Hi!

I'm the founder of two hardware a start-up companies. I've lived in 7 countries other than New Zealand and visited around 50.

My interests are pretty diverse; music, technology, reading, meditation, philosophy, politics, innovation, movies, investing... the messed up state of the world etc!

I appreciate nature and the outdoors, getting out and exercising... stuff like mountain biking, rock climbing and yoga etc are activities I enjoy.

However, as a start-up founder, time for many of the activities above has become very limited... I'm passionate about my start-ups!

I don't use Facebook, but you can check out my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thompsonbj/. Please note the recommendations down the bottom.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I'm doing a business development visit to India because one of my start-ups has developed a patent-pending continuously variable transmission (CVT). It's suitable as a transmission for ICE and EV 2, 3-wheelers and due to it's high efficiency, it can help to reduce carbon emissions or increase the range of EVs. Having lived in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, I have first hand experience of extreme air and noise pollution caused by masses of inefficient motorcycle scooters. I believe our CVT can make a real and positive difference!

I've not earned an income for a long, long time, consequently I'm doing this business development trip on a very tiny budget; cost is a driver, however, it's definitely not the only driver. I'm traveling alone, so it would be brilliant to meet people to socialise with and hopefully gain a better understanding of Indian culture and perspectives... perhaps go out for meals with (I love Indian food!) etc... that'd be brilliant! Bound to make for a much more stimulating and interesting adventure!

Interests

• arts
• environment
• yoga
• meditation
• politics
• technology
• music
• hiking
• business
• engineering
• philosophy
• food
• spirituality
• sport
• innovation
• climbing
• startups

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: how about Authors: such as Rohinton Mistry, Patrick Suskind, Sara Gruen, Laurie King, Amy Tan, Markus Zusak, Khaled Hosseini, Lionel Shriver, Jonathan Franzen, Abraham Verghese, Hunter S. Thompson, Joseph Heller, Alain de Botton, Audrey Niffenegger, Donna Tartt et al.

Movies: anything by Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance etc), Coen Brothers (No Country For Old Men... awesome!), Guy Ritchie (The Gentlemen, Snatch, Lock Stock, Rock n Rolla etc), The Pianist, Crash, Shawshank Redemption, Garden State, American History X, American Beauty, Amélie, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Fight Club, The Piano, The Usual Suspects, Pan's Labyrinth, Exit Through The Gift Shop, Being John Malkovich, Hell or High Water, Burn After Reading, Obvious Child, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, JoJoRabbit, Limitless.

Music: from the likes of Fly My Pretties, Thievery Corporation, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Aldous Harding, American Analog Set, Tame Impala, Cowboy Junkies, boygenius, Faraquet, Massive Attack and Groove Armada through to Pixies, Sonic Youth, Mars Volta, Stone Roses, mewithoutYou, Built to Spill, Shipping News, Shellac, Sungrazer, Billy Talent, PJ Harvey, Lungfish, Melvins, Slint, Shihad, Jesus Lizard, Truckfighters, Vista Chino, At the Drive-In, METZ, Hermano, Tomahawk, Rage Against The Machine & Queens Of The Stone Age, AC/DC. Strong leaning towards indie/alternative/stoner.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I once flew in the back of a Hughes 500 helicopter... there were no seats or doors; I sat on the metal floor and had to wedge myself in so I didn't slide out as the helicopter banked up the gullys of the mountain we were flying to the top of. It was quite a freak-out, but I survived the journey and was able to join the effort to fight a scrub fire once we reached the mountain top!

Teach, Learn, Share

I'd be happy to share about start-up life, my experiences traveling the world... discuss whatever; your passions and interests!

I've done some unusual stuff... I used to work in the offshore oil and gas industry and worked with Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) ref. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/rov.html. They're a bit like underwater drones. I worked on a job in Spain in 2006 which, at 4,000m depth, was the deepest commercial ROV job in the world at that time. We were recovering oil from a sunken oil tanker - we managed to recover ~13,000 tonnes of oil! Ref. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2002/nov/20/spain.qanda

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm pretty social, easy going and flexible. I typically find it easy to get on with people from varied backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures and ages (that was an essential characteristic for the work I did around the world in oil and gas!).

I'm a very open person and enjoy discovering the different perspectives and ways of being of people from other countries.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, France, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam