WHO WE ARE

On this blog (and everywhere else), we have been going on and on about how we want to connect young talents, and told you all about the interesting people we’re meeting at the moment. But we forgot one crucial thing: Who are we, the Sandbox team?

So here we go: Meet our hyper-active, food-loving and constantly-’round-the-world-flying project coordinator and Head of Partnerships Fabian Pfortmüller; our super-serious-yet-always-smiling, french-speaking, law-degree-having Head of Communications Antoine Verdon; our London-based, hard-studying Head of International Expansion Severin Jan Rüegger (who promised to write his bio soon, very soon); and myself, writer of this blog and Head of Content.

We always love to meet new people; if you’re interested in Sandbox and want to become a part of it, please contact us. Our bases are Zurich, Fribourg (Switzerland) and London, but we’re also travelling a lot. Check this blog and our Twitter status for updates on our itineraries and let us know when you’re around and want to get together.

Thursday, 15 May 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Sandbox | 0 Comments

CONNECTING THE TALENTS

A few weeks ago, I visited the United States together with my colleague Flavio Rump. We first went to New York, where we met Melissa Sconyers, to whom we had been introduced by our designer, Thierry Blancpain. We spent a whole day discussing new ideas with Melissa, who was also very interested in becoming more involved with Sandbox. After leaving New York, we went to Boston to meet our good friends Dave Radparvar and Thianh Lu of Incubaker. Dave, in turn, visited New York a few days later. I introduced him to Melissa, they met - and obviously started to develop new ideas at once, as Melissa writes on her blog.

At Sandbox, we’re very excited about that, not only because we can’t wait to hear more about the projects that Dave and Melissa want to work on, but also because this is exactly the kind of thing that we want to do: Finding young talents from all over the world and bringing them together.

Wednesday, 14 May 2008 | Fabian Pfortmüller | Sandbox, Talents | 1 Comment

KUSHTRIM XHAKLI WORKS FOR A BRIGHTER “E-FUTURE” FOR KOSOVO

When we started this blog, we promised to not only write about interesting projects and research, but also about interesting people - examples of talents that we hope to bring together at our first conference.

We already wrote about our very talented designers, and here’s another talent who really inspired us. We met Kushtrim Xhakli a few months back at the very cool LIFT conference in Geneva. Kushtrim, who is 25 years old, lives and works in Kosovo, currently the world’s youngest state. Coming from a family of artists, Kushtrim is very much the entrepreneurial type - but he also has a vision: Spreading the positive impact of information and communication technologies.

Kushtrim speaking at the LIFT conference in Geneva (Photo by Sarah Hutmann)

To do so, he works with the IPKO Institute, an organization aiming to invest in a “richer e-future for Kosovo”, as Kushtrim puts it. One of the institute’s most successful projects is the website trajnimi.com. It allows people in Kosovo to complete online and for free the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), a standardised computer skills certification programme.

Only a few months after having launched, more than 5000 people had completed the programme on trajnimi.com. Kushtrim worked together with the Ministry of Education in Kosovo to further promote the service, and eventually handed over the site entirely to the government, which now runs it. This marks a huge success for a small initiative - and gives Kushtrim time to work on some new innovative projects.

Sunday, 11 May 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Tags: , ,
Talents | 0 Comments

“INNOVATION COMES FROM PLACES THAT YOU DON’T EXPECT”

For every tech company (and for many others as well), constant innovation is vital. But how do you ensure that employees have good ideas - and that they can be turned into successful products? One company that has been very successful in in-house innovation is Google. In an interview with BusinessWeek, Google CEO Eric Schmidt explains how the internet giant comes up with new ideas. For example, there is the famous “20 percent rule” which allows every Google employee to devote 20 percent of their time to their own projects. Innovation, says Schmidt, is not really “manageable” - you just need a set of conditions for it to occur. The most basic and important one is: “Listen to people”.

Thursday, 1 May 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Tags: , ,
Innovation | 0 Comments

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

After outstanding days, we left New York, heading to Yale University. We met so many extraordinary young people during those days that we hardly know where to start: from a young advertisement professional (who has developed a new way to learn Chinese and is working on an innovative webtool for online discussions) to Columbia law students with ideas about how to gain energy out of toilets in tall buildings and a young lady building up a global network for social entrepreneurs and scientists. Many thanks to Jaden, Yuri, Melissa, Rami, Will, Phil, Bobby and Mitchell for your invaluable inputs and the inspiring discussions. New York, we’ll be back!

Tuesday, 29 April 2008 | Fabian Pfortmüller | Sandbox on the Road | 0 Comments

SWING THAT STRING

I’m sure you know that feeling: You hear people talking about something over and over again, but you just don’t really get what it’s all about, what’s really behind it and how it actually works. Everything sounds complicated and confusing - until somebody comes along, explains it to you in an understandable way, and in a matter of minutes, everything becomes crystal clear.

I have been reading and hearing about the so-called “superstring theory” quite often, but I was always sure that this is something that only theoretical physicists could even begin to understand. After all, the idea that the universe consists of tiny strings that vibrate in 11 dimensions (some of which are “rolled up”) does sound rather weird, doesn’t it?

But then I saw this video from the TED conference. Here at Sandbox, we admire TED for the way they manage to bring different people together, and for their high-quality presentations. This presentation from string theorist Brian Greene is a perfect example: Within 20 minutes, Greene manages to explain the theory in a simple, non-technical way. Now I really feel that I understood what it’s all about. Sort of.

What do you think of the presentation? Are there other theories or phenomena that you would like to have explained in this way?

PS. In unrelated news, Sandbox founder Antoine just turned 25 yesterday. Happy birthday from the rest of the team! If you want to congratulate Antoine as well, post a comment here or send him a message on Twitter.

Thursday, 24 April 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Tags: , , ,
Conferences | 1 Comment

COMMUNITY-MANAGED COMPANIES?

When you’re founding a new company, how can you make sure that you satisfy the needs and whishes of your customers?

Well, one way would be to simply let the customers decide themselves. That’s what NVOHK, the “first community-managed, eco-friendly surf-inspired clothing company” wants to do. They are looking for 5000 users who agree to take a share in the company by paying 50 dollars a year. In exchange, says the website, they can make major business decisions and receive 35 percent of net profits (although they get it in “reward points” rather than in dollars).

The concept sure is interesting, although I’m not yet sure if something like that is going to work. For example, NVOHK doesn’t say anything on the site about how they will reach a decision about a complex subject (say, business strategy) from their 5000 or more geographically dispersed members.

What do you think? Do you know any other examples of “community-managed” companies?

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Innovation | 1 Comment

A WORD ABOUT MEMBERSHIPS

Following the launch of our site, some people have been asking us about how to become a member of the Sandbox network or to register for our first conference. So we thought that we’ll give you a short update and would love to get your feedback on it.

First of all, Sandbox is not only a conference, but aims to become a worldwide community for talents under 30. Registration for the first conference will thus only be possible if you’re a member of the Sandbox network.

This leads to the next question: How exactly does one become a member of Sandbox? In general, Sandbox membership is designed for young talents under 30 that have achieved something extraordinary in their field and turned their ideas into reality. We are very keen on emphasizing that Sandbox is open for talents from all parts of society: from the brilliant young researcher to entrepreneurs, from politicians to business people, we will try to bring together a diverse group of young people. Once the application process opens, everyone can apply for the network with a CV and specific information about his achievements. An independent selection committee, consisting of senior executives and Sandbox members, will then review every application and take a decision.

So, when does the application process open? Sandbox has only just launched, and we’re still very busy getting everything ready for our first member. We hope that application will start within the next four months and will keep you updated on this blog.

And while we’re not quite ready to look at your membership application, we would still love to hear from you! Leave us a comment on the blog, join our Facebook group, follow us on Twitter or contact us directly.

Wednesday, 16 April 2008 | Antoine Verdon | Sandbox | 0 Comments

SANDBOX GOES EAST AND WEST!

Our Sandbox team is currently spreading out to meet with talents and partners all over the world. While Severin is currently in Dubai until Saturday, I will be coming to the US on Thursday and will be supported by Flavio Rump. We got so much positive feedback and can’t wait to see you guys!

Please dont hesitate to contact Flavio or me, if you want to meet up while we are in NYC, Boston or Dubai. We LOVE to meet new people and will keep you posted on our blog about how our journeys go.

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 | Fabian Pfortmüller | Tags:
Sandbox, Sandbox on the Road | 0 Comments

MEET THE DESIGNERS

When we started working for Sandbox more than half a year ago, we knew two things: One, we wanted to create an environment where young talents from all over the world could come together to exchange ideas, get inspired and maybe collaborate. And two, we desperately needed a good corporate design.

So we approached our good friend and graphic designer Thierry Blancpain. Thierry is a graphic design student at the Bern University of Arts in Switzerland, and we had worked with him several times on previous occasions. When we told him about Sandbox, Thierry had a great idea: He would mirror our aim to connect young talents globally with the design process. He contacted graphic designers Louis Beaudoin from Montreal, Canada, and Anthony Sheret from Brighton, UK, both of whom he had met in an online design forum, and asked them if they wanted to collaborate with him on the Sandbox corporate identity.

Well, I wouldn’t be writing this post if those two hadn’t agreed, and what you see on this site right now is part of the beautiful corporate design they have come up with for Sandbox. “Collaborating with people from all over the globe was a great learning experience”, says Louis in Montreal.

“The challenge of the job was to come up with a design that would relate to the vision of Sandbox without being too literal”, says Thierry. “Also, we wanted it to be simple and flexible at the same time - meaning that it changes from application to application.” That the corporate design can not only be easily adapted to new environments, but also consists of “small parts” that can be arranged in different ways is also a representation of the Sandbox vision. As Thierry says: “I think the design is very truthful to the idea and the vision of Sandbox. It doesn’t try to be a cool web 2.0 logo, it doesn’t need to be - because Sandbox is so much more than just another social network.” - There’s nothing that we could possibly add to this beautiful statement; except, of course, that we’re very happy with the design - thank you, guys!

Monday, 14 April 2008 | Nico Luchsinger | Sandbox | 6 Comments
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