What have I gotten myself into?

Welcome, so glad you could make it. Jump in the front seat, buckle up and enjoy the drive. This should be a fun one!

Let me start with some context….

How did this all come about?

For a while I’ve had this idea swirling around in my head, that I finally put down on paper as part of an application to a pre-accelerator program. Late one evening I completed the application, hit ‘send’ and expected to hear nothing more of it.

Low and behold the next morning I received an acceptance email indicating that we are in, but also that it starts in like a weeks time. Cue minor freak out, but like excited also, ya know?

After some urgent team building (I initially applied solo but was encouraged to build a team) and organising some babysitting, the following weekend we took a drive an hour down the highway and kicked off the program.

The session was an all day affair where we got to hear what all the other teams are working on, sit in on some masterclasses, and network over a tasty lunch!

What lays ahead is 12 weeks of product exploration, startup masterclasses (think legal, design thinking, financials, branding) and networking with the other participants. I am pumped. I am excited. I am something else too?! Let’s go!!

So, whats the idea, mate?

I won’t go into the details just yet (sorry), as we still need to spend some time defining the problem we are trying to solve (hello week 2!). But, at a high level, it’s automotive related, encourages sustainability, is community focused, aims to take the online into the offline (say what?!) and the name Tinkeru hints at what it could be about….for now.

I say for now, as whilst I submitted a fairly clear idea and solution to the program, I am open to, and fully expecting that we will, pivot/change/drift into something entirely different by the end of this program. Heck yeah, how exciting!

Speaking of, thoughts on the name/word ‘Tinkeru’? Could be pronounced Tinkeroo, or Tinker You, or Tin Keru (no thanks) etc. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Yeah, but who are you?

Good question. Well, I’m Matt, the author of this and future newsletters, and the chief tinkerer @ Tinkeru. I have a background in user experience and product design, customer service operations, ecommerce management, culture building and community engagement. I’m a bicycle and car nerd (2 cars, 7+ bikes….oh dear). I bring ideas and innovation, design, culture and community building to Tinkeru.

I often question how good I am at any of those things (thanks brain!), but I know I have a knack for bringing people together, building enjoyable cultures, trying new ways of doing things, solving problems and learning and adapting as I go. I like to work on cool shit with cool people and explore what is possible. I daydream and talk too much.

I’m also doing this in parallel with a few other projects I’m heavily involved in that are keeping me, and my mind, busy.

1. Community Bike Shed: Along with a couple of other locals, I’m launching a community bike shed in a couple of weeks. I am actually PUMPED for this to finally open as I think it’s a great initiative, and building community whilst tinkering on bikes is my jam!

2. Study For the past few months I’ve been undertaking a fulltime TAFE course where I’ve built out another venture (web design and experience agency) that requires chunks (read: DAYS!) of my time.

   1. This will transition into some $$$ solo client work, which is exciting/terrifying!

3. Kids: I’m the logistical go-to parent for my kiddos at the moment. My wife does the work thing for $$ and I don’t, so I handle all things household and kids! Shout out to all the parents currently with kids on holidays….only a few days to go! :)

So yeah, I’m busy…..but I’m not doing this alone. I’ve roped in two other team members to help me through the program in the shape of:

• Jon (solution architect, community minded, bicycle and car nerd) brings a wealth of experience working on a range of software projects around the world and building online and offline communities

• Manisa (regulatory and government, environmental science background, bicycle and car nerd) is my wife (MY WIFE! - Borat voice)….I’m so so sorry. Brings to Tinkeru the calm seas needed to keep the project in check, on time and within the law.

I will be leading this project and looking to Jon and Manisa to pick up key aspects of the project as we progress.

Whats the plan mate?

Given this was a relatively unexplored idea outside of one I simply pondered on a few times and submitted to the pre-accelerator program, the plan for the next couple of months is to explore the idea more deeply. My goal is to have a prototype of something at the end of the program to share with others. What this looks like is anyones guess at this stage, but I’ll share as I go and include you where I can for feedback and input. Whilst an idea I came up with, it has community at it’s core, so….lets start there and involve people!

As for an actual plan, I’ve put together a timeline of activities to undertake. It’s….rough and misses some key activities and processes I’d usually do during an idea exploration, but with time constraints, my availability (school holidays, TAFE submissions etc) and the fact I’ll be handling most of this on my own, with Jon and Manisa dipping in and out, I think it’s a fairly robust plan….I hope.

In saying that….this plan will change and adapt. Already times have blown out, so I either stick with it and stress myself out/miss deadlines, or cherry pick some key activities that make the most sense, and start testing in quick/easy ways, that still give me relevant and usable insights.

Why a newsletter?

I like being transparent, sharing learnings and knowledge and building a community, so I figure I be bold (and show vulnerability) and bring others on the journey. Perhaps we can do this together!

I am in no way an expert at any of this. I know a little about a lot, and I’ll get things wrong along the way, but who cares, eh? (seriously though, if you see me posting stuff and you’re like, “wait, why didn’t he just do it this way?”, chime in and show me better ways! Be kind though!)

I’ll aim to post weekly, and provide project updates, insights, my feels, team feels, calls for feedback and testing, car memes and industry updates. I’ll likely adjust content as we go. And, yeah, I’ll probably use terrible automotive related puns, poor grammar, misappropriate slang from generations younger than me (no cap) and leave sentences half compl

The other reason for this newsletter is that I have a terrible memory so it will be nice to have this record to look back on.

Thank youse*

I am not an island and I don’t enjoy rolling solo. I’m more effective and happier when collaborating with others and I want to thank those that support me along the way.

A big shout out to Jon for getting on board so readily (and last minute). I know it’s a bit unclear for you at the moment, but hang in there and I know it will all start to make sense soon enough. Also, lets go for a ride soon!

Kerry Woods from StartupCV for organising the pre-accelerator program. I feel lucky to be involved and with your help and guidance I am sure myself and others will smash it!

And to Manisa, thanks for being so on board with this and all my other ridiculous ideas, situations and bike purchases (please don’t look in the garage…). I love you. Let’s smash this!

*Youse is an Australianism in place of saying ‘you guys’.

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Keep on tinkering!

ps. Stock images in a newsletter in 2024….I’m so sorry. I’ll attempt doodles going forward, as this looks bad and I should feel bad (I do).