The ER-ID Story

A Life-Saving Innovation

Many of you know I love long bike tours across Europe. But I've always worried—what if I face a medical emergency and can't communicate, especially if I don't speak the local language?

In Romania, the number of road deaths is four times higher than in Sweden, for example, making it the worst performer in Europe. In conversations with motorcyclists and cyclists across Europe, it soon became clear that I was by no means the only one concerned by this problem.

ER-ID is a lifesaver sewn into clothing, providing crucial medical information to doctors with a single scan. Join the journey of bringing this innovative safety feature to life with WATZEFAK Neckwear.

  • The Outdoor Enthusiast

    Name: David Anderson

    Age: 35

    Occupation: IT Specialist

    Leisure Activities: Hiking, rock climbing, camping, mountain biking

    Reason for Emergency Passport: David often goes on solo trips in remote areas where communication might be limited. Having an emergency passport in his clothes ensures that his medical history and emergency contact information are available if he gets injured or lost.

  • The Adventure Seeker

    Name: Alexander Bakern

    Age: 32

    Occupation: Freelance Journalist

    Leisure Activities: Free climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping, zip-lining

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Alexander's adventurous activities carry a higher risk of injury. An emergency passport in his clothes provides quick access to his medical history for emergency responders, ensuring he gets the right care promptly and emergency contacts are quickly available.

  • The Motorcycle Enthusiast

    Name: Robert Johnson

    Age: 38

    Occupation: Mechanic

    Leisure Activities: Motorcycling, motorcycle racing, motorcycle maintenance, biker meetups

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Robert often rides long distances on his motorcycle and participates in races where there is an increased risk of accidents. An emergency passport in his clothes ensures that his medical history and emergency contacts are quickly available if he is involved in an accident or needs medical help.

  • The Avid Cyclist

    Name: Emma Wilson

    Age: 28

    Occupation: Graphic Designer

    Leisure Activities: Cycling, participating in bike races, exploring new trails

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Emma cycles long distances, sometimes in remote areas. An emergency passport ensures her medical history is available if she has an accident or needs medical assistance on a trail.

  • The Frequent Traveler

    Name: Maria Gonzales

    Age: 29

    Occupation: Sales Executive

    Leisure Activities: Traveling, exploring new cultures, photography, adventure sports

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Maria travels internationally frequently, sometimes to areas with limited access to medical facilities. An emergency passport helps local healthcare providers quickly understand her medical background in case of an emergency.

  • The Cultural Explorer

    Name: Michael Nguyen

    Age: 45

    Occupation: University Professor

    Leisure Activities: Visiting museums, attending cultural festivals, reading, writing

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Michael often travels for cultural events and academic conferences, sometimes in foreign countries. An emergency passport ensures he has a copy of his medical information accessible in unfamiliar environments.

  • The Elderly Gardener

    Name: Susan Miller

    Age: 67

    Occupation: Retired Teacher

    Leisure Activities: Gardening, bird watching, volunteering at the community center

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Susan spends a lot of time outdoors alone and has a history of heart problems. An emergency passport ensures that her medical information is accessible if she has a health emergency while gardening.

  • The Chronically Ill Child

    Name: Emily Thompson

    Age: 10

    Occupation: Student

    Leisure Activities: Drawing, playing board games, reading books, watching animated movies, spending time with family

    Reason for Emergency Passport: Emily has a chronic illness that requires regular medication and specific medical needs. An emergency passport in her clothes ensures that caregivers and medical professionals can quickly access her medical history, allergies, current medications, and emergency contacts in case of a medical emergency at school, playground, or during family outings, ensuring she receives the right treatment promptly.

Green Future Textiles

Sustainability Meets Innovation

Less than 1% of textile waste goes into the production of new garments. More than 65% ends up directly in waste incineration or landfill. This was determined by McKinsey & Company in July 2022. While close monitoring of sustainable production has been nearly established recently, there is no further monitoring of each item of clothing after sales.

The ER-ID allows companies to monitor every single(!) item of clothing from planning to recycling. Data for planning production, logistics and marketing through to the quantification of recycling processes and valuable consumer insights - the ER-ID delivers it.

Testimonials

  • Ioan Sabin
    (Bellotto Cycle Wear)

    We’ll help you with ER-ID because we do something good.

  • Iulian Ene
    (Head Randoneurs Romania)

    Great idea, we’ll promote.

  • Simona Rossi
    (Cyclist Italy)

    Congrats for this idea!

  • Carolin Radulescu
    (Organizer Randoneurs Romania)

    I like that the ER-ID Label also contains contact data.

  • John Doe
    (Seawolves Motorcycle Constanta Assoc.)

    For usual neckwear I would pay 20,- € but with ER-ID 40,- up to 50,- €, because it is ‚lifesaving‘.

Supporter-Program

Family, Friends & Co

Family, Friends & Co is an idea from Silicon Valley. The core idea is to realize early-stage financing that cannot be traditional ways, from the founders' environment. In order to involve larger investors in projects projects, a proof of concept is required to validate the business model. Up to this point six-figure sums are often already invested in the projects and the founders have already gone 'all in'. This is often the point at which the project hardly allows any counter-financing due to the time required and the outflow of funds for prototypes, product tests, surveys and the start of production.

This is exactly where ER-ID is currently at with its first product WATZEFAK Neckwear.

Some of you have been following the development of the ER-ID closely for weeks, months and years and identify with the project or are waiting to finally be able to use the feature. The good news:

The ER-ID is still coming in 2024! Be one of the first supporters to be more save with the ER-ID.

  • 25 00

    WATZEFAK Thank you!

    Support without reward. Thank you.

  • 39 00

    WATZEFAK Brave & G0 50

    Be the first who own WATZEFAK-Neckwear.

    • 1x WATZEFAK-Neckwear Summer-Edition of the current collection.
    • Delivery around Sept./Oct. 2024

  • 79 00

    WATZEFAK Brave & Go 100

    Be the first who own WATZEFAK-Neckwear.

    • 1x WATZEFAK-Neckwear Summer-Edition of current collection.
    • 1x WATZEFAK-Neckwear Winter-Edition of current collection.
    • Delivery around Sept./Oct. 2024

  • 450 00

    WATZEFAK Team-Indie-Style

    Your awesome WATZEFAK Neckwear unique team-design.

    • Summer- or Winter-Edition
    • max. 15 pcs.
    • Delivery around Oct./Nov. 2024

  • WTF Art-Collectors-Club E#0

    Artist portrait: Lia Seraphin

    Admittedly: It wasn't as difficult as I thought to convince Lia Seraphin to attend the first edition of the WATZEFAK Art Collectors Club. In addition to the ER-ID, she saw exactly the same thing in Neckwear as I did: a canvas that you can play with freely. It is the start of the WATZEFAK ART Collectors Club, the proceeds of which will be donated to a good cultural cause from one of the future editions onwards.

    Lia Seraphin combines her deep connection to nature and love of art in her works. In her abstract work, she tries to capture and visually depict the colors and forms of nature in order to reflect the beauty and complexity of the world. Her unique works are a harmonious symbiosis of creative vision and natural inspiration.

  • 1,000 00

    WATZEFAK limited Art-Collectors-Club Bronze

    Limited exclusive collectors edition. Design by Lia Seraphin.

    • 1x WATZEFAK Summer-Edition
    • 1x WATZEFAK Winter-Edition
    • 1x framed fine art print 497 x 410 mm
    • Limited to 30 pieces.
    • Delivery around Oct./Nov. 2024

  • 5,000 00

    WATZEFAK limited Art-Collectors-Club Silver

    Limited exclusive collectors edition. Design by Lia Seraphin.

    • 1x WATZEFAK Summer-Edition
    • 1x WATZEFAK Winter-Edition
    • 1x framed fine art print 997 x 820 mm
    • 30 min. Videocall with founder Dirk Wellmann
    • Limited to 15 pieces.
    • Delivery around Oct./Nov. 2024

  • 10,000 00

    WATZEFAK limited Art-Collectors-Club Gold

    Limited exclusive collectors edition. Design by Lia Seraphin.

    • 1x WATZEFAK Summer-Edition
    • 1x WATZEFAK Winter-Edition
    • 1x framed fine art print 1491x1230mm
    • Dinner with founder Dirk Wellmann
    • Limited to 5 pieces.
    • Delivery around Oct./Nov. 2024

Use of Funds

The reason why I'm not starting immediately is that I still lack the funds to get the production process up and running economically in larger quantities. That's why I've decided on a smaller sale on demand for the time being. The first production run is therefore only manufactured according to incoming orders. This has the advantage that no funds are wasted and the disadvantage that you have to wait a little longer for the goods. These are the items that will be built up with your support until your goods are produced.

  • Processing Machines

    In the prototype stage, it was okay to cut each ER-ID label individually by hand. For larger runs, this quickly becomes uneconomical and is currently more time-consuming to process in the factory because all the labels have to be folded first. The aim is to reduce the manual work steps, avoid sources of error during processing in the factory and get more ER-ID labels on a roll.

    Optimal: Printing machine with double head and automatic rewinding mechanism.
    Minimal: Retrofit automatic retraction mechanism to existing appliance.

  • Implementation of the WATZEFAK store with configurator

    Of course, WATZEFAK Neckwear will have its own online store. The aim is to offer both the standard designs and a configurator (user-generated design). The implementation will include interactive, rotatable 3D models so that users can easily place their designs on the neckwear.

    Optimal: Shopify store with configurator
    Minimal: Shopify Shop

  • Warehouse (initial equipment)

    Here it's a case of print run, print run, print run. The more we print in the initial run, the lower the price per unit.

    Optimal: Watzefak edition 700 pcs.
    Minimal: Watzefak edition 420 pcs.

  • Optimization of Internet Connections

    The aim is to keep all connections and the energy supply self-sufficient. For this reason, our servers are already largely independent of land lines and are prepared for solar, wind and conventional power failures of indefinite duration without interruption. Nevertheless, there are currently still around 7 - 8 minutes of downtime per day. This should be reduced to 1 - 2 minutes.

    Optimal: Antenna 5 - 8m higher
    Minimal: Status Quo

The Founder

Dirk Wellmann

I have crossed the continent twice with my own muscle power. Once by bike and once by velomobile (picture). I also cover thousands of kilometers every year as part of brevets - long-distance cycling events - in Romania. A country that has four times more fatal road accidents than Sweden.

Conversations with potential customers, such as motorcyclists, cyclists or other high-risk athletes, have always motivated me to keep going - even if something didn't go quite as smoothly as I thought.

The development was challenging for many reasons. A year ago, I survived a very serious accident with a mixture of a lightning-fast decision and luck.

An incident that showed me how important this project really is.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported me up to this point and accompanied me on this journey.

Developed and tested with ♥ in Constanta/Romania.