Maria Koneva is in charge of partnerships at PixMob. She tells me how one of Montreal’s flagship technology companies, with almost a hundred employees, turned around in just two weeks.
PixMob operates in the events industry, creating experiences through connected light objects. Their customers are spread all over the world. At the end of January 2020, the company begins to get wind of a particularly aggressive virus, the Coronavirus. At this stage, it’s a reality that seems far from home, and there’s really nothing to worry about. A few events have been cancelled, but there’s nothing unusual about that. A month and a half later, it’s impossible to ignore what’s going on. It’s definitely serious. An abnormally high number of events have been cancelled, and PixMob has lost just as many contracts. The company realizes the extent of the damage and sets to work to find a Plan B.
It’s mid-February, three weeks before the containment announcement in Quebec. They’re ahead of the game, and they decide to put this advantage to good use. They set up mini-startups of 3 to 6 people, with the mission of finding a product that can be produced quickly, based as much as possible on PixMob’s existing technology, and above all, that will support efforts around the world to curb the virus. The aim of the operation is to be able to test lots of solutions ultra quickly, and to discard those that don’t work, in order to select a final product for commercialization. Pixmob’s recipe for success: “They’re great people, and they’re brilliant! Maria recounts.
In the end, the SafeWatch solution was chosen. This is a connected bracelet that reminds employees when a handwash is required. The bracelet lights up red when it’s time to wash hands. Once at the sink, a yellow light pulses for 20 seconds to ensure effective hand washing. The wristband then turns green to confirm proper handwashing.
Maria says she has never worked as hard in her life as she did in those few days. The company managed to do market research, develop marketing, create a brand image, do R&D, create a pilot project and test the whole thing, all in record time. That’s months and months of work under normal circumstances. The team achieved the feat in just two weeks! SafeWatch was born on March 16, four days after the containment recommendations were issued. The bracelets were partly manufactured in Montreal, but the majority of the products were assembled in China. Good thing China was nearing the end of its own quarantine!
Once the pandemic is over, Pixmob hopes that Safewatch will remain a product in their portfolio. In any case, the vaccine won’t be on the market for another year or even a year and a half. Hygiene measures will remain in place for quite some time, and the connected bracelet will be useful. What’s more, beyond the certainty for employers that their employees are washing their hands, it also reduces employee anxiety, explains Maria: “You can look at your colleagues and know that everyone is doing their bit. It reinforces community spirit. We’re all in the same boat, and it’s collectively that we’re going to pull through.”
