A look back
Doing our part.
In 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 crisis, Aurora Consulting announced the RISE (Relief for Innovative Startup Endurance) Award to help small businesses and inventors through the challenging times. Consistent with our mission to support emerging growth companies, we felt that weathering this crisis should not come at the loss of hard-fought R&D efforts.
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Given how incredibly rewarding the entire experience was and given the problems that still plagued even a year later, we decided to bring the RISE Award back in 2021, offering a free provisional U.S. patent application or $5,000 towards a non-provisional U.S. patent application to a selected applicant.
We love helping entrepreneurs. It's what gets us out of bed in the morning, so we're firmly committed to the RISE award being an annual fixture. However, out of a strong desire to look forward beyond the pandemic, it will return as the “Recognition for Innovative Startup Excellence” Award.
2022 RISE Recipients.
heARsight LLC
We're so very pleased to announce that the first place, full $5,000 award, goes to heARsight LLC. heARsight's mission is to empower people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (HOH) with innovative tools that contribute to better speech comprehension and an overall higher quality of life. Their innovation is a pair of augmented reality smart-glasses that provide subtitles to a user during their in-person conversations. The need for assistive tech like this is massive – the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number of people globally who suffer from hearing difficulties to be 430 million. This number is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050 due to the aging global population and unsafe listening practices. This mission is a personal one for the heARsight team – the company was founded by Danny Fritz and Riley Ellingsen during their time as Master's students at Notre Dame, where Danny conceived of the idea from his lived experience watching his girlfriend, Meg, struggle with hearing difficulties in everyday settings.
Our thought bubble. When we look for ideal RISE recipients, we look closely at potential for societal good matched with a team that can execute. heARsight is just this type of impactful innovation, backed by the kind of DNA it takes to see through to market success. Assistive technology is a corner of the market that unfortunately still has too much white space and we’re happy to help them fill it, in any way we can!
ThermoVERSE
We’re excited to share that we’ve selected ThermoVERSE as our first runner-up, to receive a $4,000 award. ThermoVERSE is focused on pioneering technology that will deliver cost-effective heating and cooling energy retrofits so that low-to-middle income (LMI) housing property managers can reap the benefits of an energy efficiency (or building code) upgrade without having to open up the walls. Low-to-middle income housing constitutes approximately 30% of all housing stocks in the U.S., and retrofitting buildings to accommodate new HVAC installations often comes with the surprise of required building code upgrades that can triple expected costs! The goal of ThermoVERSE's highly modular thermoregulation systems will be providing thermal comfort without the need for these costly energy retrofits.
Our thought bubble. Their innovation is both timely and necessary. Given skyrocketing energy costs, soaring home prices, and housing shortages across the country, disruption in this space is essential to maintain viability for as many LMI properties as possible.
>> Learn more about ThermoVERSE.
We’re excited to share that we’ve selected ThermoVERSE as our first runner-up, to receive a $4,000 award. ThermoVERSE is focused on pioneering technology that will deliver cost-effective heating and cooling energy retrofits so that low-to-middle income (LMI) housing property managers can reap the benefits of an energy efficiency (or building code) upgrade without having to open up the walls. Low-to-middle income housing constitutes approximately 30% of all housing stocks in the U.S., and retrofitting buildings to accommodate new HVAC installations often comes with the surprise of required building code upgrades that can triple expected costs! The goal of ThermoVERSE's highly modular thermoregulation systems will be providing thermal comfort without the need for these costly energy retrofits.
Our thought bubble. Their innovation is both timely and necessary. Given skyrocketing energy costs, soaring home prices, and housing shortages across the country, disruption in this space is essential to maintain viability for as many LMI properties as possible.
>> Learn more about ThermoVERSE.
Spirit Fire Aftermarket
We are delighted to report that we've selected Spirit Fire Aftermarket as our second runner-up, also receiving a $2,500 award. Spirit Fire developed a solar powered light that activates at night when in motion. With traditional truck cab lights, you have to drill holes and rewire the whole vehicle to connect the light wires to the car battery. With Spirit Fire's lights, you just peel and stick the lights where you want them and they turn on at night when you're driving due to special sensors detecting light and certain kinetic energy. Luciano and his team have bootstrapped the entire mission, right down to the creation of the custom tool required to make the lights.
Our thought bubble. We love gritty entrepreneurs who roll up their sleeves and find ways to innovate. Spirit Fire's story is a great example of finding a real market need, self-bootstrapping, and doing a practical thing well.
We are delighted to report that we've selected Spirit Fire Aftermarket as our second runner-up, also receiving a $2,500 award. Spirit Fire developed a solar powered light that activates at night when in motion. With traditional truck cab lights, you have to drill holes and rewire the whole vehicle to connect the light wires to the car battery. With Spirit Fire's lights, you just peel and stick the lights where you want them and they turn on at night when you're driving due to special sensors detecting light and certain kinetic energy. Luciano and his team have bootstrapped the entire mission, right down to the creation of the custom tool required to make the lights.
Our thought bubble. We love gritty entrepreneurs who roll up their sleeves and find ways to innovate. Spirit Fire's story is a great example of finding a real market need, self-bootstrapping, and doing a practical thing well.
2021 RISE Recipients.
Awayr AI
The first place, full $5,000 award goes to Awayr AI. Awayr’s mission is to enable designs of the future, with a relentless focus on end-user well-being and system performance. In 2009, co-founder Adam Beal was hit by a distracted driver trying to adjust his radio. In an effort to save others from similar fates, he and Dr. Ben D. Sawyer launched Awayr AI and began creating a new class of modeling and simulation AI that can model and predict human factors in ways not previously possible. Their critical innovations have the potential to save lives and improve driving safety for millions of people, while also decreasing the time it takes for futuristic technologies, such as vehicle autonomy, to make it to market.
Our thought bubble. We live in a distraction-fueled economy, and it’s coming at a great cost to driver and pedestrian safety. This seems like an incredible opportunity to apply advanced machine technologies to address preventable human failure. Backed by a team with a world-renowned automotive scientist and former Fortune 10 automotive strategy expert, we’re confident Awayr AI will deliver on its mission!
Aspirational Technology
We’ve selected Aspirational Technology as our first runner-up, to receive a $2,500 award. Aspirational Technology is on a mission to end water poverty with an affordable and immediate solution to the global health crisis of waterborne diseases. They’ve developed an ultra low-cost, easy to use water filter for low income consumers in developing countries. Their filter is easy to use and screws directly onto the type of faucets commonly found in low-income houses. A family of five will spend less than a penny a day for water—less than any other filter available on the market in emerging countries. Their approach doesn’t end with a device, though. They’ve also architected a scalable and profitable manufacturing and distribution model centered around regional production that will create economic opportunity in developing countries and reduce carbon emissions from long supply chains. Added sustainability and environmental impact comes by way of a reduced carbon footprint compared to other clean water solutions since filtering water at home eliminates wasteful consumption of plastic.
Our thought bubble. Water, food, shelter – those are the essential needs and Aspirational Technology is tackling the most important in a very big, very scalable way. It’s tragic that anyone could be denied access to the most vital ingredient to life. Their mission is focused on a truly great cause, and we firmly believe they have the backgrounds and passion to make a big difference. Every startup says they’re trying to make the world a better place, but Aspirational Technology is actually going to do it!
Karybdis
We've selected Karybdis as our second runner-up, also receiving a $2,500 award. Karybdis aims to improve patient care in gynecological surgeries through technique and device innovation. Their product is a device that will increase the speed and safety of minimally-invasive abdominal laparoscopic hysterectomies. The current methods of operation take 30-60 minutes, and according to Karybdis, every single minute saved in the operating room saves the hospital approximately $100. Nearly 1/3 of all women in the United States will undergo a hysterectomy by the age of 60, and almost half of hysterectomies conducted in the U.S. are abdominal laparoscopic hysterectomies.
Our thought bubble. Given skyrocketing healthcare costs and the number of women impacted by this type of operation, disruption is essential. This innovation is both timely and necessary. Their group comprises an interdisciplinary team of graduate students at the University of Michigan from the schools of medicine, business and biomedical engineering – and they are backed by support from leaders in the field of Gynecology. Karybdis is a winning combination of a great idea and execution ability, with big potential for both societal and economic impact.
2020 RISE Recipients.
The first place, full $5,000 award goes to CAPNOS. Their noble mission is to "help people breathe better with a safe alternative to vaping to reduce lung illnesses and save lives." Founder and former vape user, Brendan Wang, noticed that he wasn’t addicted to the nicotine, but rather the habit of vaping itself. After more of his friends tried quitting, he thought there had to be a way to simulate the vaping experience without the harmful side effects. Their device, the CAPNOS Zero, effectively satiates the desires that come with stress, boredom, and party situations, helping its users take the edge off and feel relaxed. Their zero smoke, zero nicotine approach ensures nothing is going into your lungs except the air around you.
Our thought bubble. The timing and necessity of this innovation couldn’t be more perfect. Prior to COVID, the health hazards from vaping were becoming an epidemic of their own, especially amongst our vulnerable youth population. In a post-pandemic world, a focus on lung health will be of vital importance to all. The CAPNOS mission is timely and essential.
Our thought bubble. The timing and necessity of this innovation couldn’t be more perfect. Prior to COVID, the health hazards from vaping were becoming an epidemic of their own, especially amongst our vulnerable youth population. In a post-pandemic world, a focus on lung health will be of vital importance to all. The CAPNOS mission is timely and essential.
We’ve selected PedalCell as our first runner-up, to receive a $2,500 award. PedalCell promotes bicycle adoption by powering technology that keeps riders safe and connected. Their goal is to forever eliminate dead batteries while biking. Batteries used by lights, GPS, phones, power banks, and other devices have limits for cyclists. They need charging, are bulky and heavy, and loose capacity outdoors. As an example, bike lights become hazards when they run out of power – 21% of cyclist fatalities occur at night in cities. PedalCell's CadenceX converts a rider’s motion into charging currents that power lights, smartphones, GPS, and other USB devices. It installs in minutes and is compatible with nearly all bicycles.
Our thought bubble. We firmly believe that healthy lifestyle-supporting innovations will be even more essential as we move forward into the post-COVID world. PedalCell is a winning combination of a great idea with an incredibly talented team to see it through execution and commercial success.
Our thought bubble. We firmly believe that healthy lifestyle-supporting innovations will be even more essential as we move forward into the post-COVID world. PedalCell is a winning combination of a great idea with an incredibly talented team to see it through execution and commercial success.
We've selected realLINGUA as our second runner-up, also receiving a $2,500 award. They're on a mission to unite the world through language-learning and make it accessible to all, by taking a fresh approach to learning languages that doesn't involve endless memorization, boring grammar skills, or nonsense phrases. The goal is getting to the level of a native-speaker while naturally learning the language actually used in the real world. Their approach combines the use of the linguistic concept called Comprehensible Input with Curated Immersion™ – giving you the right materials at the right time, that are challenging enough to make you struggle, but easy enough to follow along with the gist of the conversation. They have some very exciting new technology coming that we can't wait to share more about in the future.
Our thought bubble. Anyone who's ever taken a foreign language class has felt these pains when trying to put the education into practice. We firmly believe that any technology that enables remote learning and makes language learning more accessible and inclusive will be a much welcomed new normal.
Our thought bubble. Anyone who's ever taken a foreign language class has felt these pains when trying to put the education into practice. We firmly believe that any technology that enables remote learning and makes language learning more accessible and inclusive will be a much welcomed new normal.
Kaiser Precision Software, LLC
Our final exceptional runner-up is Dan Kaiser of Kaiser Precision Software, LLC. Dan is very early stage, so we're limited in how we can describe the innovation, but suffice it to say that it's an impactful invention that could improve safety for a huge number of consumers and professionals.
Our thought bubble. We think Dan has an innovation that could help many folks who are near and dear to our hearts, prevent what should be unnecessary injury.
Our thought bubble. We think Dan has an innovation that could help many folks who are near and dear to our hearts, prevent what should be unnecessary injury.