Jacob Kowalewski who, in between cooking delicious meals on Coboat, developed his idea Blynk whilst sailing the seven seas. On the 21st September 2016, the eve of his 25th birthday, he will launch a free eye care software as a platform for raising money for eye care in the third world.  

The software itself encourages you to maintain a healthy blink rate when your eyes are engaged with a screen. Blinking is the single most important thing when it comes to keeping your eyes healthy, but studies show that when your eyes are engaged with a screen you can blink up to 66% less than you normally would.

It’s probably happening right now.

‘Being on Coboat put me in a rare environment where the talents, skills and expertise were all readily available in the people I was surrounded by on a day to day basis.’

Jacob has benefitted from a hugely varied talent pool on board to help him. Catherine, (who has her own inspiring Coboat story, coming soon!) spent three weeks on board. With a background in development she worked with Jacob during and after her time on Coboat to build his website and refine the software itself. Lucinda Gosling, expert in marketing offered her skills and experience whilst on board to promote Blynk and connected Jacob with a brand expert to rebrand Blynk.

‘Over the weeks practically every Coboater offered input and advice on some level, and it was amazing to watch how the software developed week on week.’

September 2016 sees Jacob hit a major milestone in his project as he prepares to launch. Ten weeks spent on Coboat, countless idea pitches, his pitch fully honed and perfected and feedback gained from his target market and it’s time to start telling the world.

‘I’m excited… and nervous.’

To help him spread the word about his launch Jacob is using Thunderclap. Thunderclap is the first crowd-speaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together.

Last week, on the nets of the Catamaran, whilst sailing from Vulcano to Panarea in Italy, Jacob gave his last pre-launch pitch to the Coboat community and concluded with an invitation for the guests on board to spread the mission of Blynk. And we did. Blynk started Thunderclapping.

The Coboat community, friends and family helped Jacob achieve a reach of over 38,000 people in the first few days. Jacob is also talking to major eye care providers to help him raise awareness of his software and mission. With six days to go until the official launch we anticipate that Blynk will be seen and shared across the globe.

Jacob you are our second ‘Made on Coboat’ success. Huge congratulations to you and it’s been a privilege to have been part of your journey.

Our message to you reading this story – get on board Coboat, explore, collaborate, innovate and start Blynking!

About Blynk:

Reduced blinking can result in: dry eyes, tiredness, blurred vision, lower productivity, uncomfortable contact lenses, difficulty reading, stinging eyes, low quality sleep and CVS (computer vision syndrome).

Blynk converts your mouse or caret into a smart desktop icon that helps you to maintain a healthy blink rate. It is also easy to forget that your eyes, just like your muscles, can be overstrained and need breaks too. Blynk will also remind you when your eyes might appreciate a little break from your screen. Both of these features are fully customisable to your schedule and needs.

The software is completely free and supports a fantastic charitable cause. Through a combination of partnerships with one of the largest eye care charities in the world, and very high profile optometrists he hopes to raise money as a means of eliminating inadequate eye care as an obstacle to breaking out of the poverty cycle.

Blink more, improve your health & help fund third world eye care. ‘Blynk’ here.

Support the Thunderclap campaign here.