Julien Smith, CEO, Breather
With a dynamic team such as Julien & Alex, their new venture is sure to be disruptive. Julien, a New York Times bestselling author, who’s work focuses on adaptation and change, but not the “think out of the box†clichés that most companies embrace. Instead, his work draws from a deep study of the adaptive ability of the human body, as well as evolution, biomimicry, and an observation of nature. Alex built the API for one of the world’s biggest web services, Twitter. He was one of the first people there, in 2007, and helped Twitter become what it is today. These two are a powerful combination, come hear the inside scoop on Breather!
Photo by: “Luca Sartoni – http://www.heisenbergmedia.com/”
The city is the centre of what we do. It will grow bigger. Last year, in NYC, I ordered a meal from my phone, it was all paid for. I can order a cab anywhere via myphone. You can get coffee and pay via the phone. City have everything that is needed and few downsides.
But the big downside is what makes the city. It’s the people, a lot of people.  We like people, but not all the time. The growth exert and incredible pressure on the city. City evolves, and the question is what is it that a city will become, what will it have to become in order to support all this stuff. What the city has to do is solve the problem of people The greater the density, the more opps there are, but it then lacks private space. And that is one of the key things we’ll need more of. In the coutnry, there’s lots of space, but none of city advantages. Private space is broken.
When I’m a tourist, my options for private space is limited. Hotel? Starbucks? What space, what power? If local, then have home, office, shops again. When you need space, there are few good solutions. If you need a phonecall and need to be quiet, there are few options.  So what can be invented? It has to fit with existing structures to solve the problem  We need something better. When we need privacy, we want it very badly.  What do we invent? It has to be small. It is to fit inside society. It has to be easy. So why can I not get private space using my phone?
So this new company is a network of private spaces that you can unlock with your phone. It’s a subscription model. This is about being able to get private space on demand. It is what cities needs. Cities will become broken without the option of private space on demand, You can unlock the space with the phone booking. No need for keys.
