John Lindsay

A MEDIA COLUMN - ENERGY The world wants to use less coal but uses more. The only solution? LOCAL SOURCES and small interconnected grids. Electronics (48V DC) and changing the transformations to other places than we do now. We lose to much energy. We store to much energy. We don't do as nature would do. Local sources? In NL, we already applied heat exchangers in sheet pile walls of harbour and canals (company Crux). We also applied heat exchangers from earth water in further mining area (company Mijnwater). DIY, on our off-grid farms Peppelhof, Eykelenbosch and Hermanushoeve, we applied solar and wood gassing from our abundance food and resource forest (39 ha for 39 self-sustaining families). Rocket stoves and more. In Belgium, Blue Earth Innovation (biomimicry engineering company) is applying Nikola Tesla's patents for Free Energy on a heritage-listed estate. In Spain (canary island El Hierro), they have solar roads directly connected to the cars. In theory, you can outphase batteries and lithium mining this way. What are the biggest hurdles? 1. You have to use energy when you produce it. No storage. 2. Laws are hindering progress. Off-grid is forbidden in NL and it is still a huge fight with the law. Laws are just made for big companies and set in stone. Not for citizens wanting to live cheap with what nature provides. 3. Nothing is agile in our man made world. Everyone is just protecting their cashcows. 4. Low voltage DC appliances (fridge, freezer, hairdryer, cooking equipment, computers, etc) are hard to get in normal stores. You have to shop in boating or caravan stores... And when you do...? Life opens up to new possibilities and immense innovations. Free for all. Because nature does the work for us... You can become a nomad, like Mike and me. Simple life with one suitcase... 🌏😂❤️🤸🏽‍♀️ #restoring #planet #basicneeds

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Want to know more about AI and the automotive industry? Listen to the panel session at the #DCDW - Digital Car Dealer Workshop - de online automotive beter maken!-event, where CarQall participated. If you're interested in how AI can improve phone availability, customer, and employee satisfaction at your dealership, just contact me! Here is the link to the paneldiscussion (in Dutch): https://lnkd.in/e_8QmWxi #CarQall #AI #Automotive #DCDW #Innovation #CustomerExperience

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Belgje Belgje is niet dom… Belgium reduces water consumption and utilizes rainwater from residential rooftops. Using rainwater from roofs and solar energy from roofs are two no-brainers. Unfortunately #Spain and #Portugal actively tried to decentivize harvesting water and energy from roofs to protect established utility companies. While #drought is a serious issue in much of the Iberian peninsula and sun is plentiful. I believe two main keys to building resilience in the face of climate change are #empowerment & #localization. Collecting #rainwater and solar #energy are two good examples. Another one is local #food production.

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 - 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 🌿 The last 1.5 year have been a true discovery into the unknown, letting go of all types of comfort zones that gave me the illusion of safety; a relationship that was not aligned anymore, but still stayed, a way of life that was not purely authentic to me, but still choose living that path as long as I could, taking on work gigs that were paying good enough, but was not in line with what I envisioned if I would have followed my boldest dreams. Due to a number of “coincidences” (as we call them, but they never are) all of these so called comforting structures lost its ground and the figurative rug was pulled away under my feet. I had suddenly nowhere to go, nothing to do and nothing to find. And that was exactly what was needed in order to propel me forward to where I was meant to be (for now that is). After spending a month on the land of one of my best friends Carlijn Nelissen from ON.PURPOSE STUDIO in Portugal, I was disconnected from wifi, 4g, and all “normal” comforts. I became grounded again in… well… me! The almost forced connection to nature and the forced disconnection from ‘the grid’ was a completely transformative experience, and only later realized what the impact was it had on me. Thanks to her, my path has led me to move to Portugal. Where the lands felt free, undiscovered, raw, rough, connected and to nature in ways that I missed all my life, but never realized until it happened. Now, fast forwarded into the now; I'm so grateful for the freedom seekers that have paved the way like Carlijn Nelissen, showing that an entrepreneurial life is possible executed from a completely different perspective. In alignment with nature and taking life much more slowly than we’re programmed to from a young age. Since living here off grid now for 1.5 year on my land, I have met so many people with similar stories. Almost all people I have met here have “fled” the rat race, to live a more pure and free life, with a lower cost of living, however, still very much have the desire to be of value to society in a much more organic and natural way. So this is a little Monday morning motivation, for all the freedom seekers. There are other ways to go about it, discover what it is that you seek. What is it that you're chasing and what really means success to you? To me the greatest measurement of success is: free time. We only have a limited amount of it and can't be regained once it’s spent. For those who missed the podcast I recorded with Carlien Cavens from Unplug48, see below. Where I share a little bit more about my transition from Corporate life in Amsterdam, to living off-grid in Portugal. PS: The new dates for the ‘(UN)PLUG Your Business Retreat’ are from 7-11 October. For now, have a beautiful day! Lonneke

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🌟 Introducing AVARTA Life: Your Eco-Champion for a Brighter Tomorrow! 🌍💚 Hey World! 🌟 We’re over the moon to unveil Avarta, our groundbreaking app crafted for Google’s Gemini API Developer Competition! 🚀✨ This isn’t just another app—it’s our heartfelt mission to revolutionize how we live sustainably and make a real difference for our planet. 🌱🌟 What Makes Avarta a Game-Changer? 🚀 Avarta is your ultimate eco-companion, designed to make sustainable living not just a goal, but a way of life: * 🌱 Waste Reduction Revolution: Dive into personalized tips to cut down on waste and make eco-conscious choices. From reducing plastic 🌍 to starting a home compost 🏡, we’re here to guide you every step of the way! * ♻️ Recycling Made Simple: No more confusion about recycling rules! 🗑️ Our smart, location-based guide provides easy, accurate instructions tailored just for you. Say goodbye to recycling stress! 🙌 * 🌿 Eco-Friendly Discoveries: Explore a curated selection of sustainable products 🌟 that match your values. Shop with purpose 🛒, knowing each choice supports a greener, cleaner world! What Makes Avarta Truly Special? ✨ Powered by Google’s Gemini API and built with Google Cloud Flutter, Avarta is more than just technology—it’s a beacon of hope. 🌠 Our AI-driven features deliver real-time, personalized recommendations to make every green choice effortless. With its sleek design and cutting-edge functionality, Avarta seamlessly integrates sustainability into your daily routine. 💡📲 we are the Avartians, protectors of the earth 👨‍💼 CHANDRA GenAI Alchemist - Shaping the Future of Healthcare - CEO & GenAl & software development head 👨‍💼Rahul Ramesh - GenAl architect and brand head 👨‍💻 Savinay Kumar - devloplement lead 👨‍💻 Abhishek Kesare - platform & LLMOps lead 👩‍💻 Sejal Kaul - Full stack developer 👨‍🔬 Pavan Yidapalapati - GenAl scienitst 👩‍🔬 Keerthana Priya Devaraj - GenAl scientist 👨‍🎨 NITHIN P S - MGD, VFX & video editor 👨‍🔬 Mohan Sai K - GeniAl scientist Join Us in This Heartfelt Journey! 🌍💫 Avarta is more than an app; it’s a heartfelt movement toward a sustainable future. 🌱 Each action you take with Avarta helps pave the way for a better world, one step at a time. 🌟 We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve created and can’t wait for you to experience the magic of Avarta. 🌟 Your feedback means the world to us—explore the app, share your thoughts, and help us spread the word! Every share, mention, and conversation fuels our mission to create a greener, more vibrant planet. 🌿🚀 Thank you for being part of this incredible journey. Together, let’s make a profound impact and inspire a wave of positive change! 🌍💚 💚explore more about Avarta at https://lnkd.in/gjUQzi3P 🌍just brace your self for remaining parts of the video #Avarta #Sustainability #EcoFriendly #GreenTech #AI #Innovation #GoogleGemini #Flutter #RecycleRight #GeminiAPI #GoogleGeminiApiDeveloperCompetition

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Guess how many public votes??? Last count was at 5.000 votes for the Belgium Impact Startup Awards. Tip: watch the video 🫣 Today is the last day to show your support and cast your vote for your favorite startups! You got until 23:59 tonight. Go Vote: Link in the comments 👇 Your vote counts! Reminder: Public votes, comprising 11% of the total score, could be the deciding factor between 3rd and 4th place. Help your favorite startup(s) reach the podium! 🥇🥈🥉 Let's scale up! 👏 #startups #scaleups #buildingbridges

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A powerful experience and a lot of really deep conversations and insights. Please read more below.

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Exciting times in the world of AI! 🌟 Google has just launched Gemini Live, an advanced AI voice assistant that goes head-to-head with OpenAI's voice mode. Boasting the ability to engage in natural, hands-free conversations with 10 different human-like voice options, Gemini Live is now available to all Gemini Advanced subscribers. This is a significant step towards AI becoming more of a collaborative partner rather than just a tool. On another front, OpenAI has revamped its coding benchmark, SWE-bench, making it more reliable and accurate by incorporating human-validated samples. This move aims to set a new standard for AI performance transparency. In sports, Match Point AI is revolutionizing tennis training by simulating strategies of tennis legends like Novak Djokovic. This AI-powered tool provides data-driven insights to help players enhance their game. Additionally, innovative AI tools like AI Search Grader, Omnifact, Kypso, Decover, and minusx are transforming business operations, while the job market is buzzing with new opportunities in legal, product management, speech technologies, and creator partnerships. Have you checked out Gemini Live or any of these new AI tools? What are your thoughts? 🤔 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Google #OpenAI #VoiceAI #TechInnovation #AIInSports #AIBenchmarking #Recruitment #AITools #TechJobs

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Years ago (10 September 2019), I followed a #sales #inspiration session called "Imec.istart invites: Megadeals session lead by Christopher Engman" at imec in Antwerp. Christopher Engman presented a set of tools, or maybe a philosophy with actionable insights, on how companies can land transformative deals. It was one of those eye-opening moments where lots of what you have learned falls into a framework you can use, scale, adopt, and make sense of. Together with my compadre in sales excellence, Luc Vanheule, we adopted some of the tactics in Materialise - with success at that time. Later, I also had the pleasure to meet John Lindsay, who - besides being a very experienced marketer who hates waste and has a true "green heart" - is someone who loves Trappistenbier in Westmalle. 🍻 It was a pleasure seeing them both on stage at We Are Sales, welcomed by Dylan Mendes. 💪 These people know what they're talking about when you need to learn about #DealOrchestration. In Gent at imec, November 21, John Lindsay, Antwerp partner and investor, together with Christopher Engman, author and co-founder of Megadeals, will guide you through a transformative GTM design: "Deal Orchestration: Redefining Go-to-Market Strategy for B2B Tech Ventures" What can you expect? A combination of talk, interactive conversation, and breakout sessions to help embed some of the Deal Orchestration principles. Registration link in comments

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In the past week we've seen OpenAI release GPT-4o and Google release a new version of Gemini Pro 1.5, together with their new Gemini Flash model. The big news about these announcements is efficiency, speed and cost. Yay! 🐢 The challenge with GPT-4 has been its slowness - whilst it's a great model, it's so slow that I've had to rule out using it in several situations. If you need to make multiple calls to the model (very common) and you have a user sitting waiting on a response, GPT-4 is not viable. Why is it slow? Because it's a large model and larger models use more compute and take longer to respond. 🏎️ Enter GPT-4o, which is much, much faster. Why is it faster? Because it's a better optimised model that uses less compute and is able to respond quicker. And it's cheaper - 50% of the cost of GPT-4-turbo. When you make lots of calls to a model, a 50% cost reduction is a big deal. ⚡️ Now let's look at Google. Gemini 1.5 Pro and its stablemate 1.5 Flash both bring significant optimisations: "1.5 Pro, despite using significantly less training compute, surpasses 1.0 Ultra, a state-of-the-art model, on text capabilities like math, science and reasoning, code, multilinguality and instruction following. Similarly, 1.5 Flash outperforms 1.0 Pro, despite being more lightweight and efficient." 💸 Emphasising the importance of faster, more efficient, cheaper models, Gemini Flash is a new class of model explicitly designed to address these requirements. Because often we need something that responds quickly and costs less. When I say costs less, Gemini Flash is around 1/10th the cost of Gemini Pro. 🔥 But Google's not done with Flash as a smaller, more efficient model. The Gemini Technical Report also talks about a further model, Flash-8B, which is still under development. It's an even smaller model, optimised for uses such as large-scale data labelling and high-throughput agents, where speed and cost are major drivers. Of course Flash-8B is smaller and not as good as 1.5 Pro, but it's probably *good enough* for a whole class of uses. Not everything requires the most sophisticated AI available. 👉 These new models may not have set the world on fire with dramatic new capability leaps, but they do set *my* world on fire with faster, cheaper, more efficient models. They use less energy, they generate less CO2 (remember, we have a climate emergency), they cost less to use and they respond faster. If you need high-end capability then GPT-4o and Gemini Pro 1.5 both push the envelope on capability. This feels like the advancement we need - the option to pay more for better models, or pay less for more optimised and faster models.

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🎧 From Belgian Startup to Multi-Million Dollar Brand: The Loop Earplugs Story 🎧 Just listened to an incredible podcast featuring Dimitri O, the founder of Loop Earplugs—a true innovator who turned personal frustration into a global phenomenon! 🌀 https://lnkd.in/e4KMiJ9s In this episode, Dimitri shares how a battle with tinnitus sparked the idea for stylish, functional earplugs that don’t just protect hearing but enhance focus and elevate daily life. His journey from a Belgian startup to a multi-million dollar brand is nothing short of inspiring. 🌟 At ChannelEngine, we’re thrilled to support Loop as they redefine the hearing protection market, opening up new sales channels and scaling to untapped regions. 🌍🚀 It’s amazing to witness their rise and success story! If you’re curious about how innovation meets passion—or how one idea can reshape an entire industry—this is a must-listen! Dimitri’s story is packed with lessons on resilience, creativity, and global scaling. 💬 What’s your favorite entrepreneurial success story? #FromFrustrationToInnovation #LoopEarplugs #GlobalGrowth #ChannelEngine #EcommerceTrailblazers

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Van industry 4.0 naar 5.0 -> intelligent healthcare with internet of everything, cobots, edge computing, big dat analytics, high speed machines, mass personlaisation, collaboratie van creatieve experts met samenwerkende machines, holycracy, 6 g etc #organisation 5.0

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To all my fellow tech founders: if you need help defining your value proposition and aligning it with your sales and marketing efforts, Luuk Janssen is the person to talk to! I recently joined one of his workshops and learned so much—things I had been searching for but couldn't find in any concrete source.

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Virtual OV: Changefieds Contribution to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Changefied's Virtual OV platform demonstrates how innovation can contribute to a more inclusive society. This VR platform enables neurodivergent individuals to safely practice traveling on public transport, directly contributing to the accessibility of public transportation, a key point in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We collaborate with government agencies and advocacy organizations to make society more inclusive. If you want to learn more about our contribution to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Also, read the article by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights about the need for improvements in public transport accessibility. https://lnkd.in/eMihQVZB

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- Tegenwoordig noem ik mezelf 'Complexity Consultant' - Wat houdt dat in? - Geen $#@! flauw idee, maar het schuift lekker. Bedrijfsleven en overheid staan met een grote zak geld in de rij om me in te huren. - Maar waarom dan? - Ik help de sukkels om 'te navigeren in een steeds ingewikkelder omgeving'.🤓 Three Myths in Complexity Science and How to Resolve Them | by Casper van Elteren | ArXiv In this paper, I will debunk three prevalent myths in complex systems and propose resolutions. This work contributes by offering a contemporary interpretation of complex systems, presenting essential definitions that benefit complexity scientists. To provide clarity for the field of complexity science, I aim to resolve three myths that permeate the field: Myth 1 - The whole is more than the sum of its parts. Myth 2 - The behavior of complex systems cannot be understood through reductionistic approaches. Myth 3 - Complexity requires the interaction of many constituents. https://lnkd.in/eVNrbftk Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World, by Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West. The world is awash in bullshit. Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Higher education rewards bullshit over analytic thought. Startup culture elevates bullshit to high art. Advertisers wink conspiratorially and invite us to join them in seeing through all the bullshit — and take advantage of our lowered guard to bombard us with bullshit of the second order. The majority of administrative activity, whether in private business or the public sphere, seems to be little more than a sophisticated exercise in the combinatorial reassembly of bullshit. https://lnkd.in/e7cG4KUP #complexity #science #bullshit #skepticism #SFI #debunking #mythbusting #marketing #sales #consultancy #business #complex #systems

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For the second year in a row, we're hosting the Masterclass: Build Your Future! Last year's edition was our highest-rated program. Rik Vera, the maestro himself, will focus on 3 things: 🔍 Understand the latest trends 🌍 Discover how they impact the world 📈 Learn to leverage them in your business strategy The focus is 50-50 inspiration/workshop. The workshop itself is generic, but the tools and learnings are applicable to your situation. Link in comments. See you there! :)

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How to reshape our gas stations to fit the mobility and energy transition   As a result of the transition towards an era of new modes of (energy for) mobility, there is less and less need for traditional gas stations. Amsterdam has around 60 traditional gas stations. Just imagine how many there are in all European cities!   My colleague Marek Kruszel worked over the past 4 years, together with public organizations and organizations in the energy & mobility sector to develop a vision for ‘The Gas Station of the Future’. He truly did an amazing job to translate this vision into a formal contract between the City of Amsterdam and TotalEnergies and Pon. The gas station at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam will be the first in our beautiful city to become future proof. His lessons learned, and those that are yet to be learned, can be of great value & inspiration for other cities across Europe to start reshaping their gas stations. #Duurzamemobiliteit #Innovati #Polis #Eurocities #Smartcities #Amsterdam #PON #TotalEnergies #SustainableEnergy #Innovatie #EnergieTransitie

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