"This place is a playground for ideas," says Marcus Weller, 28, whose venture shares cavernous office space with dozens of other start-ups at the Mid-Point Technology Park just off Highway 101. "I'm amazed how fast things can arc here, if you have the right idea at the right time."
Weller hopes he's packing that magic combo, despite seeming, at first glance, an unlikely candidate for tech-gadget success.
The Minnesota native with a Ph.D. in industrial psychology recently spent three years sharing his insights on how leadership styles affect innovation with the highest echelons of the German government. At one juncture, he thought he might join the U.S. State Department. At another, he considered consulting.
Instead, thanks to an unfortunate motorcycle accident on the streets of Barcelona, Weller is now the man behind Skully Helmets, which boast a heads-up display that, well beyond providing turn-by-turn directions and other Web-based info, can broadcast an image of what is behind the rider thanks to a rear-facing camera.
For motorcyclists, the view backward is a potential death-trap filled with blind spots — due to side-view mirrors that often are small and shaky — mitigated only by turning one's head, which momentarily takes your focus off the road.
Skully's mission is to keep a rider's eyes always looking forward, with relevant data projected in the bottom right corner of the helmet through a small prism reminiscent of the transparent square found on Google Glass.
"Lots of development has been made over the years on the foam and plastic shell that's supposed to save you if you fall, but with Skully, here's a helmet that can actually help prevent the accident in the first place," says a resolute Weller.
Th! e Skully Helmet, currently in working prototype form, should hit the market this spring. Weller hopes to get a number of test helmets onto the heads of select users for feedback soon. "We have 2,500 e-mails from people telling us why they must have this product now, which is encouraging," says Weller, who himself rides a silver Ducati Monster. "I'd like to think we can make a positive impact on the world."
Weller says the Skully price point will reflect "a premium product at great value," noting that most top-flight but tech-less helmets cost $300 to $800.
"As I like to say, 'How much is your head worth?'" he adds with a smile.
WELLER 'TENACIOUS' WITH PROBLEMS
Currently, the company's half-dozen employees are in full boot-strap mode, fueled by small investments from a few well-heeled friends.
One believer is Sean White, technologist-in-residence at Greylock Partners, one of the Valley's top venture capital firms. He's lending moral and intellectual support as a member of Skully's advisory board.
"Marcus is incredibly tenacious, if he finds a problem he'll work until it's solved, and I think that's in great part because this (invention) is personally relevant to him," White says. "He also has the advantage of not being attached to a mother ship, a big company with other core concerns. This is his singular focus."
White adds that while wearable computing is a particularly hot buzzword these days, many such products or prototypes are too futuristic to solve current needs.
“(Skully) is almost boring from a technology point of view compared to some products you hear about, but it also is far more meaningful. Seeing 180-degrees behind you could save lives.”
— Sean White, technologist-in-residence at Greylock Partners"There's a lot of tech in the AR (augmented reality) space right now, but the true use cases are few and far between," he says. "(Skully) is almost boring from a technology point of view compared to some products you hear about, b! ut it als! o is far more meaningful. Seeing 180 degrees behind you could save lives."
While the Motorcycle Safety Foundation doesn't comment on products in development, "we do encourage innovation and options that may be of value to riders and may increase their ability to see other roadway users, although consumers decide the merits" of such products, MSF CEO Tim Buche says.
Skully already sounds like it could be a potential solution to a problem many motorcyclists encounter, says Mark Tuttle, editor of Rider magazine.
"On most bikes, you look at your side view mirrors and you get a great view of your shoulders and elbows," Tuttle says. "This could work really well. My main concerns would be that the heads-up display itself wouldn't pose any issues with blocking vision, and that there's no compromise to the integrity of the helmet."
Weller says the Skully technology will be added to helmets sourced from a top manufacturer whose products meet all federal safety standards.
The prototype on display at the company's open-plan desk space features an elegant, swept-back design due to the tech innards and camera located in a protruding rear casing designed to break off in the event of impact.
CRASH PROMPTED LIFE CHANGE
Weller knows about crashes. In the middle of his job with the German government, he went to Spain for a few months. His daily mode of transport was his motorcycle. One day, while checking a street sign to his right, he didn't notice a woman in a Fiat slamming on her brakes until he was flying into the back of her car.
"My bike was totaled, and suddenly I went from feeling invincible to really bummed out," he says. "My first thought was, am I really making the impact I'm capable of making as a human being. That became a thorn in my side."
In short order, Weller decided to leave Europe and accept a job at a software firm in Silicon Valley, motivated in large part because of weather. "Where I grew up, they only canceled college classes if it was 50 below! ," he lau! ghs. "I just wanted to be warm."
Then, last spring, he had a dream. He was on a motorcycle, but saw a GPS-based maps system "floating in front of me, which I knew would have saved me from my crash in Barcelona. I woke up, and went online to buy it. Nothing. And I thought, 'This just has to exist.'"
After months of funding himself and cobbling together makeshift helmets "using parts I bought on Amazon," he reached out to a few friends who'd done well in tech and found they were moved by his passion for the project. "They told me, 'We're investing in you, go for it.' So I quit my job."
Since last fall, things have accelerated. Weller has received advice on branding and business from a variety of incubators and mentors, and has taken meetings with executives of top motorcycle manufacturers. While he's buoyed by their interest, right now he has no interest in Skully being subsumed by a larger entity.
"I want to thoroughly disrupt a market," says Weller, spurred on by the audacity of youth and the conviction that he can make a difference. "This isn't just about a smart helmet. It's really about adding a layer of cortex to the brain. It hints at a near future where we can use technology to be more in touch with the world around us."
Indeed. If you're driving around these parts and roll up behind a guy riding a silver Ducati sporting a helmet that says Skully, just wave. He can see you.
USA TODAY's Change Agents series highlights innovators and entrepreneurs looking to change business and culture with their vision. E-mail Marco della Cava atmdellacava@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter:@marcodellacava.
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