shawnokeefe.com

Author: Shawn

New Year, Wild West

Grateful to begin the year in the Davis Mountains. If you look closely, you can see McDonald Observatory in the distance.

2021 was a hard one on so many levels, but there are many positives to focus on. My trip to Honduras. Taking the kids on their first trip to Big Bend. The Big Sugar bike race in Arkansas. Friendships both old and new.

And it’s always good to start the year with a review of my prime directives:

1. Be the best dad I can be
2. Share my rather long list of “what not to do” in this life with others
3. Help purpose-driven entrepreneurs & teams thrive

With the above at heart, I’m happy to reveal that I’ve joined the executive team at Senseye. As “Head of People Growth,” I’m initially focusing on recruitment efforts (as we’re currently on the hunt for an experienced CTO). I’ll also be involved in design and marketing efforts moving forward, as well as supporting a healthy team culture as we go through the growing pains of scaling a truly novel technology.

I’ll continue to work with current clients via 1st Assembly Supply Co in the short term, but I plan to wind down many of those engagements in the coming months.

Senseye is heading in a new and very important direction. You may be familiar with the fact that Senseye provides novel insights into cognitive states via the eye through mobile phones. Now the company is focused on building the world’s first objective mental health diagnostic on top of the core technology. Our first diagnostic is for PTSD and is entering pilot studies now, followed soon by additional indications for anxiety and depression.

Like so many others, my family has been significantly impacted by mental health issues, and I look forward to shaping the future of digital medicine with this talented team.

01/25/2022
2nd Annual Rocket Party

El Fuego Pequeño Rocket Club Presents:
2nd Annual Rocket Launch Party!

On Saturday, Nov 20, we’ll once again be gathering at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock to launch some rockets!

RSVP and join us for the explosive fun.

From some of the largest solid-fuel rocket engines commercially available to the smallest (to ensure a successful landing), we’ll have plenty of rockets for kids of all ages. Bring safety equipment such as a mask, hand sanitizer and/or any of your own model rockets that are ready for liftoff (optional).

Our launchpad will be on the north side of the park:

https://goo.gl/maps/zRbQ2NAU766KRGcV8

Questions? Fire off an email to shawn@1stassemb.ly.

El Pequeño Fuego Rocket Club is powered by 1st Assembly Supply Co.

11/12/2021
Hardware Hack Night!

Born out of virtual happy hours during the height of the pandemic, Hardware Hack Night is a new monthly meetup of ragtag hardware enthusiasts and innovators from across the globe. Each virtual event features a special guest speaker, rad project showcases, and enlightening conversations around a particular topic.

Editions so far have included: IoT with Brandon Satrom, STEM with Dave ten Have, FashionTech with Andrea Lauer, Robotics with Alex Glow & the upcoming Bioart with Karen Ingram on Thursday, May 20th.

It’s fantastic to co-produce this inspiring event series with Eric from Patchr — as we sometimes work together on commercial hardware projects under the moniker, Future Proof Studio.

While we’ll soon need to start limiting the number of participants, the events are currently free and open to any and all interested parties. Join our list to get updates in your inbox about upcoming speakers and more.

We certainly hope to nerd out with you at a Hardware Hack Night in the not-too-distant future.

05/12/2021
Hide Away

Every so often, I get an “offer that I can’t refuse” to do some design work. Such was the case with a recent client — my talented sister, Kathleen O’Keefe.

Take a look at the limited-edition digipaks for her new album, Hide Away, which just hit streaming services everywhere.

03/17/2021
El Pequeño Fuego Rocket Club

El Pequeño Fuego Rocket Club Presents:
Fall Rocket Launch Party!

On Saturday, Nov 7, we’ll be gathering at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock to launch some rockets! Come join us for the explosive fun.

From some of the largest solid-fuel rocket engines commercially available to the smallest (to ensure a successful landing), we’ll have plenty of rockets for kids of all ages. Bring safety equipment such as a mask, hand sanitizer and/or any of your own model rockets that are ready for liftoff (optional).

Our launchpad(s) will be on the north side of the park:

https://goo.gl/maps/zRbQ2NAU766KRGcV8

Questions? Fire off an email to shawn@1stassemb.ly.

El Pequeño Fuego Rocket Club is powered by 1st Assembly Supply Co.

10/30/2020
New Decade, New Endeavors

Welcome to 2020. What follows is a special update regarding what I’ve been up to lately…

Ch-ch-ch-changes
As you may know, after returning to Austin in early 2018 (after almost three years in New Zealand), I’ve continued to architect and run innovation programs. Initially working with the non-profit Food+City on their startup program for food innovators, and more recently as a “plank holder” for the Army Applications Laboratory (part of the newly-established Army Futures Command), I’ve sharpened my skills as an innovation director and facilitator of transformation. When the Army put their hardware accelerator on “strategic pause,” I left to return to my passion – developing a new kind of hardware innovation program based in Austin.

Hello World from 1st Assembly Supply Co.
Since my work on Lightning Lab Manufacturing and the creation of the 1st Assembly community hub & makerspace in Lower Hutt, NZ, I’ve been mentoring hardware entrepreneurs in Austin – mostly via Techstars Impact and Capital Factory. And I’ve met so many amazing folks! This has only deepened my resolve to more formally deliver value to the significant talent pool in a tech community built by the likes of Dell, National Instruments, Silicon Labs & many more – thus a new consultancy is born.

While 1st Assembly Supply Co. is the consultancy specializing in acceleration frameworks, rapid prototyping and customer-centric approaches for Hardware & IoT companies, I have a very ambitious endeavor in the works…

The 1A Hardware Program
Part business accelerator and part product development course, 1A is a six-month innovation program that transforms prototypes into investable products. Initially focusing on Industrial IoT (manufacturing, agritech, environmental, smart city sectors), the program is designed for both early-stage and established companies to bring transformative products to market. We’re currently gathering community feedback and formalizing some really cool partnerships. In terms of timeline, we’re aiming to host a launch event in March. Buckle up.

My Asks
Know any folks who should know about 1A and/or be profiled in our new hardware zine, Throughput? Send them my way. Know of potential partners & sponsors who should be involved in 1A? Please connect me, as it’s going to be one heck of a rewarding journey for all.

Please note that I have added shawn@1stassemb.ly to my list of email addresses. I’m still at the same mobile device and you can always follow my latest shenanigans via Instagram.

01/22/2020
Adventures in IoT

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to deliver a keynote & IoT workshop at the first-ever Code Spark event. Huge thanks to Charles Fry and the CODE Éxitos team (along with MAS Digital, Altia & Unitec) for the opportunity to bring some Particle Photon kits and work with some very talented devs.

Learn more about this inspiring initiative »

10/20/2019
Team Lightning Lab

As a cyclist, I’m always envisioning designs for cycling kit and being inspired by all the fantastic options out there. Sometimes I even take on a related project or two.

While in New Zealand, I had the opportunity to design a jersey and bib for Lightning Lab (the brand for Creative HQ’s various acceleration programs). As I’m hoping to have the finished kit in-hand soon, I wanted to give a little sneak peek of what’s to come. (Thanks to Danny and the team at Ultimo for their eternal patience.)

For more cycling and adventure-related content, don’t miss my latest activity on Instagram.

11/09/2018
Food+City

From my previous innovation work with Fonterra and Lincoln Hub in New Zealand to Food for Thought ATX here in Austin, I find myself working more and more in the FoodTech sector. And for good reason. Whether the growing VC interest or the challenges of sustainably feeding our growing population (8.5 billion humans on the planet by 2030), there are a number of critical problems and exciting opportunities to create some significant real-world impact.

Building upon the above experiences, I’m happy to announce that I’ve taken on a new role as Director of Innovation for Food+City, an Austin-based non-profit dedicated to food supply chain innovation. While some may be familiar with Food+City’s print publications, I’ll be heading up their Startup Challenge and helping to grow the program with the vision of becoming a full-blown innovation and acceleration platform. (I’ll continue the heavy-lifting to bring a hardware accelerator + makerspace to Austin, but I’ll be allocating much less time for consulting projects and other work.)

The 2019 Food+City Startup Challenge is currently accepting applications through November 16. So if you’re involved in disrupting food systems, give me a shout to discuss how you can get involved. Startups can apply for a chance to win valuable prize packages, access to a special mentorship program, significant exposure at the Showcase next March during SXSW and more. I’m looking forward to being inspired by all the new ideas and transformative solutions from across the globe.

On the subject of investment, I’ll be moderating a panel in a few weeks during Austin Startup Week (which runs October 1-5, 2018):

Finding Investors for Your Food Company
Wednesday, October 3, 2018 • 11:00am – 12:15pm
The Refinery, 612 Brazos Street, ATX 78701

Hope to see you there and/or geek out about the future of food in the not-too-distant future.

Pictured above: Creative new signage for Food+City in collaboration with Post Oak Customs.

09/20/2018
For a Good Cause

As you may know, sometimes I jump on my bicycle and ride a few miles for a good cause. And sometimes I make such a decision at the last minute with less than ideal planning and training. Part of the fun, really.

Well, this Saturday, I’ll be riding the 65-mile course at the Texas Mamma Jamma to benefit some fantastic Central Texas organizations that help breast cancer fighters and survivors. There’s still time to join me on the ride. And there’s still time to donate!

Feel free to follow along and witness the shenanigans via Instagram — and stay tuned for a sneak peek at my new cycling-related charity endeavor called Microadventu.re. Can’t wait to share more.

See you out there on the road.

09/19/2018