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What’s the inspiration behind Evolution Devices?
We started working on the platform in 2017, as part of an effort to help my dad deal with the effects of multiple sclerosis. After my dad was diagnosed, he struggled to walk and he suffered some falls because he constantly dragged his foot while walking—he had started to lose the ability to pick up his foot.
At the time, I was at the University of California at San Francisco doing work on neurostimulation, or electrical stimulation of nerves. My co-founders and I all spent our fr
Recording data/getting a little cardioee-time as “bio-hackers”, working on projects that used sensors and other technology to assist and enhance the human body. We got together to build a first prototype for my dad in 2017, and have spent years refining it.
Through my dad's experience—and the experiences of millions of others living with walking impairments—we have built around a vision of having a more data-driven approach to physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Evolution Devices is collaborating with institutions such as UCSF, Northwestern, and USC. How did you establish these partnerships, and what role do they play in building your company’s future?
Our collaborations are key to our continued success. Our EvoWalk platform has the potential to really change the way clinicians treat and track patients at high fall risk. Continuing to collect data with these research institutions will help deliver scientific backing for our technology, and evidence for how it benefits clinical care.
How did you meet your co-founder? How do you work together?
Juan, Pierre and I met while at UC Berkeley; we were all part of the “Neurotech @ Berkeley” Club. In the early days of the company, we all prototyped and spent our days and nights building something functional. Now, we are distributed into more specific roles: Juan is our CTO and leads our technical development; Pierre is our CSO and focuses on improving our algorithms and research studies; and as the CEO, I focus on pushing forward on the vision of the business, partnerships, sales, and fundraising.
What’s your team culture like?
Our team is now working remotely. We are mostly engineers and scientists; we all really enjoy the brain, and can geek out over new technology and science in the rehab and neuro space.
Our team comes from many different backgrounds and cultures, which is reflected in our everyday conversations. Whether it’s learning about new music, food, language differences—there’s always something fun and new to learn!
What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced while launching your company?
It’s been difficult to scale quickly enough to meet demand. Whenever we have a press release or news appearance, we get lots of interest from people to join our pilot program. Since we cannot scale our manufacturing yet, we haven’t been able to take everyone on.
Now that our EvoWalk is closer to being finalized, we hope to have this problem solved soon.
Pierluigi testing the EvoWalk on User 0: his dad.
Why did you decide to raise from the crowd via Republic?
I met a few founders who had raised through Republic and really enjoyed their experience. They had success, and recommended the platform to us. After speaking with the Republic team, I noticed their seriousness in vetting companies for potential, and have enjoyed my experience with the platform.
The idea of democratizing early fundraising is very appealing to me, and I believe it is the future of early stage fundraising for startups. I really wanted to be a part of it—and so far, it has been a great decision!
What is your superpower?
Being able to have a conversation with anyone.
What’s your kryptonite?
Video games.
Do you have any unusual routines or habits?
I don’t look at my phone in the morning until after I make coffee.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to play basketball, surf, and play video games. I come from a big surfing family, who mostly grew up in Peru where there are great waves. I grew up in Southern California, so I was exposed to surfing most of my life and always enjoyed doing it for fun.
Are there any apps or gadgets that you can’t live without?
I’ve become really reliant on Grammarly. I am a pretty good speller, but Grammarly has helped me not have to think about it as much—I can just brain dump on the computer screen, then easily go back and fix my errors.
I’m also a fan of the Apple Watch. I like playing with the concepts they use to motivate people, and see how we can apply it to the people we work with.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Trust yourself, and don’t be afraid to ask for what you need. If you don’t ask, there’s a good chance you won’t receive what you are looking for.
Presenting at the Toyota Mobility Conference
If you could give yourself one piece of advice 5 years ago, what would it be?
To the 5 years ago version of me, I would say: follow your gut and don’t stress. Things will be tough, but you always get through it. At the end of the day, if you keep trying to help others you’ll be living a fulfilled life.
