Update from Raphael
Precisely two years ago we announced that our Swiss-Californian startup NEEO was acquired by the (back then NASDAQ traded) Control4 Corporation. The entire startup time was an unforgettable ride and the acquisition started a new chapter. Together with the absolutely exceptional team, I joined the merged company, in order to build an even stronger, larger organisation and to work and innovate in the professional smart home market.
Just a couple of month in, the entire company was acquired again, for an all-cash transaction of $680 millions by SnapAV, and with that step, the company went privat again. This was transformative for the professional installation industry and a super interesting time for everyone involved. I can definitively not complain. I signed up for adventures and adventures I got 😉
I’m thankful for that time, especially for all I learned and I’m super thankful to have worked with such an exceptional team. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to step down from my product & services executive role. I'm focusing on getting startups off the ground, and with that, I will not have an active role at SnapAV anymore. I will cheer from the sidelines, as a friend and investor though.
What I’m especially looking forward to, are the moments when all the wonderful projects, that our teams worked on, will become public. I can already tell you, there are some really exciting things coming up.
Important note and good news for the owners of the original DIY NEEO: As part of my deal, the company agreed to keep the servers of the original DIY product up for at least another two years until 2023. ❤️
The professional smart home industry needs more and strong startups. If you happen to know some crazy founders - send them my way.
Thank you to everyone who supported me in any ways during these last crazy chapters.
🙏
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I will no longer be investing in a start up, my experience with Olive One, NEEO and now Nativsound have all been terrible and left me with a pile of useless junk.
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I understand that hesitation. That being said, I well remember Sonos, Control4 and Savant being startups. This was not too long ago. I remember all of their first CEDIA appearances. With my initiative of investing into these kind of early stage companies, the strong & innovative companies of tomorrow are built. Along the way an average of 90% fail. the 10%, who make it to success, are crucial though and absolutely worth take-in the risk in my opinion.
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Indeed Neeo was very successful. So successful that we now have a beautiful and well built paper weight after only a short amount of time actually being able to use it. It's nice that the servers are running a little longer, but with no way to add new devices, the remote will become more and more useless.
It's a real shame.
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Mischa Annen Is there no way no NEW devices can be added Raphael ?
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Hey Raphael,
nice to hear that you keep the Servers running another two years but is there any chance to add some new Devices to the remote? Me and my family really like the remote but without the possibility to add some new devices it becomes pretty useless soon.
Kind regards
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Hi Raphael,
thanks for keeping the servers alive!
I know a few more people who would like to say thank you to you.
Unfortunately, you can only read the news on planet neeo as a member. That is why some people switched to an alternative channel. But i assume you already know...
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Markus M said:
That is why some people switched to an alternative channel.Where ist that? I'd be interested to Join discussions...
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Markus M Thank you 😀👍
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What about those early chapters, mate? Not a single word of gratitude towards the crowd of people who made your adventures - "these last crazy chapters" - possible? I guess the sweet taste of succes grounds a selective memoryloss.
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We supported Neeo and were promised something in return, but instead our support is dismissed as a past chapter and two years of "additional support" without further development is now presented as great step.
Logitech stops further development but more and more smart devices are moving into the home. All that is left is the smartphone or tablet to operate them. The market for a central remote control for the family has existed for years, but no one dares. That's why Neeo was so valuable to me and would still be today. -
Raphael Any chance you can make the brain code open source on GitHub and maybe polish it off with one last update opening the code for the brain? 0.55!
This would allow enthusiastic users to continue adding ability for new devices to the brain.