Hello, I'm Tom Stevens. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with CC DeGraff and Leandra Sims of Kensington Assisted Living in a fireside chat. Fireside chats are interviews with experts from the fields of health, technology and pets.
CC is the Executive Director and Leandra is Director of Memory Care at the Kensington Assisted Living and Memory Care center in Sierra Madre. Ms. DeGraff received her bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California Irvine and has a certificate in residential care for the elderly. Ms. Sims has a BFA in theater and music from Chapman University.
Here are some of the highlights of our discussion.
CC: Assisted living offers a more social setting for seniors that want enrichment and engagement. It's less institutional and more home-like. The assisted living communities are licensed by the department of social services rather than the department of health.
Our community is truly special. Our promise is to love and care for your family as we do our own. Every single team member that works here really exemplifies that we hire, train and employ only the best at Kensington. And we're very proud of that.
CC: We offer a variety of care here at Kensington.Our residents can move in and receive minimal care and assistance, and as they age, they add whatever care they may need.
We care for residents that have Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, and have residents that may have some physical needs. We do cater to a wide variety of residents and their care needs. We also employ nurses here 24 hours a day, who help us meet the clinical needs of our residents.
We are very fortunate because we have a partner that practices physical therapy here on site, and it’s called Heritage Health Pro. They have occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists that help us help the residents as well. Together with the nurses and our physical therapy partners, we're able to accommodate all sorts of conditions and help with any resident rehabilitation.
Leandra: People living with dementia are exactly that: they're living with dementia. They're not demented, and they're not patients. They're just people living with a disease like anybody else.
It's a hard thing to cope with for our families and our residents, and it requires a lot of love and support. I think that's what Kensington does best in their memory care. We don't decipher between which types of dementia we'll take. We are aware, and we can take care of everybody.
I think having two neighborhoods [one for early-stage dementia and another for later-stage] makes the biggest difference to help create a friendly and familiar - but most importantly - forgiving environment. When you are in early to middle dementia, your skills are so different than they are when you're in late dementia.
I think being able to separate allows them to socialize so well. When their needs become greater, which we would call “expressive communication” here at Kensington, it's okay. When you're in that other neighborhood, it's more forgiving and accepting.
Leandra: I love how when you shared Jennie with the residents that understood it wasn't a real dog, they didn't say, “Oh, you know, this isn’t real.” I loved how fascinated residents were with Jennie, even if they knew she wasn't a real dog.
With every other animatronic dog we've worked with, they were very aware of it being fake and did not want to interact. This was the first time I'd ever seen something like that, and it was brilliant.
On behalf of the entire Tombot team, I would like to thank CC DeGraff and Leandra Sims for their work at the beautiful Kensington home, and for sharing their insights. For more information on how you can help us bring Tombot puppies to people desperately in need, please visit our website.
We are approaching the final days of our campaign! There is still time to invest in Tombot on StartEngine. Head over to our raise page and become an early shareholder today.
I'm Tom Stevens,
Be well
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Hello, I'm Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Tombot.
We’ve created Jennie the dog. Jennie is a fully interactive robotic emotional support animal, and will be the first to be both an FDA-registered medical device and affordable.
I recently sat down in a fireside chat to discuss phase 1 of Jennie’s production, and am pleased to give you the Tombot engineering update for October, 2021.
When you think about Jennie, there really are four key elements. One is that she's a consumer electronic device. Think smartphone! There is a similar processor, similar memory, and similar battery type.
All of the things that go into making a smartphone go into the making of Jennie as well. She's a realistic robot with motors, linkages, and sensors. These factors not only have to function in a basic way, but they have to function reliably and allow her to take in her environment. She needs to make decisions about what is happening around her, and then exhibit appropriate behavior.
Jennie will also be an FDA medical device, which means we have to pass all of the necessary safety certifications and have good manufacturing practices. She's also covered with fur, which makes her unlike any other medical device in the world. These things must all come together in order for her to successfully make it to market.
We are currently in phase 1 of production engineering, which consists of high-level architectures all for the purposes of making her more robust. Jennie needs to be able to survive everyday use and be capable of passing all of the safety certifications around the world.
She also needs to be efficiently manufacturable at a larger scale. It’s not enough that we are able to make 1, 2, or 3 puppies. We need to be able to make thousands to get our robots into all our customers’ hands. In terms of the status of phase 1, we're nearing the end. We began this phase in August of 2021, and it's scheduled for completion this month as an overall success.
There are 4 key elements to phase 1 that we've been working on. One is the mechanical engineering aspect. “Mechanical” means engineering for things that move inside of Jennie - specifically for her head, neck, and her tail.
Second, electrical engineering is needed for the microcontroller. Think of a computer - just like your smartphone or maybe your laptop. A desktop computer has a microcontroller inside of it, and so does Jennie. We are also working on her sensors, including her command recognition.
She needs to be able to understand commands. She needs to be able to feel how and where she's being touched. Her power systems need to be able to power her all day on a single charge under typical use, while being able to be recharged almost immediately.
The third element is Jennie’s fur. We need the fur structured and applied in such a way that it can be done over and over again with very little variation from one robot to the next.
The last major activity for phase 1 is our manufacturing strategy. We get a lot of questions about where Jennie will be made. There are a number of criteria that we're using in the selection of our contract manufacturer. The number one criterion is quality.
You can still invest in Tombot and Jennie in the final days of our campaign.
We have been thrilled with the amount of support we’ve received in our equity crowdfunding raise, and want to finish our campaign off strong with you. Join our community of over 330 investors, and help us bring puppies to those who desperately need them.
Become an early shareholder on StartEngine today! We look forward to achieving milestones with you.
Hello Tombot family, I'm Tom Stevens. We recently held a Fireside Chat with Jay Goss. Fireside Chats are educational interviews with experts from the fields of health, technology and pets.
Jay is a general partner at Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health and serves on Tombot's board of directors. Wavemaker Three-Sixty is a Pasadena, California-based venture fund that focuses 100% on healthcare startups seeking seed-stage investments.
Prior to Wavemaker, Jay built and ran businesses from early-stage startups to building new businesses within very large companies. Jay earned his bachelors in economics and business from UCLA, as well as an MBA from the USC Marshall School of Business. The discussion below highlights some notable topics discussed in the webinar.
At its core, a venture fund is a pool of capital. I run out and get capital from other investors.
The goal or the requirement of a venture fund is to raise this pool of capital with the objective then of deploying that capital into some number of startups. You might raise $10 or $20 million and invest in five or ten companies over a handful of years.
You might raise hundreds of millions of dollars and invest into companies over three, four, or five years. But ultimately, the ins and the outs are capital coming in from investors and capital going out into early-stage or startup companies.
We'll look at between 20 and 40 deals a week but we're also a seven-person fund. There are seven partners here, so no one of us is looking at all brand-new companies every week.
Across the team, we're looking at those [prospects], and then some of those companies will get a second shake. Some of those companies won't be a good fit for the fund, or the fund is not a good fit for them. It's a funnel. Those companies move through the funnel and out the other end, which is about one new investment per month for us. We've invested in 39 companies over about 36 or 37 months. A little bit more than one a month.
Our favorite answers to those questions have to do with things that are going on in the healthcare industry. One, the aging baby boomer population. It's not to say that human beings don't get sick or need the healthcare industry's help when they're younger, but in general, human beings need more healthcare as they get older.
Baby boomers are now retiring, and that's causing a lot of stress on the US healthcare system. We can’t build hospitals fast enough. We can't invent enough technology to be able to take care of this growing aging population fast enough. That's one condition in place.
We have a very specific theory around what we do. We almost always invest at the seed stage. We want to invest in a company that's pure concept. If a company is already off to the races and generating millions of dollars, it's too late for us.
We have that conviction for one reason, and it goes back to our limited partners. Our theory being, if you're blessed with having 150 healthcare executives as investors who are able, willing, and motivated to help the companies you invest into, could we move the needle if these companies were a little bit more mature? Probably.
We could take them from nine to ten, we can take them from eight to nine, but taking a company from zero to one is a much more profound value creation. That's where our investors want us to play. That's where we're going to stick to, because we think we get the maximum bang for the buck, given that we have this secret weapon.
We like that there's virtual certainty that the product will be successful in both a consumer-focused marketing strategy and more of a B to B. It's very clear that there's no mystery around it because your waitlist and your pre-orders play this out, and this product can be up on a website.
People can discover the website, they can discover the product and they can just buy directly more and more as the product becomes more accepted. As the product actually gets the stamp of approval from the FDA, on and on and on.
We also love the fact that it will have a traditional healthcare play - in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, and other places where it will be marketed (for lack of a better term) to the end consumer.
Related Article: Investors Explain Why They Believe in Tombot
On behalf of the entire Tombot team, It was a pleasure having Jay Goss for this insightful discussion.
From a founder's perspective, raising capital is - without question - the hardest thing I've done in my career. It's not a single investor who puts you over the top, but a village of investors.
With our StartEngine campaign, our village extends out to our customers, non-accredited investors, and accredited investors. For more information, and to learn how you can help us bring Tombot puppies to those desperately in need, please visit our website, or join as an early investor on our raise page.
Hello, I'm Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Tombot, and we’ve created Jennie - a fully interactive, robotic emotional support animal. She'll be the first affordable robotic companion animal to be an FDA-registered medical device.
Today I'm going to talk to you about the top five reasons to consider investing in Tombot.
First of all, healthcare is recession-resistant. No matter what happens in the world, people will always need medical care.
Second, the global population of dementia patients is massive and growing rapidly. Sadly, there are no promising pharmaceutical treatments or cures on the horizon. Psychotropics and opioids commonly prescribed turn seniors into zombies - and can even be fatal.
A large U.K. study supports the use of robotic animals for reducing stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression. Research also confirms that these animals can reduce the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and the need for certain medications, such as psychotropics.
Tombot already has substantial customer traction, with over 8,500 pre-order wait list customers.
This includes over 500 organizations, such as:
Tombot has raised over $4 million to date.
This includes our lead institutional investor, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.
Tombot's leadership team has a history of success. We built a prior startup into one of the world's largest litigation automation companies, and were successfully acquired in 2011. Now we’re working together again at Tombot for a cause that matters to us personally.
We hope you'll join us on this journey and help us bring Tombot puppies to those desperately in need.
Our equity crowdfunding campaign is far from over, and your investment is crucial to our success.
Become a part of our community on our StartEngine raise page today!
Thank you for your support and we look forward to keeping you updated in the near future.
]]>Hello. I'm Tom Stevens. Welcome to the Tombot Fireside Chat series. Fireside chats are educational interviews with experts from the fields of health, technology and animals. Along with interviews, we feature families sharing stories about loved ones suffering from health adversities.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Bob Peisner, who explained why Tombot is important to him, and why he chose to invest in the company.
Related Video: Investors Explain Why They Believe in Tombot
Bob and I met at an Alzheimer's support group meeting when his wife, Eileen, was in the early stages of the disease. Bob had heard of early-onset Alzheimer's and late-onset Alzheimer's, but Eileen actually experienced sudden-onset Alzheimer's.
Eileen was scheduled for knee surgery in 2009. The surgery lasted about an hour, and then she stayed in recovery for a while. Once she got returned to her hospital room, nothing was the same.
At rehab, she was told she would need occupational therapy, but she wasn’t able to complete the puzzle tests they gave her. This was an indication that something was wrong.
The doctors thought that this was related to the anesthesia from the surgery, as opposed to the beginning signs of Alzheimer’s. Initially, they had hoped that her memory would improve once the anesthesia wore off, but Eileen’s memories continued to fade.
After her diagnosis, Eileen tried painting for a very short while, which was difficult even in the early stages.
What really made a difference was music. Eileen loved music, and she and Bob had close friends in the music industry. Playing their friends’ music helped considerably.
Bob and Eileen’s dog, Tammy, was also a wonderful companion. Tammy had incredible insight, and knew that Eileen was sick. She loved to be with Bob, but if he walked out of the room, Tammy wouldn't leave. She would stay by Eileen’s side. Tammy would jump up on the couch, and Eileen would just hold her and pet her, which calmed her down immensely. It was amazing!
For families that are struggling with the progression of Alzheimer’s and other mental health adversities, you’re not alone.
Bob highly recommends getting involved with a local Alzheimer’s support group, through the Alzheimer’s Association. The group that Bob’s son found for him was located in Thousand Oaks, California.
This was a great help to Bob, because some of the caregivers there had already experienced the same journey. Even though some of their loved ones had passed away 10 years prior, they were still participating in the same group with other caregivers whose loved ones had just been diagnosed yesterday. Bob was inspired to learn from others, and pass on his own wisdom to the next generation of caregivers.
Bob was fortunate enough to be able to safely care for his wife Eileen and their dog Tammy at home, but what if that hadn’t been an option? Bob believes strongly that Tombot can be beneficial in situations where no other family member is available to take care of a live animal. In Bob’s words, “I can't imagine that it won't be a tremendous help, not only for Alzheimer's but for many other types of diseases where an association needs to be formed. It's going to bring so much joy to so many people who could use it. There's nothing I wouldn't do to help it get off the ground.”
On behalf of myself and the entire Tombot team, we would like to thank Bob Peisner for this insightful fireside chat.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Jennie, please visit our website or raise page on StartEngine. Learn how you can help us bring puppies to the people who desperately need them.
Join our team of over 300 shareholders today, and become an early investor in our equity crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. We look forward to creating an impact in the lives of others with you.
]]>Hello Tombot family. I'm Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Tombot.
We invented Jennie, a fully interactive, robotic emotional support animal. She will be the first affordable robotic companion animal to be FDA-regulated.
I wanted to take a moment to update you on some of Jennie’s features. We get a lot of questions about Tombot technology, features, and how people should clean her.
Today I will be answering our most frequently-asked questions. Thank you for reading!
Let me first explain that Jennie is covered with sensors, enabling her to feel how and where she's being touched. She can tell the difference between a simple touch, a slow caress, and a vigorous pat.
Jennie also comes with a smartphone app that allows for a number of configuration changes, including renaming Jennie. Once you change her name on the app, she'll only respond to that given name.
She can feel herself being moved and a variety of other sensors to help her understand her environment and respond like a real dog would under similar circumstances.
When you think about the technology inside a robot, think smartphone. There is a similar processor, memory, battery type and battery life. Jennie is designed to last all day on a single charge, and is rechargeable overnight.
Jennie’s software is upgradeable, so we will continue to improve the features and behaviors of our robots over time.
A common question we receive is, “How do I keep my Tombot Puppy clean?”
After my mother fed her prototype robot chocolate pudding, we learned that cleaning was going to be essential. What a mess that was!
There are three ways to clean the robot.
In a typical home setting, you can simply use a wet washcloth and a mild soap or detergent. Jennie can get wet, but just make sure not to submerge her. Use this method to remove dirt and debris, as well as oils from hands to restore the fur to its soft, fluffy texture.
The second way to clean her would apply to a shared environment, like an assisted-living or skilled-nursing facility, where the robot might be passed from one resident to the next. Research from the UK shows that an antimicrobial spray followed up with an antimicrobial wipe should clear her pathogens.
The last way to clean her would be used in a hospital environment, and as an FDA medical device, Jennie will be incredibly useful in this setting. We are working with the infection control groups at several academic hospitals to develop a level of disinfection to meet Spaulding Low Level criteria - a clinical standard for objects that come into contact with patients’ skin.
Thank you so much for reading today.
As a reminder, we have weekly investor hours where I host an hour-long webinar. This is an opportunity to provide up-to-the-minute updates, and give you a chance to ask us about Tombot or investing.
In the meantime, I'm happy to respond to any questions, and look forward to hearing from you!
Join our mission and help us bring Jennie the robot to those who desperately need her.
Become an early investor on our StartEngine raise page today!
]]>At Tombot we've created a robotic dog named Jennie, who is a fully interactive emotional support animal that will be the first affordable FDA medical device.
We designed Jennie with the sole purpose of improving the lives and wellbeing of those suffering from dementia, Alzheimers, and other life-threatening illnesses.
We could not have come this far without the support of others, and our investors know that when they invest in Tombot, they’re investing in more than just a business.
We’ve experienced firsthand the amazing things you can achieve when your mission is to make a difference.
Hear what some of our investors have to say about Jennie and how her technology is creating an impact.
Ed’s mother suffered for many years with Alzheimers, and watching someone so close to him suffer like that was heartbreaking.
Knowing that people are not able to do the simple things like pet their dog, or be with their animal is tough, but Jennie is the solution for this problem.
Her realistic emotional support technology is designed to help over 50 million seniors that suffer from dementia and mild cognitive impairment worldwide.
Jay knows that when you find a product that was thoughtfully developed, you think “wow, I wish we found companies like this all the time”.
The fact that this product can sit at a tabletop at lunch and random people want to engage in conversation about this robotic dog is astounding.
It’s no wonder that we were named one of TIMES Magazine’s 2020 Best Inventions.
We believe this solidifies that Jennie’s technology can create positivity in the community and create a wave of better living.
Think about the last time you hugged your pet and own dog and how it made you feel?
Shouldn’t everyone be able to feel that jubilant?
We think so.
Melissa knows that these loving emotions you experience are something that people could have the opportunity to encounter when they hug and interact with Jennie.
Kwame saw two things that were compelling about Jennie.
One is the ability to reach a lot of people that are suffering from medical conditions.
And two, Jennie will truly impact not only their lifestyle but also reducing the symptoms from the condition they are suffering from.
Our vision is to improve people’s lives, and with Jennie, we are well on our way to bring this mission to fruition.
Tombot is on a simple, powerful mission.
We’re appreciative that our investors believe in our product, and we know that is why we have such a strong community.
We’ve come a long way with the support of our backers, and we’re excited to see what’s on the horizon with Jennie in the future.
Join countless others by becoming an early investor in our crowdfunding raise on StartEngine.
Please help us bring robots to those who so desperately need them.
]]>Hello, Tombot family. I'm Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Tombot.
We’ve created Jennie, a fully interactive, robotic emotional support animal that will be the first affordable FDA medical device of its kind.
My mother gave me my new purpose when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. At that time, I had to take away her dog for safety reasons. I started looking around for substitutes for live animal companions but didn't find anything that she liked or would respond to, so I started wondering whether advanced robots might play a role.
That launched me on a multi-year research and education journey. Along the way, I learned that my mom's story isn't unique.
Tens of millions of seniors around the world cannot safely or practically care for a live animal due to a health adversity. This means they miss out on the many mental health benefits and physical health benefits associated with the human-animal bond.
We needed to make a change, so we launched Tombot in 2017 to help those people.
Hello, Tombot family. I'm Tom Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Tombot.
We’ve created Jennie, a fully interactive, robotic emotional support animal that will be the first affordable FDA medical device of its kind.
My mother gave me my new purpose when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. At that time, I had to take away her dog for safety reasons. I started looking around for substitutes for live animal companions but didn't find anything that she liked or would respond to, so I started wondering whether advanced robots might play a role.
That launched me on a multi-year research and education journey. Along the way, I learned that my mom's story isn't unique.
Tens of millions of seniors around the world cannot safely or practically care for a live animal due to a health adversity. This means they miss out on the many mental health benefits and physical health benefits associated with the human-animal bond.
We needed to make a change, so we launched Tombot in 2017 to help those people.
Seniors with dementia suffer from behavioral and psychological symptoms, which include loneliness, depression, delirium, hallucinations, and violent anger.
To manage those symptoms, doctors frequently prescribe psychotropic medications. Not only do psychotropics turn seniors into zombies, they carry many health risks.
Additionally, over 80% of seniors in skilled nursing facilities suffer from chronic pain. Historically the go-to medications have been opioids, and if you've been reading the paper at all for the last 10 or 15 years, you'll have heard about the epidemic surrounding those medications.
Doctors are urgently looking for alternatives to these medications.
Studies show that if a senior with dementia can form an emotional attachment to an object, that person enjoys a great deal of relief from the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
Research on robotic animals shows that they significantly outperform traditional emotional attachment objects and have the added benefit of reducing pain and the need for pain medications.
We conducted multiple rounds of customer studies with hundreds of seniors with dementia, and what we learned is they have a very strong preference for realism.
Realism in appearance, texture, and most importantly, behaviors.
We went to Hollywood and teamed up with Jim Henson's Creature Shop to do all of our artistic design, and with their help we're building what we believe to be the world's most realistic robotic animal.
Jennie is designed to stimulate emotional attachment, at a price that most can afford.
A little bit about the insides of Jennie: she's covered with sensors that allow her to feel where she's being touched, and she responds to voice commands. She can feel herself being moved and has other sensors to help her understand her environment. Resultantly, she exhibits behaviors that are consistent with live animals’.
The total addressable market is a very large one.
There are about 16 million seniors with dementia or pre-dementia mild cognitive impairment in the US alone.
Despite 100% of our marketing on behalf of seniors with dementia, about 30% of our pre-order and waitlist customers have come in for other use indications.
We sell directly to the family members of the seniors with dementia, but we'll also distribute our product through: hospitals, adult daycare, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities.
At $449, we will be the most feature-rich product in our class, while costing less than 1/10th of the price of our nearest competitor, PARO (which sells for over $6000).
Our leadership team has been together for 30 years and 25 years, respectively. We have the technical, operations, and business expertise to execute on our business plan. We are currently working on converting Jennie from a prototype into a manufacturable design.
We've raised about four million dollars to date, and we’re raising an additional five million to take us the rest of the way to our first customer shipments.
Invest in Tombot on StartEngine!
We hope you'll join us and bring robots to those desperately in need.
We have close to 9,000 pre-orders from our wait list customers, including over 500 organizations such as:
You can make an impact today, and become an early investor in Tombot on our StartEngine crowdfunding raise page.
We look forward to continuing our journey with you.
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At Tombot, we are developing the world’s most realistic, affordable, FDA-regulated robotic companion animals for those who cannot safely or practically care for a live animal.
We are pleased to announce that production engineering is proceeding on schedule and on budget. Phase One of production engineering - high level architectures for the mechanical, electrical, voice and power systems - is slated for completion in October 2021. Phase Two will commence immediately thereafter, culminating in Early Alphas by Winter 2022.
We enjoyed a large uptick in website visitors this quarter, totalling over 35,000 sessions. This compares to 20,000 visitors the first quarter of 2021 and 12,000 visitors the second quarter of 2020.
Growth was also exhibited in our preorder and waitlist customers. At second quarter’s end there were just over 8,600 preorder and waitlist customers, almost doubling the previous year’s number. Conservatively, these 8,600+ customers translate to over 10,000 robots - a healthy backlog of orders!
Moreover, these stats are organically generated from media coverage. We have yet to advertise for customer acquisition.
We look forward to updating you again on our engineering progress at the end of our fiscal third quarter, October 31st, 2021.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to join us for our weekly office hours, a webinar in which Tom Stevens will answer your questions about Jennie, Tombot, and our mission.
As a reminder, Tombot is actively raising money through our equity crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine, where you can see all of our past updates and investor comments. Please invest and help us bring puppies to those desperately in need!
]]>Jennie is an emotional support dog who provides the relief, love and companionship of a real emotional support animal by interacting with you through facial expressions, head movements, and eye contact.
We have exciting plans for Jennie in the upcoming months. The primary development focus through Q3 is the pre-production of Jennie, which will allow us to scale individual features, and implement certain features in parallel.
We’re currently scaling developments on the prototype hardware and software for Jennie. Right now, we're in phase one. The product of phase one-engineering will be high-level architectures for the head and neck, the tail mechanisms, as well as voice and sound capabilities, firmware and power management systems.
Tombot’s goals for this third quarter will be the completion of phase one by the quarter end on October 31st.
Additionally, we're hiring another software developer. If you know anybody who might like to work on cute robotic puppies, please send them our way!
We're looking to raise another million and a half dollars to further develop Jennie, through our StartEngine campaign as well as direct investment.
Early investors will have the opportunity to join our upcoming semi-annual investor call, where we discuss additional Tombot updates!
Be the first to know by signing up for our email newsletter here, and if you haven't already done so, join us as a Tombot investor on StartEngine.
Learn more about our investment opportunity by reading the following blog articles:
]]>Our medical robotic dog, Jennie, was designed with the artistic services of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to create a whole new level of realism to stimulate emotional attachment and provide much needed relief for seniors with BPSD.
Related: Meet Jennie, Tombot’s Realistic Therapy Robotic Dog
But is a company that makes robotic animals ‘investable?’ How large is the market really? Knowing the true market potential for a product or industry is a vital part of building any successful business, and essential for knowing whether a company can possibly deliver outlier returns to investors. When we came up with the idea for Jennie, we knew there were millions of seniors across the globe who couldn’t safely or practically care for a live animal, and needed a substitute. What we didn’t realize is how vast the market is for Jennie as a robotic medical device.
The use of advanced connected motors, sensors, and algorithmic and AI software is propelling the medical robotics market.
Major types of robots used in healthcare include:
The medical robotics market is expected to hit $43.22 billion by 2028, with emotional therapy robotics expected to grow at a CAGR of 37.34%. This means that the medical robotics and therapy robotics markets are in their infancy, with tremendous potential for growth and return on investment for those who invest early. The potential is even greater when you consider the life-like and emotional attachment capabilities of a robotic therapy dog like Jennie.
But what is driving this growth?
Faced with aging populations, approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia. Research shows that 97% (Steinberg et al, Int J Geriatric Psychiatry, 2008) of these seniors suffer from the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia or BPSD. In 2017 alone, out of pocket dementia spend exceeded $47B dollars, while unpaid dementia care exceeded $230.1B (Alzheimer's Association, 2017).
It is well known that live therapy animals can relieve the symptoms for BPSD and behavioral symptoms of other cognitive impairments. However, it is not always practical to own a live animal, as was the case for my mother Nancy.
Related: Tombot Was Founded For Our CEO’s Mother, Nancy Stevens
This creates tremendous demand for robotic animals, like Jennie, as efficient and practical ways to alleviate depression, anxiety, distress, and loneliness associated with BPSD.
Though robotic animals have been shown to alleviate BPSD and reduce the need for medications, the existing products are either too expensive or don’t provide sufficient features or realism.
Considering that 60% of the 50 million people living with dementia live in low income countries, existing robotic animals are financially inaccessible or don’t have a lasting impact.
In other words, there are millions of people who don’t have access to an affordable therapy proven to reduce BPSD.
This amounts to a problem worth $billions that Jennie is positioned to solve.
If you have loved ones suffering from BPSD, then now is the time you can make a difference while also accessing a high growth investment on the ground floor.
Tombot is raising funds to bring Jennie to those desperately in need. Please joinus today as an investor.
Learn more and invest on our Startengine page today!
]]>In our most recent Ask Me Anything webinar, Tombot’s Founder and CEO Tom Stevens discusses our prototype Jennie, our equity crowdfunding raise on StartEngine, and answers the most important questions from all of you, our beloved community!
Watch this 40 minute video to hear Tom answer questions about his experiences as an entrepreneur in the medical robotics sector, and why he is championing affordable alternatives to medication prescribed to seniors battling the crippling symptoms of dementia worldwide.
There is even a special guest appearance on the webinar, Jennie! 🐶
At Tombot, we believe we are building a more positive and sustainable future in senior care, and with your support have been able to scale engineering developments on Jennie. In fact, we project for her to be the first affordable, FDA-regulated medical robot on the market!
Related Article: Meet Jennie!
Our hope is by bringing together those committed to innovation and change in senior care, we will be able to bring Jennie to the hands of those across the world who need her most.
We encourage you to visit our crowdfunding campaign to learn more about our mission at Tombot. If you have any additional questions about Jennie or our raise on StartEngine, we would be happy to answer them, so please do not hesitate to reach out in the Comments section of our StartEngine page!
Related Article: Regulation Crowdfunding 101: Learn How You Can Own Shares in Tombot
]]>Tombot creates robotic emotional support animals that provide comfort for seniors incapable of caring for a real pet. Our realistic robotic animals are designed to create emotional attachment which helps relieve the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD).
We anticipate our prototype robot “Jennie” will be the first affordable FDA-regulated robotic animal. With artistic design services by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, she’s unlike any mechanical toy animals.
Her patent-pending architecture mimics the anatomy of a real dog for life-like movement in her head and neck. Jennie looks, feels, and even behaves like a live dog.
My mom, Nancy Stevens was the inspiration behind Jennie. Nancy, who suffered from BPSD, always felt that mechanical toy animals and companion baby dolls were too childish for her. But she loved Jennie and even took part in helping me refine Jennie’s features. At times when my mom’s BPSD symptoms were the worst, she would say, “Jennie is helping me relax.”
From conversations and formal studies with other seniors with dementia, I now know my mom’s story is not unique. We founded Tombot in 2017 to bring Jennie to market for those that need her most, and I’m excited to introduce you to her more in depth in this article.
Jennie was born from careful scientific theory and process.
Studies show if a senior with dementia can form a robust emotional attachment to an object - traditionally a human baby doll, or stuffed animal - there is a significant reduction in their BPSD symptoms and a corresponding reduction in need for psychotropic drugs. However, few seniors can form these types of connections with traditional objects to gain the benefits.
What I learned from my mom and our own formal studies is seniors typically found the traditional objects too childish. I hypothesized that a life-like and age-appropriate robot for a senior would be more likely to promote emotional attachment.
My team and I designed the robotic technology for Jennie, but to make Jennie look believably realistic we turned to the Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, which is famous for designing and building animatronic creatures for television and film.
Some of the technology that has gone into giving Jennie her realistic responses include:
I’m often asked why did we choose to design Jennie as a labrador puppy? It all goes back to research.
According to the American Kennel Club, Labradors are the most popular dog breed in America and have been for the last 30 years. Plus, people associate friendly traits with yellow dogs and floppy ears. Considering all these, the yellow lab is a great breed to mimic and to promote emotional attachment.
Plus, who doesn’t believe that lab puppies are cute?
When BBC featured Jennie in action at Las Vegas's Prestige Living Facility for seniors with dementia, you’ll see the seniors' reactions are genuinely delighted at Jennie’s cuteness factor, as if they were interacting with a live puppy.
My team, especially, Hank Schorz and Jesse Schorz, have made significant contributions to Jennie with the support of thousands of people who have helped us in various ways.
From the hundreds of seniors who participated in our studies, to their family members, to senior care professionals, and the technical advisors at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, bringing Jennie to life has been a community effort.
Though the work and research is ongoing, the result is something I know my mom would love and recommend to her community—a realistic robotic pup designed to provide the same comfort and support as a real furry friend.
At the moment Jennie is one-of-a-kind, and there’s a large and growing waitlist of customers eagerly anticipating her first litter so they can have their own Jennie at home.
Bringing Jennie’s first litter to market at speed requires significant capital, and to move production along faster, we’ve opened our doors to everyday investors through StartEngine.
Related: Regulation Crowdfunding 101: Learn How You Can Own Shares in Tombot
If your loved ones are struggling with BPSD like my mom did and believe in the benefits of Jennie, then I encourage you to join our investor community. By investing a minimum of $249 today, you can help us bring Jennie to market tomorrow.
If you have any questions about our investment opportunity, please feel free to leave your questions on our StartEngine page, where I’ll get back to you immediately.
]]>I have been lucky enough to be designed with a special quality - I provide emotional care and promote emotional attachment in seniors dealing with adversities caused by dementia. I was born to stay by the elderly’s side and provide an alternative form of care to toxic medications that can otherwise be prescribed.
It gives me so much joy to see all the excitement around my future litter of puppies in training to share their benefits with seniors across the world!
I’ve answered a few of my most frequently asked questions from all of you below. If you have questions about Tombot’s raise on StartEngine to further development efforts for my next litter, check out our Investor FAQ article here.
Related Article: Investing in Tombot FAQ: The Top Questions From StartEngine Investors
Think of me like a furry computer that can move!
I was designed by Tombot to stay on and awake all day long from just a single charge! It’s best if I sleep when you do, and I charge overnight for our next adventure together.
Tombot gave me the ability to rest to keep me awake all day. When I am not being interacted with, I will remain alert and awake but will not move unless I hear a command, if I am being petted, moved, or touched!
All puppies need a stellar grooming routine!
There are two simple ways to clean me. When I spend too much time rolling around in dirt, I can be cleaned with a wet washcloth and mild soap!
For microbes, an anti-microbial spray followed-up by anti-microbial wipes mitigates most pathogens.
Like a real puppy, I get better with age!
I come with a smartphone app which allows users or their caregivers to provide me with updates.
These updates will improve and expand my performance and behaviors over the life of ownership!
The smartphone app is used to make configuration changes, which among other things allows you to give me my own special name! Once I'm named, I will only respond to that given name.
I am covered with sensors! I am very attentive, and always listening and responding to voice commands. I can feel myself being moved. I can also tell where and how you are petting me..
Accidents happen! Good news is, I was designed to be tough.
Early customer testing showed seniors with dementia were likely to accidentally drop me occasionally. Tombot is performing production engineering to make me robust enough for everyday use, including surviving drops!
If you have more questions about me, the future litter of Tombot puppies, or our raise, please email us or leave your feedback on our StartEngine page.
We are currently raising capital from investors with a desire to promote alternatives to medication in senior care. We have exciting updates ahead to share with you, and hope you’ll join our journey!
Our solution – Jennie.
My personal experience has shown me how difficult it is for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia forms to take care of a pet. That experience spurred me to launch Tombot in 2017 to serve people incapable of taking care of a live animal companion while enjoying the full benefits of having one.
Here’s my story…
One of the most difficult decisions I’ve had to make was taking away my mom’s dog.
When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s mild cognitive impairment and her circle of friends and activities reduced, Golden Bear - her boisterous goldendoodle puppy - was an increasingly critical companion as she dealt with independence loss. Unfortunately, when she progressed to Alzheimer’s dementia, she lost the ability to care for herself or her dog.
We finally moved-in a full-time caregiver. My mom was distraught and angry dealing with the idea that she had to depend on another person for even the most basic things in life. Those feelings caused my mother to inadvertently train Golden Bear to be aggressive towards her caregiver. Whenever the caregiver stepped into the room, the dog would growl and bark frightening the caregiver, and my mom would reinforce the behavior by laughing and petting Golden Bear as he did so.
These events led me to make the difficult choice—taking away her dog. Fortunately, we had close family friends that wanted to make a new home for Golden Bear. But that choice was devastating to my mother, and strained our relationship in many ways. Every time I spoke with her she would angrily ask: “Where is my dog? Why can’t I have my dog? When am I getting back Golden Bear?”
Golden Bear was my mother’s best friend, and losing her contributed to mom’s anger, depression, and severe loneliness. I needed to find a solution.
Research showed that dementia patients that form an emotional attachment to stuffed animals or dolls frequently experience reduced behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). I knew my mom could benefit the same, however the dolls and stuffed animals were always too childish for her. She would always respond with, “That’s a child’s toy, that’s not for me. Where is my dog?”
While testing out different things, I thought that a robotic animal could be a viable substitute, however the existing technology was very expensive - over $6,000. I didn’t want to buy something that expensive only to have my mother reject it.
With a background in computers and high-tech, I wondered if I might be able to create something my mother loved, and do so for a reasonable price.
After several years of research and a Master’s in Science from Stanford Business School, I launched Tombot in 2017. A few years later, Jennie was born.
Peer-reviewed research shows that when a person with dementia can create an emotional bond to objects such as baby dolls or stuffed animals, there is a significant reduction in BPSD symptoms and a reduction in the need for psychotropic medications.
However, few seniors - like my mother - form the required emotional attachment to gain the benefits.
Tombot performed multiple rounds of customers studies with hundreds of seniors with dementia. We learned that seniors prefer realistic appearance and behaviors in objects that are appropriate to their age. This is why it is difficult for many seniors to form an emotional bond to a stuffed animal or doll.
With this knowledge, we knew that our robotic dog needed to look, feel, move, and behave as realistically as possible to promote emotional attachment. To achieve this, we turned to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, a world-renowned puppet workshop that provides digital visual effects and animatronic creations for the film and advertising industries.
The result of this incredible relationship is a hyper-realistic robotic animal that looks, feels, and acts like a real dog.
My mother had trouble remembering what she had for breakfast on a given day, but she always remembered I was working on a robot for her. She was the test subject for most of our early prototypes - all of which she named “Bob” - and would always ask if I had another robot for her. This interaction permanently changed our relationship for the better.
One day when she was testing an early prototype she asked what I was naming the company. I said: “I don’t know, what do you think would be a good name?” She said I should call the company “Tom.” We eventually settled on Tombot, a name she loved.
A few years later, my mother fell and broke her leg which resulted in a lengthy hospitalization. If you have loved ones who suffer from dementia, you know that the hospital can be a particularly scary and unsettling place that can heighten BPSD symptoms.
My mom was no different. Whenever a medical professional would enter her hospital room, she would scream in terror believing they were there to hurt her worse. It was so bad that the hospital personnel had to resort to physical restraints just to get anywhere near her.
After a couple of days of this, I brought my mom’s prototype robot into the hospital for her. The results were immediate.
My mom would clutch her robot tightly to her chest and say: “Bob is helping me relax.” She was still in pain and unhappy she was in the hospital, but with Bob she was able to cope with her fear. From that point forward she was compliant with the medical professionals and no longer needed the physical restraints.
After extensive research, sharing my story, and listening to the stories of others whose loved ones suffered from BPSD, I knew my mom was not unique. I also knew that Jennie was uniquely capable of providing help and relief to those who need her to make them feel safe, just like Bob did for my mom.
I’m sharing my story in hopes people realize that Tombot is much more than a robotics company—it’s a social mission to help friends, family, and communities cope with health adversities. More importantly, I’ve shared my experience to show you that if your loved one is struggling with BPSD, that you are not alone and that there are viable solutions, like Jennie, that can help.
Currently, there are thousands of customers on our waitlist, anxiously waiting for their Jennie. We are working diligently to bring Jennies to all those desperately in need.
As a startup that’s gaining tons of traction, attention, and demand, funding Tombot is an essential element for getting Jennie into those hands.
Please help us bring Jennie to market today by joining us as an investor on StartEngine. If you have any questions about Tombot’s investment opportunity, I encourage you to leave your questions on our StartEngine page, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
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We have most recently garnered the attention of Yahoo! Finance, and have seen much excitement around our feature as one of TIME’s Best Inventions! We project for Jennie to be the first FDA-regulated medical grade robot on the market, and through our capital raise on StartEngine will have the financial support needed to scale our efforts.
Here we aim to provide clarity to our investor inquiries by answering several of the most pressing questions and provide a deeper understanding of Tombot and our capital raise.
A: In 2011 my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia. A short time later, I had to remove her dog for safety reasons. I looked around for substitutes for live animal companions, but didn’t find anything my mother liked. That launched me on a multi-year research and education journey, culminating in a Master’s degree from Stanford University. Along the way I realized that my mother’s story isn’t unique: millions of seniors cannot safely or practically care for a live animal due to a health adversity and therefore miss-out on the many mental and physical health benefits of the human-animal bond. Tombot was launched in 2017 to help these people.
A: Seniors with dementia suffer from behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). These symptoms include loneliness, depression, and, in Tom’s mother’s case, hallucinations and violent anger. To manage these symptoms, doctors frequently prescribe psychotropic medications. These medications not only turn seniors into zombies, they also carry grave health risks – particularly from the antipsychotics. Which leaves doctors with a terrible choice: either don’t medicate these seniors and risk having them out of compliance with their basic day-to-day care needs, or medicate them and risk killing them. Doctors are urgently looking for alternatives for managing these behavioral health challenges.
A: Yes. Dozens of peer-reviewed studies have been published that show that robotic animals help some seniors cope with their BPSD symptoms, and reduce their need for psychotropic medications.
A: Tombot conducted multiple rounds of consumer studies with hundreds of seniors with dementia. Tombot learned that seniors have a very strong preference for realism in objects with which they are familiar – specifically dogs and cats. Tombot identified realism in appearance, realism in texture, and, most importantly, realism in behaviors as essential elements during its studies.
A: When Tombot realized that our robotic animals needed to be realistic, they reached out to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to perform the artistic design. Best known for the Muppets and the Dark Crystal, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop has also created many realistic animatronic animals for TV and film, including the 2001 movie “Cats and Dogs.” With their help, Tombot is creating what it believes to be are the world’s most realistic robotic animals, starting with Jennie.
A: Yes. Tombot has been granted a design patent along with two trademarks. Tombot has a utility patent application filed with the USPTO and the international PCT, with additional application filings anticipated this year.
A: Tombot’s go-to-market customer is a senior with dementia. There are over 90 million seniors worldwide with dementia or pre-dementia mild cognitive impairment. This number is forecasted to grow to over 150 million by 2030. From a business perspective this number is far larger than it seems. The average life expectancy for a senior with dementia is 4.5 years from the time of their diagnosis. That means that the entire population completely refreshes on average every 4.5 years.
A: Tombot uses a scientific and data-driven approach to product development. Jennie was designed to provide specific medical benefits for seniors with dementia. That said, approximately 30% of Tombot’s pre-order and waitlist customers are purchasing Jennie for other health adversities, including adults and seniors with anxiety, loneliness, major depressive disorder, PTSD and children with autism and other special needs. These markets expand the total addressable market by 10s of millions of customers in the US alone. Tombot will formally study these related markets in the future, potentially developing new and more advanced products to provide medical benefits to these additional customer segments.
A: Tombot has two-pronged business model. Tombot sells Jennie directly to the family members of seniors with dementia via its ecommerce website. Additionally, Tombot will distribute its Puppies through professional care organizations such as assisted living, skilled nursing, and senior day care facilities.
A: Tombot is designed to achieve 50% gross margins on Jennie once production hits a scale of 10,000 units per month.
A: Yes, including Tombot’s lead institutional investor: Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health.
A: Yes. Tombot has over 7,500 pre-order and waitlist customers from 76 different countries.
A: Jennie is a medical device, designed to provide specific medical benefits for seniors with dementia. In order to be sold as a medical device, Jennie must meet the FDA’s requirements for its particular medical device classification.
A: COVID-19 has been very challenging to the business. It has increased the difficulty of raising investor funds, as many traditional sources of venture capital scaled-back their seed investments in new portfolio companies. Additionally, COVID-19 restrictions made travel to visit and manage the supply chain all but impossible. In response to COVID-19, Tombot significantly scaled-back expenses and moved employees to a virtual office set-up. The good news is there is light at the end of the tunnel. Tombot significantly increased its funding in the second half of 2020, and expects that in combination with the StartEngine campaign, it will meet its fundraising needs through the first 2,500 customer shipments. We plan to reoccupy our offices once it is safe to do so.
A: Yes. Unfortunately, many people have come to understand the mental and emotional stress of being cut-off from loved ones. Tombot was selected as a co-winner of the Aging2.0 Global Competition for Mitigating Social Isolation and Loneliness in Seniors. TIME magazine selected Tombot as one of their 2020 Best Inventions, and Tombot is one of the very few advanced technologies for seniors with dementia. Frequent media attention has resulted in significant growth in Tombot waitlist since the pandemic began.
We value your feedback and appreciate all of the questions we have received from our community. We encourage you to leave any additional questions you may have on our StartEngine page, and visit our website or our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram social media channels to stay informed on all Tombot news and updates!
If you’d like to join us as an investor, visit our StartEngine page or head over to our most recent blog update: Regulation Crowdfunding 101: Learn How You Can Own Shares in Tombot
Tombot is currently raising up to $5M via a Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offering on StartEngine. We want to enable our customers and stakeholders who believe in us the most the opportunity to invest in and become a part of our growth as we continue to get closer to bringing Jennie to millions of seniors worldwide.
Investments in Tombot can be purchased starting at $250, with various investor perks being unlocked at higher levels of investment. To learn more about our perks and invest in our campaign, you can visit our StartEngine campaign page here.
In this blog, we will outline what raising capital via Regulation Crowdfunding means, why we chose to go this route with our raise, and the step-by-step process on how YOU can now be part of Tombot’s investor community.
Equity crowdfunding is a process whereby people (the crowd) can invest in early stage companies that are yet to be listed on public exchanges for shares. As a shareholder, you are a part owner of the company and stand to benefit if the company does well. You can think of equity crowdfunding as being something like Kickstarter meets Shark Tank!
Previously, investing in startups was a privilege available to only a select few: angel investors, venture capitalists (VCs), and ultra-high net worth individuals. However, now the tide is finally turning. Thanks to the SEC enacting Title III of the JOBS Act in 2016, Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) has become a growing force in the United States. Reg CF gives everyday people the opportunity to invest in private companies alongside accredited investors for the first time in history, as long as they make their investments through SEC-registered, FINRA-regulated intermediary funding portals like StartEngine.
The JOBS Act of 2012 increased the shareholder threshold for companies that choose to remain privately-held from 500 to 2,000 shareholders. Additionally, a special feature of regulation crowdfunding allows privately-held companies to go beyond 2,000 shareholders as long as the company is using an SEC-registered transfer agent. The bill eased restrictions on the buying and selling of securities, enabling start-up companies like Tombot to fundraise up to a certain amount annually through crowdfunding portals registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
Reg CF has ushered in the democratization of private capital markets. Non-accredited investors, meaning individual retail investors (AKA, the general public) earning less than $200,000 or have a net worth less than $1M outside their primary residence, can annually invest up to either $2,000 or 5% of their annual income or net worth, whichever is greater.
Reg CF doesn’t only stand to benefit the public - it benefits companies like Tombot too. In the past, startups had no choice but to raise capital through VC firms and other corporate avenues. Now, in addition to going the VC route, Tombot can raise money directly through all of Jennie’s fans and loyal supporters, a global community of tens of thousands of people. We want our investors to be our biggest brand ambassadors and vice versa!
Brand new rules changes to Reg CF now make this an especially attractive avenue to Tombot to raise funds:
Reg CF/ Regulation Crowdfunding
We have several ambitious goals in mind that we can reach with the support of a successful equity crowdfunding campaign. With our funding we plan to:
Step 1: Hit the “Invest Now” button
Step 2: Enter your investment amount
Step 3: Minimum investment amount to invest in Tombot is $249.55 but you can invest any amount of your choosing
Step 4: The portal requires your annual income and net worth to determine your investment limits for Regulation Crowdfunding
Step 5: You will need to add:
Step 6: Enter your contact information
Step 7: No international investments will be allowed at this time unfortunately.
Step 8: Next step is payment, 3 payment methods are accepted:
Step 9: Fill out the personal information section - These fields are self explanatory.
Step 10: Next step is Investor Profile.
This information is needed just for SE to understand your investment preferences and experience a little better. All the fields are drop-down so just select the one that’s most relevant for you.
Step 11: Next step is Verification. SE will need your SSN or Tax ID for this part.
Step 12: Review the terms and conditions and then sign in the field below by typing your name out in full. Hit the next button.
Step 13: Review these important agreements (StartEngine Agreement) and Custodial Agreement before the final sign-off.
Congratulations! Once you sign by typing out your full name and hit the complete investment button, your investment will have officially been submitted!
Here’s what you can expect after it is submitted:
Below are a few Investor FAQs to help you get through this process with trust and confidence:
Last but not the least, here is a screenshot of your investor dashboard on StartEngine, where you will be able to monitor and track the status of your investment with Tombot.
If you want to invest in a company that has an exciting future and will make a difference in our loved ones’ lives, then join Tombot’s equity crowdfunding campaign. Your investment will make you an owner of our company so you can make a difference while also benefiting from our success.
We encourage you to invest in Tombot today and join our mission as an investor! If you have questions, please leave them in the Comments section of our campaign page and our team will be sure to address them as soon as possible.
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