Smart Energy: OpenStrom Is Building An Open Hardware Smartmeter

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Smart Energy & Grids are getting more and more attention. OpenStrom founder Matthias Zeitler takes advantage of the momentum and is building an open hardware smartmeter:

Describe yourself in 50 words or less.

I spent the first half of my professional career working in technology leadership roles at leading globalization service and technology companies in various countries. After starting my first successful venture, I became a location independent entrepreneur and are now in the lucky position that I can combine work and travel while turning my ideas into products.

How did you get involved with the entrepreneurial scene?

I was always interested in entrepreneurship and even during my time working for other companies, I always had some side projects. After completing my MBA in the Silicon Valley and working with some amazing companies I decided that it is finally time to start my own business fulltime. I was lucky to get accepted into an incubator right away which provided enough funding to get started and I have been a strong supporter of collaboration among startup founders and coworking ever since.

What are you currently working on?

OpenStrom is building an open hardware smart meter for makers and integrators. We are providing the hardware and a basic SaaS platform; most of our customers will embed our technology into their solutions to build smart energy applications.

Smart Energy and Smart Grids are growing trends. Energy consumption is becoming more expensive and several legal initiatives require the broad introduction of smart meters by public utility companies. This is raising awareness and creating new possibilities.

Our approach of developing an open hardware solution is unique in this industry. Other companies are pushing proprietary solutions and build upon expensive closed industry standards. Also they focus on the requirements of utility companies, not integrators.

This enables use cases like e.g. monitoring server consumption in data centers to determine if it makes sense to upgrade older hardware or detecting if hotel guests plug in hot plates in their rooms which could be a fire hazard. Our device makes it easy and cost effective to build these types of solutions.

How did you discover the need for OpenStrom?

I am a member at Coworkingspace Salzburg where we regularly have meetings with other startup founders to discuss current projects and challenges. One of my friends is running a data center and explained his challenge to measure the power consumption of individual servers at reasonable cost and with the possibility to have full access to the data.

After we realized that there are no open hardware smart meters available, I started to talk with some people in my network to see what they think about the idea and how they would use such a device. I instantly got a ton of interest with a lot of people offering a lot of use cases. The more I explore these potential use cases, the more obvious it gets that this could really enable totally new applications. It ties into several growing trends like Energy, IoT and Green.

What drives you?

Freedom and happiness are my two main goals. I love to push my own business ideas forward, but also enjoy working with other people on joint projects. For example I have recently become a partner in a social impact venture to build a coworking space in Bansko, an amazing mountain resort in Bulgaria.

How do you unwind and recharge your inner battery?

As a side project I organize a temporary coworking space event at a beach resort each fall, where I bring entrepreneurs from different ecosystems together for a few weeks to network, learn and share to grow their businesses. For me this is the perfect environment to reenergize and spent some vacation time with interesting people. Maybe you want to join us this year?

What trends would you bet your money on? And how will it influence everyday life?

I normally invest in my own ideas, as this gives me the best leverage.

However there are some mega trends that will change the world significantly. Self driving cars will totally disrupt the transportation industry and have a major impact on city planning in terms of infrastructure. There are still too many open questions around technology, legislation and usage patterns to pick a clear winner in this area though.

Do you have a hero? If so, who is it?

My first boss is an exceptional entrepreneur. I often think back to my early career days with him when I have to make difficult decisions and try to apply some of his wisdom to the challenges that I face.

7 years from now: Where do you see yourself?

In an amazing place surrounded by interesting people doing cool stuff. Oh wait, this is already where i am today 🙂

What advice would you give first time entrepreneurs?

Just do it. Starting your own business can be scary, it will be hard work and the outcome is uncertain. A true adventure. But don’t let that, or anything else, stop you from building your dream. Once you start to execute vigorously and gain momentum, you will see that a lot of exciting things begin to happen. And even though you will face a lot of resistance, you will also find allies among other entrepreneurs that are already a bit further along their journey.

 

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