Ronald Mannak of V-Beat

With Friend Friday, we highlight some of the wonderful entrepreneurs and small business owners who do their thing at The Network Hub. This week, we take a look at Ronald Mannak.

Please tell us who you are and what you do.
My name is Ronald Mannak and I previously created the V-Beat AirGuitar and V-Beat AirDrums toys and an iPhone app called bChamp Beatbox. The V-Beat were the best selling toys on Amazon and bChamp was endorsed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.

I moved from Europe to San Francisco last year and founded a new startup, Yobble, to create ‘appcessories’: iPhone apps and accessories that boost user experience. Our first product is a mobile Guitar Hero. Our hardware component (a motion sensing guitar pick) allows a unique user experience. No more tapping and shaking your iPhone, this time you really have to move (hence the name Air Guitar Move) and perform air guitar motions. The app allows you to play along with existing songs and has also a free jam mode for those who feel creative.

Check out our Kickstarter page, it will be active until July 10:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iphoneairguitar/air-guitar-move-for-iphone

Tell us something unique about your company.

We not only create apps, but also hardware.

What inspired you to get into this line of work?

Probably a slight frustration that I wasn’t able to play the games I wanted to play.

What do you enjoy the most about what you do?

Working around creative people with wild ideas and creating things. I especially like creating things everyone thinks are impossible to make or impossible to sell.

Where do you see your industry going in the next 2 years?

I believe the touch interface is not always sufficient, and appcessories might be the best way to extend the touch interface.

What made you decide to work at The Network Hub?

I was in Vancouver for my (US) work visa interview and had to stay a couple of days in Canada to wait for the US consulate to mail me back my passport. Now that I read the question, I’m wondering myself why I didn’t choose to go out and explore Canada. I guess I’m not really used to vacations. I love what I do and the first thing I did after I booked my flight was to find a coworking space. My friend Clive from Seattle recommended The Network Hub and I trust his judgement. The Network Hub turned out to be awesome, just as my friend said it would be.

How has the experience been for you?

Loved it. Vancouver is an awesome city with lots of great affordable restaurants, a beautiful skyline and a public transport system that works (I kind of miss that in California as I don’t own a car). Hope to be back in Vancouver soon!

You can see a clip of Ronald presenting the Air Guitar Move at a previous IdeaKick session held at The Network Hub: Ronald Mannak at IdeaKickYVR