SA startup hopes to raise $100k with innovative Wi-Fi enabled ‘whiteboard’

Whiteboards, pinboards and chalkboards are old-school. At least this is what WriteBoard Technologies — a South African startup that hopes to change the ways in which businesses brainstorm, teachers teach and households stay on the same virtual page — thinks.

The startup is hoping to raise funding via the crowdfunding site, Indiegogo, with an ultimate goal set at US$100 000. Pretty ambitious.

The funds are needed “to finalise mass production strategies and align [WriteBoard Technologies] with partners who can assist in certain aspects of the manufacturing process,” reads the project page.

In essence, the startup’s flagship product the WriteBoard, is a Wi-Fi connected whiteboard. Fitted in an aluminium frame, the 27″ touchscreen (and its stylish stylus) can be synced with other devices, meaning a teacher’s students taking notes or sharing a grocery list with your significant partner should be seamless.

Unlike a chalkboard or whiteboard, the work noted on this surface will not be lost when the team leaves the office or classroom. As they scribble on the board, the WriteBoard servers are instantly syncing with the Whiteboard apps

The founders of WriteBoard, David Lindeque, Nicholas Rout and Olivia Pougnet, are students at the University of Cape Town from different fields such as engineering, finance and psychology.

Some of the brains behind this interesting initiative are also responsible for equally ambitious hardware startups like Zest Mobile and Seed Phone. The latter is a smartphone that can be used across different workstations, from your Smart TV to a notebook.

There’s also a curious social feature where people have the option to publicly follow a WriteBoard. As a closed group, we can imagine this coming in handy in case of a classroom or a household environment. Also think how businesses could brainstorm ideas in real-time by syncing multiple WriteBoards.

Somewhat annoyingly, the boards also include geo-specific advertising which — if the user so chooses — will pop up in the corner of the display.

With a suspected retail price of US$300, WriteBoard hopes to sell its flagship product in the US and Europe come mid-2015. Convinced? Check out Lindeque and Rout’s pitch and Indiegogo page if you’re keen to support them: