Pen series – a combination of a spinning top with a high quality pen to take notes with.
“The Pen allows you to take notes (or doodle), the top allows you to keep your hands busy without completely distracting you” explains Ford. Once they had the basic idea, they looked for ways to appeal to a wider audience. They eventually settled on 3 versions of the tops.
The Totem model is inspired by the classic design seen in the movie Inception. The second, Tippe, is based on a Danish design from the 50s (Jensen is Danish) and has fascinated physicists for decades because of its counter-intuitive nature of flipping upside down while spinning. The final version, Teetotum, is based on an ancient Roman design and was included to help users make those difficult decisions while on calls.
The duo has launched the project on Kickstarter and is focused on using US based manufacturing. “Though we live in Brazil and I have experience sourcing things in China, we found that not only did the US suppliers give us the quality we were looking for, they were actually cheaper than similar quality levels in China.” Said Jensen.
Press reaction has been very positive and they are already over 1/3 of the way to their goal. See details at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/424991352/totem-pen
Michael Ford, Plus, +1 (313) 454-1030, [email protected]
Share this article