• Gethin Fisher started The Quiet Community after losing his job during the pandemic.
• Its flagship product is the Q Pod, which serves as a working space, a relaxation zone, and a guided, sensory meditation experience in one.
• Fisher is currently crowdfunding to build more Q Pods, which he intends to market to “forward thinking” workplaces and co-working spaces.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Gethin Fisher, founder and managing director of The Quiet Community, says the idea for the Q Pod was an extension of his own natural shyness.

“The origin of the idea came from me just feeling uncomfortable in public places,” he told Business Insider Australia.

“I’m quite shy and quite introverted. I sort of sometimes struggle with social anxiety, like I get a bit nervous and feels like the world is watching me. And I was sat in a cafe, having that moment. And I was like, ‘well, what would I need to help me feel more comfortable?'”

The Q Pod was the result. A “privacy pod”, it looks like a wide, comfortable chair inset in a large, egg-shaped enclosure with a hood. Though it’s pitched as a quasi-private space for people to “work, relax or recharge,” the Q Pod’s biggest selling point is the Quiet Mind Experience: a ten-minute guided mindfulness and sensory exercise designed to relax you.

Designed in partnership with Tilt Industrial Design, the Q Pod comes loaded with sensory experiences, from “circadian” lighting to scents and breezes, all intended to enhance the guided meditation experience. Of course, there’s wi-fi and power for those who want to use it to work.

The Quiet Community claims that user testing has shown that heart rates relax by 33% and users feel 28% calmer after a session in the Q Pod.

“The results from our user testing are super encouraging,” Fisher said.

“Not only do people feel better after some quiet time in our Q Pod, they’re also more focused, efficient and accurate in their work.”

The sensory experience is driven by biometric data. If the pod detects that a user is stirring or uncomfortable, it will change the the Quiet Mind Experience to match their rhythm.

Despite having sat on the idea for the Q Pod and The Quiet Community for some time, Fisher was driven to make it a reality in 2020, when he lost his job due to the pandemic.

“COVID kicked in and I found myself unemployed for the first time in my career,” he said.

“They say necessity is the mother of all invention. Without a better idea or another job opportunity. I thought, well, let’s just explore this idea a bit further.”

Now, having produced a single Q Pod as a proof of concept, Fisher is looking to expand and turn The Quiet Company into a viable business. He launched a crowdfunding campaign and is pursuing traditional funding routes with a view to building more pods.

He says the initial inquiries are from “forward-looking” companies who want to encourage staff wellness and corporate social responsibility.

“Obviously, lots of companies are trying to attract their staff back into the office now, and they see this as one of the ways to do that,” Fisher said.

In the long term, Fisher has a bigger vision that goes beyond the Q Pod.

“My long term goal is to open a chain of retail stores, where people can come and enjoy some quiet time,” he said.

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