Every kid hates making their bed - OK, maybe not every kid, but most kids. Stop the hate - the smart duvet is here. It’s an automated blanket/comforter for your bed that not only makes the bed for you via an inflatable membrane, it also controls the temperature of the bed in two zones, one for your side, another for theirs. Nick was pretty impressed with this one, so he’s going to look into it. At the very least it could save you some time each morning. Just press the button on the smartphone app and go. Smart Duvet. Wow.

The ultimate most affordable family bike. Yep, it’s a FAMILY bike.

The Taga bike 2.0 is on Indiegogo right now and it’s a pretty amazing thing to see. Ari is thinking about getting one to take the kids to school in the fall. Essentially, it is a modular, adaptable bike that you can modify to fit your needs. What does that mean? You can carry cargo, or kids, pets, add on a stroller, and it is a 3-wheeled bike - so it’s stable. It’s also able to fold up so you can easily store it. What more do you want? Check it out on this episode of Optimize, Automate, Outsource. It even comes with a water gun accessory. Wow, this one is almost as cool as the smart duvet.

Co-working spaces are beginning to provide daycare. Now THAT is thoughtful of them.

It’s been a pity that so far most co-working spaces have focused mainly on the “work” part and not the “co” part of what they do. Yeah, they have events and “get to know you” things and such, but they’ve been lacking in helping people live their own life the way they need to live it - but still get work done. No longer. Co-working spaces all across the U.S. have listened to their members and have begun providing daycare services in a variety of options. Ari and Nick chat about it - and you can hear it on this episode.

Earn money while you wait in line for coffee, or an elevator, or at the grocery checkout.

21.co is a new service you can sign up for that enables you to become a “specialist” of sorts who is available to answer specific questions related to your self-defined areas of expertise. You fill out a profile, check the boxes regarding what you’re qualified to answer questions about, and the app begins sending you user-submitted questions - and you get paid for answering. It’s pretty cool, so check it out by listening to this episode.

Now there’s software to turn your DSLR into a smart camera.

Aresenal is a new app that connects to most DSLR cameras and takes the headache and learning curve out of things like aperture, focus, and other settings that you’ve never taken the time to understand. With Arsenal you can take some truly stunning photos with the click of a button. Ari is amazed at how easy and amazing it is. You should be sure to check it out before you go on your next vacation.

Featured Resources Mentioned On This Episode

• [0:03] Ari’s fun day at General Assembly in Boston.
• [1:54] Smart Duvet: an automated comforter for your bed
• [3:47] The Taga Bike - a cargo bike that carries multiple people
• [4:35] New York Times Article about Co-Working Spaces that include daycare
• [5:26] 21.co - specialists can get paid to answer Q & A email
• [7:00] Spacetime within Slack
• [8:46] What Does an Aspiring Founder Need to Know? - article on HBR
• [10:55] Guardian article about older men having geekier sons
• [12:33] Arsenal - intelligent camera system
• [15:32] Stackshare.io - companies can showcase their tech stack as a recruiting tool

Other Resources Mentioned

• Text “Leverage” to “444999” to subscribe to the mailing list and get the first chapter of our new book.
• Venture Air Services
• Take Off With Nick Show
• The Barking Crab Restaurant
• General Assembly Boston
• ChillyPad
• BOOK: Tools of Titans
• Clarity FM

 

Find out more about what we’re doing at Leverage at

www.getleverage.com and www.leveragepodcasts.com