In 2 sentences, what does your venture do? Korwave gives kids with Epilepsy a greater sense of independence and safety with our mobile, wearable, and discrete brain-monitoring system. Korwave can automatically detect seizures and then notify the child’s parents, reducing the need for continuous supervision by up to 12 hours, providing them with a much-needed break. How was the inspiration for creating Korwave? I was inspired by my own family’s experience with Epilepsy. When I was 12 years old, my 4-year-old sister had a 15-minute seizure while I was home alone babysitting her. After that point, our family changed forever. My mom had to quit her career to care for my sister full time and my little sister lost her independence because of my sister’s seizures. I knew from a young age that I wanted to do something, and having gone through 3 years of the Biomedical Engineering program here at ASU, I decided it was time to act. What are your most notable accomplishments, deals or partnerships? The Chief Pediatric Neurologist of Barrow Neurological Institute/Phoenix Children’s Hospital is currently serving on our advisory board, as well as a premier Neurologist from Mayo Clinic, and the executive director of the Epilepsy Foundation of Arizona. We won the MSD Future Forward Shark Tank competition and so far have received over $15,000 in grant funding from competitions. Our next step is to complete our latest prototype, launch a crowdfunding campaign, and then seek out investment capital.
How has the ASU Venture Devils program helped your venture progress? ASU’s entrepreneurship programs have given me the tools I needed to be successful in launching my startup. In addition to the Venture Devils program, FSE 301 (with Dr. Sebold) was instrumental in developing my idea into a working startup, as well as gaining early customer validation, developing our evidence-based slide deck, and learning how to pitch. Korwave is a part of the Venture Devils program which supports ASU student entrepreneurs who are launching ventures within wide range of developmental stages, from ideation through commercialization through dedicated mentorship. The Venture Devils Program is designed to challenge, monitor, and advance the venture development process at Arizona State University.
