Gooru's Peek Stroller System

We are upgrading forward-facing baby strollers with mirrors, Bluetooth, Kinetic Energy, and technological features today’s parents crave.

Some technology we're  integrating into baby strollers is used in other applications (i.e. kinetic energy, bluetooth).  But why Mirrors?

Modern neuroscience indicates face-to-face communication is critical for baby and toddler brain development. At stake for our children: language development, social development, emotional intelligence and neuro-intellectual growth of myriad types.

Starting at around 11 months of age, children traveling in backwards-facing strollers are typically turned forward, allowing the baby to sit upright and see the world.  This near-universal parental action in the developed world positively exposes the child to a view of the world around them. 

Unfortunately, it also makes interaction between parent and child very difficult, or in some cases, impossible.

Our first product is an attachable stroller system brings mirrors and other useful technologies to baby strollers to ensure eye-to-eye communication between parents and children continues well past 11 months of age.

There’s an incredible rate of learning during the first three years of life, and eye-to-eye communication coupled with the right tactics may be the best developmental strategy for all children. Yet the vast majority of babies in the developed world transition to a forward-facing stroller in the first year, where they universally lose all eye-to-eye communication with their caretaker. Reconnecting this bond for every parent and baby traveling in a stroller will support widespread developmental improvements.

In addition, when a child or caretaker has hearing difficulties (466 million worldwide - 34 million children) they can begin learning American Sign Language (ASL) as early as the first year of life.  ASL cannot be easily utilized with a child in a forward-facing stroller, so this segment loses a significant communication opportunity.

Finally, those with neurological delays should widely benefit from our technology. As an example, 1 in 59 children in America are reportedly now being diagnosed with Autism (up to 1 in 28 in New Jersey), and early intervention tactics help children have fewer language delays, symptoms and general developmental delays.

Parenting my children is one of the great honors and joys of my life.  This  joy led me to inspiration, which led me to Prototypes, which has led me to this moment. So of course, this business is for parents like me, who find joy in parenting despite hectic schedules.

As a busy, working parent interested in human development, I want to see elegant, simple, effective products and solutions made for people at every stage of life.   

We conducted professional focus groups with working moms and parents in Massachusetts and saw positive feedback about our early prototypes, particularly in regard to the market and neuro-developmental potential. 

(Research Survey/Focus Groups - Conducted Sept. 2018)

The other key demographics are children on the Autism Spectrum, medically vulnerable children, and children learning ASL.

Non-verbal communication, an oft underappreciated power, will also be stimulated. I originally came up with this idea when I was teaching my own child the ASL Alphabet. 

Technology, human connection, and consistent communication all matter for human development.  Gooru is making these issues, and a thoughtful awareness in product development, our core focus.

Our first product is an attachable device that works in conjunction with most existing baby strollers on the market.  The device, now on Prototype number 8, has a specialized reflective surface (mirror) to ensure that face-to-face communication is enabled between caretakers and the next generation of babies and toddlers in strollers. 

With eye-to-eye communication enabled, parents will be able to better connect with their children and enhance brain development on every walk, stroll, or strut.  This happens with a simple smile, a wave, a wink, a song, or simply by describing the trees, the buildings, the flowers, the cars, the people, the loved ones, the sky, the birds, the stop signs, the brilliant diversity of color, the cracks, the lines – really anything.  The child will watch the parent’s lips, or hand signals, see the object, and often respond; building baby's brain with each interaction.

There is also a smartphone holder that has multiple useful features, including access to apps and music.

Our first product purposely crosses many geo, socio, cultural, and economic boundaries by encouraging language and speech developmental, while maximizing communication opportunities. 

Our planned products will continue to develop and refine the features of a smart baby stroller, including an App, Bluetooth, and Kinetic Energy for device charging.

At scale, and standardized, parents will effortlessly engage their children more, and the next generation of babies will benefit.  

Our solution has been described as "simple, yet elegant" due to it's uncomplicated nature and correspondingly significant impact.  

Ask almost any child development expert, and they'll likely tell you eye-to-eye communication is incredibly important, if not the most important thing for child development.

Strollers are in almost every household, and some children spend time in strollers every single day. As such, reestablishing the parent-child connection in the forward facing stroller may be the most significant thing we can do to develop the next generation.  

There is a reasonable argument to be made that nothing else may be more impactful.

...'astonishing impact on brain development...single most important predictor of later intelligence'

New York Times - All the News Fit to Print 1997

Integrating kinetic energy, bluetooth-ability and device remote device control allows significant benefits for all parents.   We're creating a new category of photography, for example.

While all of these technologies have been developed for purposes outside of the baby stroller, through thoughtful integration, these technologies will be utilized in the stroller with useful and valuable impact. 

Some Mirror technology is already widely adopted by parents for use in automobiles, where mirrors encourage parents, driving an automobile, to take their eyes off the road and look at the baby in the backseat.

Our mirror is bespoke to a Baby Stroller, and simply requires an anti-reflective coating, at the least, in order to prevent the sun from deflecting into babies face.  Technology could also be employed to create an eye-to-eye connection via webcam type devices.

Other technologies we're working to include on the baby stroller:

Kinetic Energy, purposed for a baby stroller - enabling smartphone and other devices to be charged on-the-go (i.e. electric blankets during wintertime in Boston, fans in Miami, and much more).

Bluetooth - enabling the stroller to act as a tripod to take family pictures and videos anywhere.

Remote Control technology - controlling a smart phone from a distance.

An App  that has features that tie the product offering together, incent parental action, and provide a one-stop shop for parent interests.  We see a b2c and b2b component for this app.

Neuroplasticity was a useful discovery for adult populations, but eye-to-eye communication between parents and children is still critical between ages 0 and 3.  Here's how Wellesley College Graduate Hillary Clinton described it:

"The computer comes with so much memory capacity that for the first three years it can store more information than an army of humans could possibly input. By the end of three or four years, however, the pace of learning slows. The computer will continue to accept new information, but at a decreasing rate....But it is clear that by the time most children begin preschool, the architecture of the brain has essentially been constructed. From that time until adolescence, the brain remains a relatively eager learner with occasional 'growth spurts,' but it will never again attain the incredible pace of learning that occurs in the first few years." After this critical period, as Harvard child psychiatrist Felton Earls told Ron Kotulak, "A kind of irreversibility sets in. There is this shaping process that goes on early, and then at the end of this process, be that age 2, 3 or 4, you have essentially designed a brain that probably is not going to change very much more."

In other words, the clock is ticking for every baby, and engagement early matters.

We want to see mirrors/eye-to-eye enabling technology on strollers become a near-universal, standardized feature.

Roughly, there are 3.8 Million babies born in the US each year.  Nearly all of these babies will be traveling in strollers. Some of these babies will be in a stroller every day.  

Children are turned away from their parents in a stroller, losing eye-contact and severely diminishing communication, sometime between 6 months and 11 months, and they stay that way until they are out of the stroller, around age 4. 

So in the US alone, there are potentially 11+ million young Americans (3.8 million babies x 3 years in a stroller) that could benefit from our product at any given time.  We plan on starting with a trendy population of parents, attaching our device to their current strollers, before seeing this solution rolled out as an industry standard sometime after that.  

Survey/Focus Group feedback from potential customers was strong.  See initial feedback from a survey of 44 mothers (and a few fathers) on their first reaction to the product.

We hand-picked this business to launch my company because the product, with the support of the right team, has the ability to transform an industry while positively impacting the lives of millions of children.  

We have additional products in the pipeline, all with a positive impact on families.  I hope to find excellent people, rich with money or talent, to support Gooru.

Looking farther ahead, we hope to give back.

Money is currently a challenge.  I've been using it and credit to fund IP, prototypes and brand development.  

Getting to an MVP has been a challenge. My wife was hoping I'd get to a functional prototype 7 prototypes ago.  I'd like to think an initial functional prototype from a mechanical engineering standpoint is close at hand.   To date, I've used 4 different prototypers, including multiple industry expert engineers.  The product has most recently gone through the Harvard iLab. 

Once the mechanical engineering is made functional, the software/technology engineering will come into focus.  This includes the planned App, the kinetic energy feature, and bluetooth.   With the support of M.I.T. Solve, we can super-charge the technology engineering so we can launch an attachable product, and possibly a full stroller by early next year.

I need to update, change or evolve my business structure.  I  recently rebranded to Gooru and will create a C-Corp from scratch that houses the IP I've accumulated thus far (Utility Patent, Trademark, relevant web domains), and hopefully the investors, partners, and employees to be.

I need to attract and educate influencers to the importance of eye-to-eye communication, then to the importance of engaging eye-to-eye in forward-facing strollers (neurologists, pediatricians, celebrities).

I need to finalize/get feedback on my launch plan for the business. 

I'd like to patent more ideas.

I'd like experts to be involved in helping me launch this business as it's my first, but not my last, entrepreneurial venture.

I KEEP PUSHING THE BUSINESS AND MY BABIES FORWARD.

(Kids Pictured in action with early Prototype- Canton Fall Classic)

I've been working through The Capital Network classes of late, and am now preparing to speak with some brilliant and knowledgable investors.  Got anyone in mind?

I'm also networking and engaging groups that may help connect me to people who are able to help me raise money and find launch the business (SOLVE, Promise Venture Studio).

In terms of engineering, I'm now connected to talented engineers, both within the Juvenile industry, as well as at the Harvard iLab.  Quality engineering and design is not cheap, however, and the engineering riddles will not get easier as we move forward into the technology, and the full baby stroller. I'll need both new funding and new talent to design top-notch quality products.  I've also started attending events at the Cambridge Innovation Center.

I've met with capable and competent lawyers who have reviewed my IP and are willing to work with me when I'm ready.

Finally, I'm working with the Harvard iLab's meditation Advisor to make sure I'm good with the Universe spiritually (a requirement for any CEO of Gooru). 

I'm part-time, and very much looking forward to becoming full-time.

Evaluating new contributors actively for all roles:

CTO

Engineering and Design

Marketing

Legal

Procurement

Customer Service

Gooru's business advisors bring valuable industry experience I lack.  They've launched businesses, run entrepeneurial ventures, and worked for blue chip baby companies as executives.  

As for me:

1) I have vision, the right motivations and really like to win. 

2) I've received a "Best Dad" T-shirt from my wife.

3) Every business I've been associated with thus far in my life has been acquired, or has growth that could inspire acquisition.  

4) I've been learning from future leaders for the last 4 years as an application evaluator for Schwarzman Scholars, arguably the most important academic program on the planet.  I'll bring that perspective to leading this business.

During this, my first product development adventure, I've made continue to make many mistakes, but I'll continue learning. The better advisors I have, the fewer mistakes I'll make.

Gooru is currently connected to two product development advisors that have served to help develop a workable MVP:

1) Harvard iLab engineer, Dr. Jules Thiery

2) Juvenile Product Executive Steven Gibree.

Both of these talented advisors can further aid product development and product procurement.

We are also benefiting from the recent and ongoing neurological research coming out of Harvard's Center on the Developing Child and Cambridge University.  

We're planning on launching the business as a near-luxury brand serving well-off and well-informed millennial parents.  Starting a trend is easiest, by, from the top of the market.  We plan to only sell on our website, and from 300 baby boutiques located in locations like Back Bay, Boston and Bel Aire.  That's it.  The reason for this is three-fold:

1) Starting a trend, like mirrors on strollers, that catches on internationally is easiest to do from upmarket.

2) My utility patent is a combination patent best suited as a high-end product.  

3) With limited resources, working with a single distributor seems simpler for my first product.

With a functionally engineered product, and just a wee bit of marketing support, we should be profitable within a year.

With funding, marketing talent, and MIT quality engineering on the case, we may transform the .95B stroller industry within 3 years, and make some noise in the 6.5B Juvenile Product Industry within 5 years.  

My plan is to use the proceeds from this business to fund other businesses.

I've been surrounded by people, yet pushing this business forward alone.  It's heavy.  I'd like to see if I can push faster aided by the the power of M.I.T. Solve and Open-Innovation. 

Plus, there's still a lot of engineering to do.   

Additionally, as I look to connect with child development experts, celebrities, investors and media, M.I.T. Solve is connected to all.

Lastly, with this year's focus on early childhood development, M.I.T. Solve is a perfect next step for the business.

Engineering - I'm looking for support in developing our App, Kinetic energy features, bluetooth, and remote device control technology, as well as building a full stroller.  If a single, coordinated engineering team existed for all, or most of these things, the business would benefit.

Marketing - To shamlessly quote Hamilton, I've created an initial launch plan in hopes of turning this spark into a flame.  I'd like feedback on this plan, and connections familiar with a high-end/luxury product launches. 

Finance/Legal - My proverbial house needs ordering. I need lawyers to help me consolidate and assign assets, and get a new C-Corp off and running.

Investment - I want people smarter than me, who know the ropes, know the spaces we're heading, arent afraid of collabrative vision, and want to make money by making a difference.

I've been working in AI for the last 10 years, and plan on bringing benefits of AI to the modern Baby Stroller.  

This may come via the features were developing: kinetic energy, remote device control, bluetooth, or the App.  It may come in how these features are deployed, or how they work together.  As we turn away from mechanical engineering, and toward the software engineering part of our plan, we'll use AI whenever we can to cut costs, increase efficiencies, anticipate customer needs, and create the best possible customer experience.

We'll use the AI Innovations prize to spearhead our inital investment into these technologies. 

I often telll my young daughter that we are living in the 'Age of the Woman.'  It's a great opportunity, and an even greater responsibility.  

The next generation of women need to have a strong start in life, and that start requires a strong connection to caretakers.  That connection may come from eye-to-eye communication via a mirror on a stroller, face-to-face interaction around a dinner table, or a video link to grandparents an ocean away.

Our technology will drive young women forward so they are better prepared for the leadership challenges that lay ahead.

We'll use the Innovation for Women prize in one or more of the following ways.

1) Designing a more female friendly product

2) Improving the mirror technology, leading to a clearer picture of child/caretaker.

Improving the 'intellectual, social, emotional and later school success' of all young children by increasing eye-to-eye communication will certainly affect healthcare and education in a positive way.  Given that's what our first product will do, we'd be happy to have Innospark ventures as part of our DNA.

The AI component of our business may come via the features were developing: kinetic energy, remote device control, bluetooth, or the App.  We'll use AI whenever we can to cut costs, increase efficiencies, anticipate customer needs, and create the best possible customer experience.

We'll use the Innospark AI Innovations prize to spearhead our inital investment into these technologies.