Part 1: How did flygge come about and what do we want to do? 🤔
I’m Ron, one of the four founders of flygge and have been the happy owner of a now 30-year-old FIAT Ducato motorhome for almost 10 years.
I’ll take you with me on our journey into the future, to a smart, simple and sustainable camper trip.
How did the idea for flygge come about?
If you own a 30-year-old mobile home, technical defects and repairs are inevitable.
So one day the battery charger of the body battery got hit. As a techie , I assumed there was some really fancy RV stuff out there these days and started researching.
I wanted a motorhome that would take care of me and not the other way around. I wanted one
➡️ Self-sufficiency display taking into account my travel behavior and the weather
➡️ App for everything with contemporary usability
➡️ Smart anti-theft device with automatic activation and live tracking if lost
➡️ Battery protection against deep discharge 🔋, plus the level indicator
➡️ Expandable app via plug&play📲
➡️ environmentally friendly, CO2 neutral travel 🌳
➡️ Expandability for level measurements, lamps and much more 💡
What the market provided felt like a ☎️ call from the 1990s. No uniform display for all technical devices, no comprehensive operating concept and certainly no smart functions.
The first visit to the trade fair brought further disillusionment. The usual bus, the proprietary “CI-Bus” of the Caravanning Association, turned out to be a disguised LIN bus with an apparently more protectionist goal.
Initial talks with motorhome manufacturers, van drivers and van builders revealed that there is definitely a need for a modern solution.
Luckily I’m blessed with a private circle of progressive digital natives. Special thanks to you, Christopher. You said early on that there were market opportunities here and connected us with the M-Tech Accelerator. Great that!
Together with Sebastian Grimm, Steffen Strobel and Karin Berg I designed the camper trip of the future based on the flygge platform and the flygge box.
We got our first support from the software industry from Konrad Pfeilsticker, who gave us incredibly important impulses connected with the first investment in flygge. Konrad, I really appreciate the regular exchange that we have had since then!
In the coming posts you will find out how we built our first prototype, found our partner company ETA through Albert Sixt, rocked Europe’s largest caravanning fair and how we are realizing the Smart Mobile Home.
Stay curious!