Rocketbook Interview Showstoppers: Who knew that you could making paper smart?

Rocketbook can solve the problem of too many papers to shuffle through.  Combine reusable paper with a smart organizing app, and you have a clutter free, organized experience.

One of my favorite shows, over the past few years, has been the Shark Tank experience.  Watching entrepreneurs walk down the carpet towards the circling/waiting sharks, pitching their ideas and not knowing if they will get an offer is my favorite form of reality television.  For many, that experience has to be gut-wrenching.  We as viewers are not isolated from the emotions.  Through the occasional tears, and through the excitement, we get to experience a little piece of the invention/business process.  I love learning about the ideas, the stories of their inception and usage and to see what problems people are trying to solve.   It is even more exciting to attend CES and to see tech that was demonstrated on Shark Tank.

While attending Showstoppers, CES 2018, I had the pleasure of talking with the team from Rocketbook, a product that was demonstrated on Shark Tank.  The origin of the product strikes at the heart of many of our fears.  Mr. Joe LeMay forgot to pack the correct papers for a meeting.  Who has not forgotten papers for a meeting/test/school project etc.?  In fact, who has not had the dream where you show up to class for a test you did not know you were having.  Mr. LeMay wanted a way to access these documents/notes from wherever he was located, with a cloud-based system.  Additionally, many of us who have attended many years of secondary education, and have stacks and stacks of paper that is not reusable.  What if there was a way to erase all of the pages of a binder/notebook at once and with the power of a single finger.  The Rocketbook Wave was created to solve this very problem.

Unfortunately, the Sharks declined to offer Mr. LeMay and Mr. Epstein an offer, but this did not stop the company from expanding beyond the microwavable app-enhanced notebook.  At CES 2018, I was able to learn more about their latest offerings.  They still sell the Rocketbook Wave, the device that is able to be used and erased roughly 5-20x.  With the device, you can write on each page, use the app-enhanced ability to put notes where you want them: Dropbox, Google Drive, email, etc. and then wipe every page clean, at the same time, with a microwave.   However, this year they were promoting the Everlast notebook, a device that has the option of being re-used thousands of times.  Additionally, they discussed the Rocketbook color, for children.  The Everlast notebook and the color notebook are not microwavable options, like the Wave.  The notebooks use the same Pilot FriXion pens (black or multi-colored) or pencils and markers.  Once you write on a given (DRY) page, allow the ink to set for 15-20 seconds.  The inside cover of the Rocketbook everlast has 7 icons: a rocket, a diamond, an apple, a bell, a four-leaf clover, a star and a horseshoe.  Once you download the Rocketbook App from the iOS app store, you can set the symbols to mean different things.  Set each symbol to have a given meaning, and a select cloud service/location within the service to automatically log and catalog your pages/notes.  You will have to scan each page with the app and when done, clean each page. Yes, this book is not microwavable.

The manual to the Everlast Notebook warns that Frixion ink will fade in the heat.  Do not microwave this book and do not leave it in your car as the heat will make the ink fade.  If needed, you can put the folder into your freezer to restore some of the color.  To erase the book, dampen a microfiber cloth and wipe away the page.  Allow this to dry completely and then re-use the page.  Caution is advised with writing firmly and with leaving ink on any given page for longer than a few weeks.  There is a disclaimer along the bottom of the page that warns you that the Rocketbook Everlast ≠ Rocketbook Wave and should not be microwaved. There are uses for each of the styles of notebook, make sure that you know which version you are buying and the desired use.  The Rocketbook team has added a larger coloring book option for children, which is perfect for on-the-go families and travel.  Using the same app, the Rocketbook Color is an endlessly erasable notebook/doodle pad, with the option of digital organization. Do you want to save your child’s drawing but do not want loads and loads of paper, this book will allow you to sort, organize and keep everything without the clutter.  The book is designed to work with Crayoloa dry erase and washable Crayola products.  Again, this is not a microwavable book.

If you navigate to the Kickstarter page, you will notice some additional information.  Many of the backers of the Kickstarter campaign had asked for a pen holder and this was created/released in October of 2017.  Additionally, the app has undergone upgrades, now allowing for iMessage integration and if you draw multiple pages, you can create animated GIFS of your own.  For January of 2018, the Rocketbook team has suggested a new device, called the Everlast Mini, a pocket-sized notebook with similar functionality.  They do not yet know which method they will utilize for the book and asked their backers for their opinions.  Will they have all seven icons at the bottom of each page, or will they create seven individual icon notebooks or option three, will you be able to scan each page and then the app decide where to put the scan (my favorite).  With a pocket-sized notebook, they need a pocket-sized pen option.  While touring CES, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Nite-Ize and learning about their Inka Mobile Pen and stylus and about their new pen (not yet released) that will replace the Inka in the coming months.  The new keychain pen uses pressurize ink, for a write-anywhere option, and has the option of forming a full sized pen when the surrounding shell is screwed onto the bottom half of the pen.  Imagine a partnership with Rocketbook and this new pen.  If the new pen used Frixion ink, I would be able to have an endless notebook with a pen that I would have with me at all times.  As it is, unlesss the only pens in your life are Frixion, you will get to a meeting and NOT HAVE A SAFE PEN.  This is a first world problem, I know, but it is a problem that people have reported.

I certainly hope that the company releases a full-sized Rocketbook Everlast, which I will temporarily call the Everlast-Binder or the Everlast-ANSI.  There are many medical students and other professional students who would love to have the option to take notes and then store them digitally.  I personally think that this technology is cool and would be awesome for pre-printed forms such as medical consent forms, legal consent forms etc, where you could have pre-typed text.  The ideas for this tech are endless and I look forward to utilizing the Everlast notebook and reviewing the App.

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