High-tech luggage is a pretty hot trend right now. However, the Fugu suitcase is a bit different though. It lacks the digital bells and whistles of its techy competitors, but it excels on the design front – this suitcase is inflatable.
The usual carry-on luggage capacity is fine when you are traveling to a destination. However, on your way back, you often have several additional items in your bag, and that is where the conventional carry-on bag falls short. The Fugu luggage eliminates the need for an extra suitcase in such circumstances.
FUGU SUITCASE CAN INFLATE FROM THE SIZE OF A CARRY-ON TO THAT OF A FULL-SIZE SUITCASE IN LESS THAN A MINUTE
The inflation can be carried out in a number of ways:
- Pressing a button in order to activate the built-in electric pump
- Externally attaching any regular air pump
- Breathing into an external tube
Fugu’s unique name comes from the Japanese word for puffer fish, which also expands in size. The suitcase answers the question that Fugu vice president Daniel Gindis says all travelers face: “Should I take the carry-on or the full-size suitcase?”
The company states that the Fugu suitcase is made out of ABS plastic and internal drop stitching for the inflatable walls. This design is commonly used in inflatable stand-up paddleboards, and is extremely rigid.
Fugu mentions a variety of different uses for the suitcase. In addition to providing more room for your clothes, Fugu’s suitcase comes with a set of removable shelves that allow it to function like a temporary dresser. It can even be used as a table or laptop stand. A set of Omni-directional wheels assist in rolling it through a crowded airport terminal.
Fugu could be the perfect suitcase for the traveler who likes to pack light en route to their favorite destination but needs the extra space for family gifts and personal collectibles on the return journey. The company says the suitcase is shock-absorbent and super durable; and that sounds great. It will be interesting to see if it can hold up against the treatment received at the hands of the airlines – can it withstand going down a conveyor and/or being thrown around in the cargo hold by baggage handlers?
Startup
A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship refers to all new businesses, including self-employment and businesses that never intend to become registered, startups refer to new businesses that intend to grow large beyond the solo founder. At the beginning, startups face high uncertainty and have high rates of failure, but a minority of them do go on to be successful and influential. Some startups become unicorns; that is privately held startup companies valued at over US$1 billion.
Actions
Startups typically begin by a founder (solo-founder) or co-founders who have a way to solve a problem. The founder of a startup will begin market validation by problem interview, solution interview, and building a minimum viable product (MVP), i.e. a prototype, to develop and validate their business models. The startup process can take a long period of time (by some estimates, three years or longer), and hence sustaining effort is required. Over the long term, sustaining effort is especially challenging because of the high failure rates and uncertain outcomes. Having a business plan in place outlines what to do and how to plan and achieve an idea in the future. Typically, these plans outline the first 3 to 5 years of your business strategy.
Design principles
Models behind startups presenting as ventures are usually associated with design science. Design science uses design principles considered to be a coherent set of normative ideas and propositions to design and construct the company's backbone. For example, one of the initial design principles is "affordable loss".
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