Cool Peep of the Week: Neal Pecchenino
Cool Peep of the Week: Neal Pecchenino
WHO IS THIS COOL PEEP: Neal Pecchenino
Neal Pecchenino is a product creator and developer, who was born and raised in Fresno, California. Neal now lives in Santa Monica—and can’t complain about it! Neal went to University of Southern California, and during that time, started an LED lighting company. He does lighting for bars and restaurants across Los Angeles including 901 Bar & Grill, all Roco’s Taverns, 77 lounges, and soon O’Hara’s by UCLA.
Neal’s experience as an entrepreneur coupled with his experience developing products with Belkin, lead his to the team at Simple Matters and Ditto. He was brought on to the Simple Matters team in February 2015 to help manage the remaining product development and oversee all marketing and operations efforts. For Neal, Ditto is very much a part of him and the company Simple Matters, is truly home.
What are a few of your favorite things?
Food: Ramen. And not the cheap, sodium bomb ramen, but the real stuff. If you’re ever in LA west of the 405, check out Santouka Ramen in the Mitsuwa Market. Unassuming but 100 percent next level.
Sports: USC Trojans everything! Especially football.
Pro teams: Lakers (Gonna miss you Kobe), 49ers, LA Rams, SF Giants.
Drinks: Anything and everything, especially if it involves Tito’s Vodka. Although, I’ve also been on quite a jalapeno margarita kick lately. I actually went out and bought jalapenos to make my own. Lesson learned—don’t put half a jalapeno in a drink!
Music: I am an avid Soundcloud user and love house music. Follow me: https://soundcloud.com/ambiconda
Places: I love New York! The energy is infectious, and I need it. I actually really like trips to China as well. Being a 6-foot-tall white guy in Shenzhen is a blast. I might as well be Brad Pitt.
What makes me happy: Progress. I need to feel like I’m constantly moving forward. My life started in one of the slowest places possible, Fresno California, and has progressively sped up ever since. I love places like LA and New York, where the pace, and energy forces me to move faster and be better. I’m at my best when I’ve had 3-4 cups of black coffee and I bounce from email to call, back to email, calling shots and making moves.
When you are home alone and you think no one is watching, what are the quirky things you do?
Talking to myself, while I clean…Sound crazy? Come on, you do it too! If you asked my friends they’d probably say I’m busy snapchatting selfies, but who’s asking.
What’s your favorite haunt?
I’m at peace when I work out. Coming from Fresno, where there’s not a lot to do, the gym was one of the only places I could escape to and establish a base line. I still do so everywhere and anywhere I can. It has become a way of life for me.
Empty your pockets right now. Be honest, what did you find?
Ditto of course! Ditto actually fits perfectly in a coin pocket (that weird little pocket on every pair of jeans that seemingly has no purpose). Other than a Ditto, my phone (front right pocket), pack of gum (back left), wallet (back right), and keys (front right) and a few receipts from my favorite places in West Hollywood and Santa Monica.
What is one thing that no one would guess about you?
That I was Tommy Trojan, USC school mascot, back in college!
What’s playing on your iTunes?
I am a Soundcloud user and at this moment:
- Shiba San “Burn Like Fire” https://soundcloud.com/alldayidreamsweetdreams/shiba-san-burn-like-fire
- “1500 Strokes” https://soundcloud.com/bashhmusic/1500strokes
Where can we find you next?
I’m proud to say that I love the product I helped create. Ditto is an ultra-simple wearable tech product that notifies you to things happening on your phone. It does so through silent vibration patterns that you can set up in our mobile app (iOS & Android), so you’ll always know when calls, texts, app notices, timers, and a number of other items are notifying your phone. Ditto is the perfect solution for the on-the-go mom whose phone is in her bag and who constantly misses calls, the lawyer in court who filters his notifications to those that matter most, deaf and hard of hearing individuals who can now feel their phone from across the room, the nurse or doctor that can’t or shouldn’t have their phone with them while treating a patient, or that special someone you want to send a little extra buzz to while at work. Ditto is a product designed for everyday use. It doesn’t require charging, and the battery lasts anywhere from 3-6 months depending on the use. Ditto is waterproof and extremely durable, and is truly a product that takes care of you versus you having to take care of it.
Find out more about Ditto at www.simplematters.com. Buy it now on our site or on Amazon.
We’re also available in select Target locations. We’re going to be everywhere very soon, so keep an eye out for Ditto.
Follow (don’t stalk!) Neal Pecchenino on FB and Twitter below…
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