It is honor to be nominated for a second year to the Innovator of the Year Awards presented by the Orange County Business Journal!
After last year’s ceremony, I had the opportunity to chat with OCBJ CEO Richard Reisman. I told him that being in that room inspired me to enroll in UC Irvine’s I-Corps program and hire a developer to build out one of my lab’s prototypes. I remember thinking: "I could really see myself contributing to and growing in this community. Maybe in 5 to 10 years, I'll actually have earned a nomination."
Well, just one year later, I still don't think I deserve this award, but I am certainly working toward that vision I set for myself last October. I did build that prototype, ReadWithUs, and I did complete the Equalize pitch competition, and I did follow up by applying for the $50,000 NSF I-Corps program! In just over 4 weeks--with my co-founder Cameron Cassidy, graduate student Alyson Yin and industry mentor Isabelle Bart--we have nearly completed 100 interviews with blind parents and others in our ecosystem as part of our customer discovery.
I’m ready to be inspired again by OCBJ’s commitment to fostering local innovation. I can’t wait to see what goals come out of this year’s ceremony! 🚀
