TheKarmais an incredibly useful little gadgeta pay-as-you-go mobile hotspot that can get you online wherever you are.
Behind the company and its rig is Steven van Wel, co-founder and CEO of Karma.
Six months or so ago I decided to ditch my iPhone and buy an iPod touch.
Using Google Voice, it becomes your mobile phone.
For communication I use a lot of FaceTime and Google Hangouts.
FaceTime especially replaced my calls with my family and kids.
For meetings I use theUberConferenceapp.
To further push minimalism, I deleted the Facebook app last week.
I deleted Twitter earlier this year, and now I only use it from my laptop.
The “phone” for me is just a simple equipment you use to communicate.
Current computer:MacBook Air 13-inch.
What apps/software/tools can’t you live without?
SunriseThe best calendar app.
It’s one of the apps solving the scheduling of meetings and it “just works.”
Most of the other calendar apps have small things that annoy me.
SlackFor chat, we switched from HipChat toSlacka few months ago because the mobile apps were better.
Slack’s mobile apps are super fast, and that was the main reason for our team to switch.
Whenever on the team someone emails me, I attempt to pull that conversation into Slack.
I don’t know what their big idea is, but it’s great to see them killing email.
I thinkDropboxhas saved my life at least 20 times.
I think everything in my life, digitally, is stored with Dropbox.
(That might be scary for some people!)
I share a Dropbox folder with my wife, and all our documents are in there.
When I go to the office it’s plugged into my Thunderbolt Display to charge.
When I go outside it’s with me.
It’s a habit, just like taking my keys and wallet with me.
It’s always on.
I think the world could be different if we got away from mobile providers and eventually our ISPs.
With Karma I have one gear to get me connected, and the data is mine.
All you have to remember with 1Password is your master phrase.
Right now my favorite isTaptalk.
Taptalk lets me take really quick videos of, say, someone on a bike.
Or I get a video of someone in my old neighborhood.
Like Snapchat, it’s an impression of what someone’s life is like at that moment.
It’s great how the world shrinks with apps like this.
Which I guess is why I keep collecting!
I hear good things aboutTelegram…
What’s your workspace setup like?
I enjoy sitting behind my desk at the office.
Which is fun but challenging.
It’s pretty fun to see how nowadays you don’t “need” to have your own desk.
But I prefer to sit down with a big screen and get stuff done.
What’s your best time-saving shortcut/life hack?
Don’t check your email before 9AM.
I wake up extremely early for most people, like 5:30 or 6:00AM.
By challenging myself not to look at my email client, I’m much more productive.
Sometimes I’ll even write emails but not look at my inbox.
The rest of the day I’m pretty fast replying to emails.
Making sure the inbox doesn’t have a hold on me all day long is pretty refreshing.
What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
I’ve tried them all andClear(Mac and iOS only) wins for me.
It all comes back to simplicity and efficiency.
It’s the one place for thoughts, things I need to remember, and to-do items.
Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without and why?
And I have another smaller external battery that fits in my pocket.
There are always gadgets you could’t live without, but none of them work without a battery!
What everyday thing are you better at than everyone else?
I know what’s needed right now and what’s needed 10 minutes from now.
At work and at home, it’s important to spend time on what needs attention.
It’s the same thing with the company.
And that’s it.
Don’t look at all the features you could build, look at the ones your customers need.
What do you listen to while you work?
I have Bose noise canceling headphones I wear at the office.
If silence isn’t available available, I listen to hip-hop/rap Spotify playlists.
I don’t tend to focus on a specific artist.
What are you currently reading?
I love to read blog posts about design, software, and hardware.
People who either have a ton of experience in an industry, or people who share their own experience.
I think everyone at Karma likes to read about technology and the future of technology.
But everything else reading-wise I tend to avoid…
I haven’t touched a book in a long, long time.
Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
I’m an extrovert.
In a startup it’s important to be vocal and tell people your opinion.
Not just the founder, but everyone.
What’s your sleep routine like?
With two kids at home, a two-year-old and a four-month-old, I’m an early-riser.
Fill in the blank: I’d love to see _________ answer these same questions.
How does he run two companies at the same time?
I’m sure there’s no simple answer, he probably just works really hard.
He thinks of something, and then a few years later it’s there.
Not just small projects, but huge projects.
you might only have respect for that.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
You have to think: “what happens if this becomes hugely successful?”
You never want to be the victim of your own success.
Have someone you want to see featured, or questions you think we should ask?Email Andy.
