Ever since 2011, when the voluble venture capitalist Marc Andreessen famously stipulated that “software is eating the world,” entrepreneurs have been kicking the tires on his hypothesis in new areas. Back then, software was already eating giant economic sectors like retail (Amazon), video distribution (
But can software eat the desk?
That’s the bet that JP Labrosse is making. A veteran entrepreneur and designer who worked on the original iPod team at
The Stir Kinetic Desk is a slick, modern, height-adjustable “smart” desk. Equipped with sensors and a built-in touch-screen display, it detects your presence, lets you set your sitting and standing preferences, learns your habits and reminds you to change positions throughout the day. It’s been called the iPhone of desks and the Tesla of desks.
But does furniture need smarts? Does anyone really need a connected desk that adjusts its height automatically, that reminds users it’s time to stand up or sit down? Or is this a case of a solution in search of a problem, of an entrepreneur’s zeal to make his mark in the Internet of Things?
Labrosse seems used to this kind of skepticism but he insists Stir is addressing a real problem. Sitting has been called the new smoking, and while standing and adjustable desks are all the rage, most people don’t bother to adjust them, says Labrosse.
“Our first challenge with the Stir Kinetic Desk was to enhance the engagement with the desk,” Labrosse says. “It’s good for fitness; it’s good for long-term health; it’s good for productivity.”
The new desk that the company is introducing Thursday is actually version 2.0, known as the M1. The first model, the F1, has been on sale since April. Labrosse said 95% of buyers switched positions daily, and on average, went from sitting to standing or standing to sitting 3.5 times a day. He says only 30% of people who have traditional height-adjustable desks ever bother to change positions.
“It’s not good to sit all the time or stand all the time,” he says.
Can’t a simple app that reminds you to change position be as effective? Perhaps, says Labrosse, but technology is most effective when it fades into the background. “The challenge is to enhance the experience without taking over the experience,” he says. And so, to remind user to change position, the Stir Kinetic Desk takes a “whisper breath” – it rises and falls one inch over about 6 seconds. The motion will get your attention but is gentle enough not to disrupt your work. With a swipe or tap on the touch-screen, you can choose to change position or stay put.
The M1 has some other goodies, like its ability to sync with a Fitbit (and with more devices soon, says Labrosse) and its cloud storage capabilities, so that your settings can be saved and used across different desks, which could be useful in a shared space environment.
Labrosse says the F1, which costs nearly $4200 (really!), sold well, even though Stir had only one outside salesperson. But Labrosse declines to give even a ballpark sales figure. The new model, whose surface is thinner and lacks a “cable management” box available in the older one, will set you back just $3000.
Despite its much wider distribution, including through Relax the Back stores, it’s a safe bet to assume that the M1 remain a niche luxury item -- not to mention a conversation starter -- at least for now. But that might be enough for Labrosse and his 17-person company to show that software is ready to, well, take a bite out of the market for desks.
