Why I wake up at 2AM and go to bed at 8PM
To read more about my routine and schedule change, read this.
Here’s a re-write of my partial to-do list for the month of September and October:
Z Scale World (“complete”)
My 7-year-old son and I have many hobbies in common (duh!) and so Z Scale World.com is our first joint venture together.
It’s a spinoff collection of items in 1/220 scale from our main family scale modeling venture, Precise Modeling.
Here, I’m teaching him how to create a business from scratch, while connecting all the knowledge to something that he truly loves, which will only solidify things quicker.
From naming, to SEO and content creation, design, coding, marketing, and everything in-between…
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.”
Precise Modeling Z scale (1/220) model kits
With this project we’re completely rethinking the entire scale model hobby industry, starting from the 3D design, production and marketing.
Our approach is completely different from what has been done before, our knowledge is second to none, and our equipment is something of great desire… We believe that our passion for the community of hobbyists will shine through our product offering, making it simply irresistible!
Although products are not limited to architecture, here is a growing list of buildings that will be shrunk 220 times.
Follow the project here:
https://www.facebook.com/zscaleworld and here: https://www.facebook.com/PreciseModeling
Precise Modeling project update photo shoot (complete)
Work never stops in PM shops, so projects can pile up quickly around here. The time came to another round of documentation for the sake of preservation, knowledge, and marketing. Keep in mind, that all of these get painted after they are covered with real aircraft aluminum…
I go into more detail about my photography process here: https://www.yuriysklyar.com/precise-modeling-photography
Precise Modeling 1/35 & 1/32 accessories
A few months back I drove down to Canada with all three of my kids (I love road tripping), and instead of going for three weeks, I ended up staying for a month and a half because of how much fun I was having while working with my younger brother Eugene on developing a line of ultra-precise, limited edition 1/35 and 1/32 scale kits and accessories for his dioramas.
…These have subsequently been released through our shop, and include the smallest, most realistic pine cones in the world (among other items).
Modular Magnetic documentation
While working on growing Autodesk’s consumer offering, I spun off several personal projects to show to the team — and to the world — the power of application they had on their hands. This is how the simplistic idea of Modular Magnetic was born.
The funny thing is that the most challenging part about this project wasn’t coming up with the idea and building it out, it is how difficult and mentally draining it has been for me to document the project, which is what I’m currently working on…
Modular Magnetic House A
In order to let users’ minds travel even further, I’ve been developing a bigger implementation of Modular Magnetic:
‘House A’ is a minimalist approach to modernism, and usability for the modern age. Everything you need, nothing you don’t. Featuring a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom combination, this can be easily expanded into highrises of various shapes and sizes.
Modular Magnetic for business and education
The grand idea behind Modular Magnetic is quite simple. This playset is meant to inspire the creative minds of the future. Imagine learning about interior design and architecture using the hands-on approach of Modular Magnetic:
Likewise, imagine being able to sell your home-related offering via a hands-on approach, where your customer is now involved in the process of creation of their future possession... Very powerful concept that I cannot wait to explore further.
3D Printing Star <-> TeeterPal
3D Printing Star(.com) is where I’m going to be releasing all of the courses for schools that practice STEM-related education.
As a result, a local Bay area startup with connections to over 50,000 local families who are interested in exposing their children to such activities is interested in collaborating on developing new curriculum for their classrooms across California.
A LOT of interesting plans are currently in the works, and will apply to kids as early as 3, and all the way through to colleges and universities. Some of the plans will include the creation of following items:
IBM Bluewolf.com redesign
A couple of weeks ago I’ve helped the team over at IBM completely overhaul their website, starting from UX, UI, Visual, and Front-end. I’m working on properly documenting this project, but for now you can see some more stuff here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/84422217/Bluewolf-IBM
InexpensiveAquariums.com + tools
We LOVE aquariums (and other types of living things), so naturally we look for ways of bringing our ideas and thinking to the masses of aquarium fans. This is a second venture-in-the-making with my oldest 7-year old son.
Idea is similar to Z Scale World, where for now it will mostly operate on affiliate marketing; the only difference is we will not only give you links to items you need to buy to create your perfect underwater world, but also provide you with the necessary how-to’s. Here’s what an older version of the fish tank looked like before some changes/upgrades:
Bunk Bed with no Screws legalization
I’m full of ideas, so a lot of the times these ideas take on a physical form… This is a perfect example of such a project. Bunk Bed with No Screws is meant to be an affordable alternative to what’s available on the market [currently] for bunk beds ages 3–7.
The concept behind this furniture system actually goes much further than just a bunk bed. Imagine modular furniture that evolves with your kids as they get older: turning bottom bunk into a work desk area, custom shelving units, chairs — the list is truly endless.
After several failed attempts to strike deals with interested investors (due to mostly the amount they wanted to sell it for — which in most cases was ×4 of what I want to sell it for) I lost the drive it seems when it comes to this project, so for right now it is stuck in the “final” stage of certification & legalization, which I really don’t want to deal with right now…
Official mini planter collection release via PrintAPot.com
I’ve been creating all sort of wild things with Tinkercad, and the demand for my miniature series of architectural planters has been skyrocketing.
I’m not interested in getting into the manufacturing of these items, however I’m not opposed to getting someone else to license them from me as a limited edition collection. This is how Sean, the founder of http://printapot.com found me; so we’re setting that up to see how things go…
Coit Tower House
I get all sorts of peculiar requests, and so this one is of no different…
I’m obsessed with Coit Tower (and in general with architecture of SF), so I have spend countless hours researching the project, and eventually creating many scale models of the infamous San Francisco skyline-defining monument.
Paul, the Presiding Judge of Marin County court, has approached me with a very interesting request to create a 7'+ Coit Tower to cover up the pipe of his friend’s place that happens to be just a few houses away from the actual Coit tower.
Deep down I knew I always wanted to build an even a more accurate version of this scale model, so I used this as a fantastic opportunity to do just that.
I’ve documented more of the design and the re-design of it here: https://www.yuriysklyar.com/coit-tower. I’ll update with some photos and a documentary of the build process once it is finished in a couple of weeks.
First book will not be Think Simply — it will be a kids book!
I’ve been dreaming of starting a series of books with my kids — for my kids.
I’ve realized that my larger undertaking, Think Simply, will require me to do more thinking and a lot more writing in order for me to get it to a point where I see it needs to go. As such, I need to distract myself with something fun and colorful. Two first books will focus on life in San Francisco and on Aviation. Might as well get these done while they are still kids…
Currently reading: Skin in the Game
My good friend Daniel suggested I give Skin in the Game a read, as he believed that it closely relates to my way of thinking. Half way into the book, it sounds more and more as if I was the one writing it…
Nassim hits the nail on the head when he explains the purpose of society and how it should operate. I’m completely entranced by it. A must-read for anyone who wishes to positively touch this world via any possible means, like me.
Currently advising:
Small startup from Edmonton, Canada: GozAround. This is my close friend’s Ben’s initiative at creating a more accountable and engaging/exciting world of social ‘do-good’. It is a challenging story to tell to the world, so there is currently a lot of thought put into figuring out how to achieve just that.
Helping another good friend establish his presence in the Auto Photography world. Nick already has a phenomenal portfolio, and would like to enter a bigger playing field... What I’m doing for him will help him achieve just that. More on this in future updates.
Deciding what to work on next…
My door is always open to new and interesting opportunities.
As such, on any given month I select a handful of companies to speak to, out of the many inquiries that I receive through LinkedIn, Hired, Angel List, and Creative Circle — just to name a few sources.
…So for this month I’ve selected a few companies to meet in-person, to really explore my next opportunity for a collaboration.
These are mostly Lead positions where I would be able to influence each one of the companies in a big way.
Hover
Hover will allow me to pursue my love for architecture and 3D; it will allow me to do what Google did for text and images back in the day, except with much more meaningful and rich information that not only spans the digital realm, but the physical one as well. We’re talking complete digitization of the entire world and every building in it, with data that is simply priceless.
Verve
Verve will allow me to pursue my love for the internet, the aspect of “live”, entertainment, travel, and most importantly music. They’ve raised close to 100M for their grandiose efforts, and are serious about changing the above industries in a big way. Exciting opportunity…!
Capco
I have never been huge on money and finances in general mostly because of how annoying it is to interact with anything that includes those two keywords. As a result, I want to help improve the financial industry in a big way. Take it out of the 80’s and 90’s and bring it into 2020, so to speak. Capco is my ticket to do just that, as they happen to be a leading global business and technology management consultancy firm with a focus in financial services and a dedicated energy division. In a nutshell, they build banking systems for world’s largest banks. As dry and boring as it might have sounded to me 10 years ago, I’m fully prepared to dive right in and start executing. I love this stuff now, and must improve it for everyone’s sake…
AAA
A3Ventures is a subdivision of AAA (American Automobile Association) and is responsible for developing and investing in technologies that would ensure AAA’s survival for many centuries to come. A bold goal, but indeed the team is involved with some very interesting projects, like completely redefining the whole cabbing/ubering/renting/owning/leasing thing, for example. I love anything to do with Automotive industry and Internet of Things, so the fit would be quite natural, to say the least…
Sisense
Sisense is a business analytics software company with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, London, Melbourne, Tokyo, and Scottsdale, Arizona. This would take me back to my love for data and analytics, which I’m always up to experimenting with, so we shall see how this one pans out — sounds like some meaningful things with big reach are happening there…
This is something new that I’ve been meaning to try for a while: a more open, graphical and a descriptive way of my thoughts and things that happen in my day-to-dy life. Do let me know in case you enjoy reading this so I could do more of this in the future.
Where to find me online:
I document quite a bit on my personal blog: www.yuriysklyar.com
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