Start with One is a way of working that involves deep collaboration with one person or community, to solve one problem.
In making something impactful together, you may discover something new that is helpful to many others as well.
Throughout history, many important innovations came about through this kind of collaboration.
Typewriter → Keyboards
One of the earliest typewriters was created by Italian inventor Pellegrino Turri and Countess Carolina Fantoni da Fivizzano, who was blind. Together, they were trying to find solutions that would make it easier for the Countess to write. That’s how they came up with one of the earliest typewriters, which paved the way for keyboards – an invention that still impacts many of us use today.
Talking Books → Audiobooks
Talking Books were audio versions of popular books, that were recorded onto little cartridges that you could load into a portable speaker. They were designed so that people who are blind could enjoy a variety of written texts in audio format. This important innovation for the Blind and Low-vision communities paved the way for audiobooks – which get millions of downloads all over the world, in many languages for all different kinds of people and purposes.
In 2019, I helped organize a Start with One makeathon at Creative Lab.
We invited 10 people with unique experiences and ambitions to spend the day working closely with us. Our goal was to learn from them and together to make something impactful for them and their community.
Many wonderful ideas came from our day together. One idea went on to become a Google Research project, and was even part of the 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony in Tokyo!
Who are you starting with?
If you’re building something together with one person or community, we would love to hear about it. Explore more Start with One projects, or submit your own, at g.co/startwithone.