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NVC11 winners StrideTech discuss work post-graduation and plans on expanding their business

Amy Santoso | Photo Courtesy of StrideTech

Soon after his grandmother, Chris, fell and was injured while using her walker, Engineering Plus Alumnus Tim Visos-Ely came up with an idea to improve the technology. He then brought his idea to the Mechanical Engineering Senior Design course, where he joined a team focused on Engineering for Social Innovation (ESI) to develop Smart Step, a technologyembedded attachment device. The product, which detects when the user is leaning forward, sends vibrational feedback to the user, which, in turn, facilitates safer walking habits. 

“The more I learned about walkers, from how their basic design has not changed in over 50 years to how they can actually increase the risk of a fall, the more I realized how huge a problem walkers are,” said Visos-Ely. 

The team and company, named StrideTech, entered their project into the 2019 New Venture Challenge (NVC), a university-wide competition that supports and  funds entrepreneurial ideas. NVC participants attend entrepreneurial events and collaborate with mentors throughout the competition before making a pitch for funding. Some of the skills the team developed through the competition and found integral for the business include technical writing and communication. In addition, they found the process of self-teaching and adapting to new subjects to be invaluable. 

Humsini Acharya, StrideTech director of R&D, said she valued “The tough job of communicating, voicing your opinions and allowing others to do the same, setting aside ego and title for the sake of the company’s success. [In addition] NVC allowed us to work full time on this venture from the [very beginning], while being able to fund the R&D needed for this project.” 

 Their hard work paid off: StrideTech won first place at the 2019 NVC and their business was awarded $100,000. Visos-Ely said that he has always wanted to be an entrepreneur, and winning the NVC gave him the opportunity to found StrideTech right after graduation. Acharya added that this opportunity allowed the team to develop at their own pace, and to devote themselves sufficiently to understanding the customer’s perspective. The competition thus helped them learn about business pitching, customer development, and user-centered engineering.

After graduation, one of the biggest changes for the team is how they view themselves. Acharya said, "Last year we were really treating ourselves and this idea as a student project ... ultimately just expecting a grade at the end of the semester. Now we’ve got actual paperwork saying we’re a business. That mental switch is huge - it’s real world consequences.” One of the challenges of working for a startup or on product development is the open-ended nature of the project. Acharya said that after years of training to answer questions with definite results and methodology, the switch to an open-ended project is a challenge. 

The StrideTech team says that in founding a start-up directly after graduation, their lack of engineering and business experience compared to PhD researchers and experienced professionals is a challenge they have had to consistently meet, but the group embraces the challenge and is learning as they go.

Visos-Ely said, “We have learned a lot about our customers and how to sell into the senior market. As a team of engineers, we had a good handle on the technology but had to learn business development, marketing, and sales."

In the future, the company intends to partner with in-home care agencies, senior facilities, and hospitals. After launching Smart Step to the market, the company plans to focus on improvements and iterations of the product, as well as on growing the business.

“There will always be something we can improve or add on, and this first product iteration is by no means the only one we want to launch,” Acharya said. “While school and classes are valuable, you will learn far more from doing something, be it research, a passion project, one man (or woman) claymation show, or an NVC pitch, than you will from reading about it.”