Most overnight successes were ten years in the making— it’s an idea commonly repeated in the business world that rings true more often than not, and it is especially accurate to RISE™. Our technology is the product of more than a decade’s worth of hard work and perseverance, representing the culmination of numerous incremental breakthroughs that opened the path to what investors describe today as a rare and meaningful discovery in a field long stagnated. Our journey began far and away from our current destination and has been filled to the brim with twists and turns that would have stopped many in their tracks. In this time and still now, what has been a critical ingredient to our success is the backing provided by our investors, who have dedicated years to providing support and encouragement to our team even at points where others would have turned their backs.

First High Capacity RISE™Technology Push-Pull Prototype

The patience given and confidence shown by investors like The Engine, Walt Winshall, John Strauss, and Bill Warner have time and again set our team on the path of discovery and success, providing the resources and direction that has allowed us to realize our vision. Today, these investors continue to catalyze our growth and ongoing advancement.

The Beginnings of Ongoing Support

A sentiment often echoed among our supporters is that an investment in RISE™ is an investment in a team and their capabilities rather than a product. Bill Warner, an Emmy Award-winning entrepreneur, inventor, and angel investor, was the first to take this leap, coming to us when exosuits were still the final goal. Acquainted with co-founder Arron Acosta prior to the company’s conception through his involvement in MIT’s Gordon Engineering Leadership Program, Bill declares that it took only a single meeting to convince him to invest, attracted by not only the ambitious goal being pursued but the unique approach to engineering which had already produced breakthroughs meaningful in their own right, such as mechanical flotation. Conceived by Blake Sessions, co-founder and now Chief Technical Officer at RISE™, this concept included a wearable device that would lift a human into the air, allowing them to float like they would in water. It was the first of a long line of groundbreaking discoveries made and eventually left behind that would guarantee Bill the value of his investment. Even as he watched numerous of these discoveries fall by the wayside with no end market strategy in view, Bill drew upon them as a source of energy that fueled his continued support.

For Bill, a highly successful entrepreneur, energy is the great motivator that pushes innovation and success and the guiding light one should follow when working towards a goal, particularly in the startup arena. His coaching entails teaching entrepreneurs to tap into their natural capabilities and personal passions to spur the construction of a business with an energized team and satisfied customers, emphasizing his belief that the best move in the industry will always be the one that most excites. This view has made him an ideal advisor to RISE™ through our technology’s extended development period and our growth as a company. Today he cites RISE™Technology as an example of the success resulting from persistently choosing to do what generates the most energy, even when that may entail diverting from conventional beliefs and advice.

Early Involvement for Optimal Growth
Coming to us only a very short time after Bill, Walt Winshall, and associate John Strauss similarly believe in the idea of investing in people rather than products. Principal of the Collaborative Seed and Growth Partners, Walt is an expert in the world of tech startups on a mission to support early entrepreneurs in translating research into commercialized technologies. Walt met the RISE™ team during their stint in the startup accelerator program TechStars, in which he is involved as an investor. Still working towards an exosuit at the time, the team had released a video demonstration of a spring that increased the maximum height of the user’s jump dramatically when attached to the heel. This video piqued Walt’s interest, who shared it with John shortly after. Each agreed that the spring communicated a level of technological capability worth investigating, recognizing the wealth of applications it might fit. This key component also presented incredible value as the signature of a team with the potential to produce groundbreaking innovation, even in mechanical engineering, where it is extremely rare to do so.

John is an angel investor who works behind the scenes with early-stage companies tackling critical issues, and his coaching is highly concerned with culture, dynamics, and cohesiveness. Where Walt was impressed by the technical capabilities of the team and the ongoing discoveries they produced, John was most excited by the united front they had created to push RISE™ forward. Their decision to invest early and reason for sticking with us over our decade-long journey was inspired by their policy of engaging with companies as early as possible. Following their belief in investing in people, the goal of this policy is to ensure that the resources they provide help bring an innovative product to the market and contribute to the raising of a company that will continue to produce innovation even beyond its debut technology. A crucial ingredient to such a company, John emphasizes, is building a culture conducive to effective teamwork and highly supportive to employees. Doing so is a process that spans a company’s entire lifespan, even at its earliest stages when culture seems like an issue for the future, and it is for this reason that early involvement is a must for the pair to invest. Their role at RISE™ has been to act as a sounding board, offering their experience and knowledge in business development to advise against missteps, as well as mediators who ensure that respect and cohesion remain at the core of our work. At the same time, we pursue the seemingly impossible goal of pioneering a brand new, disruptive technology.

Experience, Knowledge, Respect and Cohesion

The Engine and Their Mission

A venture capital fund whose investments are focused on companies working in what they term “tough tech,” the Engine was created in 2017 by MIT to nurture innovators working to solve some of the most pressing issues in our world today. Primarily backing companies working in human health, advanced systems, and climate change, the Engine is an investment firm highly aware of the challenges that come with the endeavor to create technology with the potential to change the world, including the vast amount of time and resources it requires as compared to other fields. To this end, they provide funding between seed and series-A and a network of contacts filled with potential partners and mentors and infrastructure and practical resources. Their involvement with RISE™ has provided resources and connections crucial to our progress both in reaching our market debut today and growing further into the future.

Front Desk of The Engine, built by M.I.T.

With our mission being to replace one of today’s biggest producers of carbon emissions, the Engine considers RISE™ to be a prime example of their ideal portfolio companies, beginning with two MIT students who went on to not only develop novel, transformative technology but effectively build a company around it as well. Contrasting our other investors, whose involvement is more based on a request, the Engine is highly engaged with the RISE™ team, having a member on the board and a dedicated advisor whose roles include coaching growth, consulting on matters of market strategy, and much more. Meanwhile, their network has allowed us to connect with experts and even brought us our Vice President of Business Development, Ken Gray.

Illustration of an Antiquated Hydraulic System

With the winding road taken to reach the product we have today, RISE™ could be said to have some of the most steadfast investors in the startup world, enduring years of trial, error, and uncertainty with patience and trust rarely seen. The support and faith placed in us by this stalwart group have been critical to our success, and we are proud to finally share the fruits of that labor in the form of our first commercial product, the ReGEN™ Tailtrac with RISE™Inside.

The Investors of RISE™: Belief and Patience Supporting Innovation

Kyle Dell'Aquila