What inspired you to start Stargazers? Tell us the story.

Stargazers.space is a company that will allow anyone equipped with a smart-tablet to control one of our astronomic observatories. We are building several observatory sites right from Australia to the USA to Europe to South America, and Asia. This will enable anyone from any location on the planet to observe the sky at any time under any local weather conditions.

The interface is meant to be supremely user-friendly as everything can be done from the tip of your fingers. Initially, it was a private remote telescope project. But it has transformed into a project that will profit everyone. We wish to bring outer space to everyone!

How does the Stargazers app work? What makes it so unique?

Install the Stargazers App on your iPad and select the observatory you wish to take control of. You can then book time on that telescope and select an area, from the sky map, of the area you wish to point the instruments at. Then, you will receive a live video feedback from the 3 cameras that are installed on the telescope – one on the 12 inches main tube for maximum zoom, and 2 others on smaller tubes so you can have a wider angle of view centered on the same object. There is one camera outside to watch the entire sky at once. It is very useful to spot meteorites, clouds or just the beauty of outer space. It is also possible to capture high-resolution pictures.

How has social media helped you spread the word and acquire customers?

Social media is the way to find users that do have the tech know-how suited for our application. It is the primary medium that we are considering since it is where our future customers are located. Social media empowers people to share pictures and their experience of using the app with friends and relatives – which is another reason why social media is at the heart of our own community. Also, with social media, we would like to build an international astronomy club.

Share with us 5 pro-tips you would give to budding technology startups.

• The first thing to be sure of is the interest your product or service rises on your targeted customers.
• Use social media, forums and anything you find, to see if people are complaining about something missing in your field of activity. If your searches overlap and go the way you expect, then you can have a more direct approach to get a more precise market vision.
• Ask people about your idea. Look for criticism. Listen to their arguments. Criticism is more important than opinion already going your way. Plan your business model accordingly because there is no point in starting something that may not be profitable.
• Make informed decisions when it comes to R&D.
• Find the right people to compliment your product. You can’t do everything by yourself. You have to let other people back you up in the fields where you have no expertise. The team you build is what will give birth to your project.

What are your future plans for Stargazers?

We are currently building our test site and are planning to build a few public sites starting in 2018. Our application is ready for iPad and we are adapting it for smartphones this year. Android will be followed by Apple TV and game stations. The application will also be released in 2018 on Apple store.

Why did you choose a .SPACE domain? How is it helping you develop a unique online brand?

We are in the field of astronomy and space. No other domain could be a better choice to immediately state what we are doing. We‘ve extended the name of the company to include it. It is something that completely makes sense in our business and it became part of our DNA. People immediately know our field of activity and it is a domain extension which differentiates us from .com. And, to be honest, the .SPACE domain name has panache.

• How did Artecology come to be? Tell us the story.

Founded in 2015, Artecology is a collaboration between the public arts collective Eccleston George and ecological consultancy Arc Consulting. We had been working together for some time trying to find new ways to combine art and science and shape better places for people and wildlife. However, we wanted to take things further by creating urban environments that would bring ornament and aesthetics back into public places and simultaneously create hotspots for biodiversity. And so, we have embarked on a fascinating mission to design bio-receptive architecture with an ecological design.

You have partnered with Exeter University to support ‘Climate Change: Solutions’. Tell us about it.

From geological time to human time, from geogenic cycles over eons to the decades of accelerated anthropogenic change, much of our work in Artecology is about creating refuge habitats for intertidal sea life threatened by ‘coastal squeeze’. However, in 2017 we had an excellent graduate from Exeter, Daneen Cowling, working with us on Artecology projects and on her MSc research into sea chemistry.

Through Daneen, and given the relevance of our location (the beautiful Sandown Bay on the Isle of Wight) and our work, we teamed up with the fine folks at Exeter. This way we provided a special page on our website with a section on Artecology in the course content. The course is free and is part of the fantastic FutureLearn program. Read more about it here.

What are the projects Artecology is currently commissioning?

We have just sent a batch of new Vertipools for a large sea defense project along the River Arun – this is a world’s first! Also, we are working with architects and bryologists to combine functional, ornamental and ecological designs in the creation of complex folded and patterned cladding, tiles, and panels for new and old buildings.

How important have partnerships been in furthering Artecology’s mission?

Partnership and collaboration are at the very heart of Artecology’s view of the world –  they are the engines of our creation! We work with universities, agencies, regulators, engineers, architects, planners, housing associations, schools, and communities.

Collaboration is an effective way to kickstart action, get past the barriers we too often invent for ourselves and for our organizations. Our work is about natural and social capital, about public places and public life, about biological health and ecological resilience, and these are all fundamentally shared experiences.

Why did you choose a .SPACE domain name? How is it helping you develop a unique online brand?

We chose .Space because it is a clear and intuitive domain name that denotes a clean and uncluttered web address – just what we needed to get the Artecology name out into the world! However, Artecology is all about space, about volumes and areas in the urban environment and about our shared uses and experiences of these spaces with the natural world. I’m certain that this congruity between the name and purpose has also helped to reinforce our message.