Monday, October 14, 2024

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Q&A session with Marc Guren, CEO and Co-founder of Simple Matters (Ditto)

Startups are taking the lead in sports wearable. The aim of this series is to let CEO’s introduce their products

Ditto Twitter Bio:

Meet Ditto. The smallest, simplest (most discreet) notification wearable. Customize how you  when your phone isn’t around.

About Marc Guren:

 

Marc Guren is Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Simple Matters, responsible for company strategy, operations and finances. Marc GurenPrior to launching Simple Matters in 2012, Guren spent 35 years as a technology industry investor, advisor and entrepreneur, developing, financing and marketing technology.
His past roles include serving as Senior Vice President at Kagan World Media, where he developed and divested media properties, such as a software search company to
AOL, and as Vice President at Roy Disney’s Shamrock Holdings, Inc., where he was, among other things, involved with the acquisition, operation and expansion of a leading consumer entertainment software retailer.

What made you create Ditto?

My former partner and I worked on a number of products together—all of them had a common core of usefulness, simplicity and elegance. One of the latest products involved a special type and format of smartphone, then another phone product then ultimately a “pivot” to our current product—Ditto®. Our company philosophy is reflected in our name – Simple Matters®.

Ditto wearable

Ditto was born because of a real need and desire for a simple and elegant solution. While working on another product, I was having difficulty reaching my wife by phone or text. She usually carried her phone in her purse, like many women do, and did not hear it ring or had left it on vibrate, or silent. Other times, she had left her phone on her desk at the office. Because of that fact, we came to the conclusion that Ditto could solve the problem of leaving phones behind for both women and men.

At the same time, we also recognized that there was a conflict within everyone’s increasing smartphone use—the increasing importance of notifications and not missing an important call, text or message versus not being a slave to our smartphone and missing out on important life events or interactions. While a significant help, smartphones sometimes interfere and take away from its users being present to what’s in front of them or the task at hand. And given the importance – and cost – of our smartphones, we also recognized that it was important not to forget or lose them.

Ditto was designed to be personal – both in terms of each user being able to define and customize what is important to them, as well as being discreet in its notifications (no need for a flashy alert that might interrupt an event or bring undue notice to the user). Also, Ditto was designed to be simple, and to take care of its user, versus the user take care of it.

Read more: Ditto is a universal notifier that keeps you informed!

What is the best aspect of your product that you are really proud of?

The adoption of Ditto by the Hard of Hearing and Deaf communities.  After putting Ditto on Amazon, we were surprised by the number of 5 star reviews from customers who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing – either because they use hearing aids or just have trouble hearing in general, including their phones ringing or texts dinging. We attended a number of trade shows and were greeted by people who really needed our product, understood it, and were excited to get it and use it.  We sold out at every show.  More importantly, every customer had a big smile when they learned about what Ditto could do for them.  Now they can feel their phone calls and their texts—even from 50 to 100 feet away. Ditto is a life-changer for these people and we get great satisfaction and joy when we see their reactions and are able to make a real difference.

Any future plans for Ditto that you can share with our readers?

We’ve just released a new version of the app that is cleaner, brighter and easier to use that substantially expands the product features.  The device remains the same and is updated for free: the new app is free as well.

Among the key new features are items and apps that were requested by Ditto users who are using Ditto for a variety of important notifications from their favorite apps. We now have more than 60 mobile apps that can trigger customized Ditto alerts, thus making sure that Ditto users get the notifications that are most important to them, even if they don’t have their phone on-hand or in earshot.

We’re also working on additional updates to Ditto and its accessories.

Ali Yaqoob
Ali Yaqoobhttps://www.sportswearable.net
Passionate about transforming data into science!

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