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Discover how Sidney Collins, Co-Founder of De Oro Devices, works tirelessly to achieve her goal of decreasing fall risk with a groundbreaking innovation. In conversation with host Kyle Rand, Co-Founder and CEO of Rendever, Sidney shares the inspiration behind NexStride, a mobility aid designed to help individuals with neurological inventory disorders like Parkinson’s. She recounts how Jack Brill, a Parkinson’s patient, motivated her to create a device that combines visual and auditory cues to reduce falls and improve mobility. She then received her first round of funding for De Oro Devices at 21 years old before graduating college. Throughout the episode, Sidney discusses the challenges of starting De Oro Devices, the importance of community and mentorship, and the pivotal moments that defined her entrepreneurial journey. Hear more about Sidney’s journey and her advice for aspiring founders in this inspiring episode.
Tanya Perkins, Host:
Welcome to AgeTech Talks, conversations about AgeTech powered by AgeTech Collaborative from AARP, leading a global mission to drive innovation at the nexus of longevity and technology.
You are tuning in to a series of discussions recorded live at CES 2024 that highlight the dynamic startup founders who are making aging easier for everyone by pioneering innovative AgeTech solutions.
In conversation with fellow startup founders, Kyle Rand and Tanya Perkins, each episode invites an AgeTech Collaborative startup founder to discuss their journey and share the invaluable lessons they’ve learned along the way.
Today we’re thrilled to have Sidney Collins, co-founder of De Oro devices to share their story.
Kyle Rand, Host:
We are here today at CES day two, and I’m joined by Sidney Collins, one of the co-founders of De Oro devices, the maker of NexStride. Sidney, how you doing?
Sidney Collins:
I’m doing well. Thanks for having me.
Kyle Rand:
Is this your first CES?
Sidney Collins:
This is my first CES.
Kyle Rand:
How’s it been so far?
Sidney Collins:
It has been fun and overwhelming. There are a lot of people, a lot of things happening. I feel like I’m at a music festival, but with less music.
Kyle Rand:
Sidney, tell us a little bit about NexStride.
Sidney Collins:
So, NexStride is a mobility aid for people with neurological inventory disorders. So it started out for people with Parkinson’s. And essentially what we figured out is there are these visual and auditory cues that are standard of practice in any physical therapy clinic. And there were over a hundred peer-reviewed articles that have been published showing their efficacy in helping people with Parkinson’s be able to walk, most notably, reducing falls by 40% for this population.
However, there is no effective way for people to use these cues at home, right? They could use them in the clinic, but they couldn’t use them at home.
Specifically, the way that I figured this out is because of one person, his name is Jack Brill. He had Parkinson’s and I met him through Cal Poly when I was studying biomedical engineering. Made this choice for him. He knew that these visual and auditory cues worked because he used them in the clinic, but as soon as he went home, he couldn’t go to the bathroom by himself. He couldn’t go on a walk with his wife, Sandy. He couldn’t live his life with the level of independence that he wanted to. And so, I made this choice for him. And essentially took the most effective visual and auditory cues from research, combined them into a simple portable device that can attach onto any cane walker or walking pole.
Now we sell into Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, PSP and the elderly population in general. People who are generally at high fall risk because of shuffling or maybe some other neuro disorder.
Kyle Rand:
So, you met Jack while you were a student.
Sidney Collins:
That’s right.
Kyle Rand:
And you decided to start this company while you were a student?
Sidney Collins:
I decided to make a device.
Kyle Rand:
While you were a student.
Sidney Collins:
For Jack while I was a student. Actually, I did start the company … We closed our first round of funding before I graduated from college.
Kyle Rand:
That’s amazing.
Sidney Collins:
Thank you.
Kyle Rand:
That does not happen all the time.
Sidney Collins:
No, it shouldn’t.
Kyle Rand:
And you didn’t drop out?
Sidney Collins:
No, I didn’t.
Kyle Rand:
You finished your degree and raised funding and made a device for a friend, Jack. So, that was five years ago.
Sidney Collins:
That was five years ago.
Kyle Rand:
And it sounds like the network, the opportunity and an ecosystem was what helped you get started along with who you are. Have you maintained a focus on community as an approach to building a company since then?
Sidney Collins:
For sure. I mean, just building the product in the very beginning. I built it with Jack. He was also an engineering professor at University of San Diego. He was really active in creating the product, building the product.
You asked about advisors. One of our advisors or mentors is this amazing physical therapist named Maria Allen. She trains other physical therapists in the Parkinson’s space specifically. She was also super active in helping us and she gave us access to her patients, to other physical therapists that she works with. So, there was a lot of engagement as we were building the product with people with Parkinson’s and other people with neuro disorders.
We’ve continued to engage that as we grow the company. It’s been super important for us because we’ve built the product with people with Parkinson’s. Now, I run a Parkinson’s support group actually in Austin, Texas.
Kyle Rand:
Really?
Sidney Collins:
And I’m on the Board of the Capital Area Parkinson’s Society. So, really like to stay involved in that community.
Kyle Rand:
Is there something about Parkinson’s that grabbed your attention or was it really Jack?
Sidney Collins:
It was really Jack. I had a research background in Parkinson’s specifically. I had been doing research in deep brain stimulation for people with Parkinson’s. I’ve always been fascinated with understanding how the brain works and how Parkinson’s affects the brain and what we can do to interact with the brain. And so I think that was the first thing that grabbed my attention.
And then I met Jack and how can you not fall in love with Jack? I mean, he’s just incredible.
Kyle Rand:
I want to meet Jack. I’m so curious. So as I said, I also did a BME program and I remember around the time of graduating, it was something like 40% of my classmates went on to consulting. A fair number, went into iBanking. You get the degree, you get the problem-solving skill set, and then you take it to one of the big four or you go to Big Tech. What were your classmates like? What was your friend’s responses? Were you one of a few and how’d you kind of navigate that? It requires conviction.
Sidney Collins:
I don’t even remember talking to my friends about it. It was such a different thing than what anybody else was doing that I didn’t even feel like I could really communicate with people about it. People in the business school were interested in entrepreneurship, but the engineers really weren’t.
Kyle Rand:
And when you were a kid, did you think that you were going to be an entrepreneur?
Sidney Collins:
Absolutely not. Well, I was planning on going to get my Ph.D. in computational neuroscience, and I had actually already gotten into grad school and already had a thesis advisor by the time I started the company. I remember going in and sitting down with my potential thesis advisor and I was like, “Okay, I’m not going to do this. I’m going to put it on hold. I’m going to go start this company. I’ll come back to it.”
And he was so upset and he was like, “Sidney, are they even paying you?” And I was like, “Dr. Slavik. Who is they? It’s me.” I was planning on going to get my Ph.D. And going to be in research for the rest of my life, and that’s not at all where I’m at now.
Kyle Rand:
I love that. At what moment were you just like, “I’m an entrepreneur”?
Sidney Collins:
I can think of a couple of moments. I think the first one that I can think of is when we launched the product. I was in the manufacturing facility. We were doing our first build. There were hundreds of boxes of NexStrides lined up at the manufacturing facility ready to ship out. And we hand-delivered the first 20 to the people who had been beta testing and building it with us. And that was the first time that I was like, “Oh man, we’re really doing this.” We have a product. We are giving it to people and it is changing their lives. This is so freaking cool.
Moment number two is closing our first round of funding. And that was a moment for me where, okay, we’ve been sitting in this room and talking about how we’re going to change the world and how we’re going to get this product out to people, and we’re going to help them walk, and we’re going to help them not fall, and we’re going to increase independence. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We’re going to do all this stuff. But that was the first moment where I realized not only do I believe that we can do this, but other people believe that we can do this to the point where they’re willing to give me their money to make it happen. And that was mind-boggling to me.
Like me, I started this company when I was, what, 21 years old? Me, a 21-year-old engineer, they gave me money to start this company. It just blows my mind still.
Kyle Rand:
Where have you found success? You talk about maybe looking for outside sources of support. Where have you found success in cultivating those places where you can be authentic, you can be open, and you can look maybe for guidance?
Sidney Collins:
Yeah. Well, I would say the number one place is probably my co-founder, William. I feel like I can share anything with him. I feel like we’re partners in this and that has meant so much to me in this process. So, shout out to the solo founders out there. I don’t know how you do it.
Kyle Rand:
Find a William.
Sidney Collins:
Yeah, find a co-founder. Our advisors. We’ve had these incredible advisors that I honestly feel like I can go to and say anything and they will support me. And they are CEOs of these super impressive companies, have been really successful in their careers and they’re also people who are just great people to hang out with. These are the CEOs that I want to be when I’m running a company of a hundred people.
And then there’s also communities like the AgeTech Collaborative. Being able to find other founders in this community. Startup Health is a great one. They have a CEO circle that I’m a part of, which is a great way to be able to talk to people who are going through the same thing that you’re going through or have done it in the past.
Kyle Rand:
Totally.
Sidney Collins:
And that has been kind of a game changer for me.
Kyle Rand:
We all have those moments where it feels like the end of the world or it feels like the end of our company. And knowing that there are other people that are having those same moments that you can go to or advisors who’ve been through those moments and are able to tell you with full confidence the sun will rise tomorrow is just invaluable.
Okay. For the founders who might be listening, what have been some of the moments, outside of support, that have really carried you through each year? I am sure Jack comes top of mind. How do you personify continually the mission and the why?
Sidney Collins:
It’s always the patient stories. Like always. That is what keeps me going. That’s what keeps the rest of the team going. The late nights, the early mornings, the solving all the problems that come up continuously never ending. If you look at our booth, we have this screen that’s showing before and after videos. These are all videos that our customers sent us. We didn’t ask for them. They just were like, “Hey, I wanted to show you how well this thing is working for me.” And they’ll just send us videos. They’ll call us. They’ll send us emails. We’ll get handwritten letters of people saying, “Hey, this changed my life. Thank you so much for building this.” And just every time, every time I’m like, “Wow, that’s so cool.”
Kyle Rand:
It’s so cool. That’s got to make you feel so good because you started this company for that very reason, and I’m sure so many of your team members joined the company for that very reason. Does it translate down?
Sidney Collins:
For sure, a 100%. Every person in the company cares a lot about our mission. I mean, that’s something we look for when we hire people. But one of the great examples. We have this incredible employee named Harshini. We’re a part of this other organization called Capital Factory. The president of Capital Factory also happens to be a professor at UT Dallas. And at a Christmas party one time, he pulls me aside and he’s like, “Sidney, you have to meet this woman, Harshini. Like she’s incredible.” And he was like, “Well, I tried to hire her to be on the VC side at Capital Factory.” They also are a VC. “And she said she wanted to be on the product side. She didn’t want to be on the VC side. I would love to hire her. She won’t work for me. I think she would work for you. I think you should hire her.” And after one or two conversations, I was like, “Yep, I’m on board.”
And the reason was that her grandfather had Parkinson’s and so she was really connected to the mission. She’s a very mission-driven person, but she is just absolutely incredible, can solve any problem. I can put anything in front of her and she just attacks it. I just think it’s incredible to have people like that on the team who are so competent and skilled and talented and really driven by the mission.
Kyle Rand:
How do you stay motivated? Maybe that’s the real question here. How do you stay motivated through the good times and the bad times?
Sidney Collins:
I know we’ve already talked about this, but I think the biggest thing is just the mission. It’s just I know that if I don’t do this, no one’s going to and this product needs to be out there. It’s this sense of purpose, right? I will put my own needs aside to make sure that this product gets the people who need it to reduce falls, to allow people to go to the bathroom by themselves, to allow people to have the self-reliance that they deserve to have.
Kyle Rand:
Okay. All right. I’m going to go in a different direction then. How do you take care of you?
Sidney Collins:
I go to hot yoga in the morning.
Kyle Rand:
Mmmm. Love that.
Sidney Collins:
I have this yoga teacher that I am committed to. I will not miss her yoga classes. Working out in the mornings, early in the mornings has been a game changer for me. We were talking about this yesterday. I used to be a nighttime workout person, but then once I started the company, it was really hard for me to leave the office and get to the workouts on time. So, now I just do them in the morning. I’m taking care of myself and now I can be there for the rest of the team.
Kyle Rand:
So, one of the things that I think is so hard, no matter what stage you’re at in the founding journey, it can be year one, it can be year five, it can be year eight. We’re always going to have those moments where we just set aside our personal needs. And it’s good to know what works.
Have you been through a moment where you can know deeply, you got to do hot yoga in the morning. If you’re going to be a successful CEO, if you’re going to be a successful founder, you have to do that, and it just falls away. How do you get back on the personal horse?
Sidney Collins:
Honestly, I think Will helps me a lot in that he will notice if I am Slacking him at midnight every night for two weeks and he’s like, “Hey, maybe you should go to bed. I don’t know what you’re doing.”
Because I think it’s really easy … I don’t know if this is a founder thing or a me thing, but it’s a little addictive, that sense of purpose. That of “I need to be here. I need to be doing this. I need to put everything else aside to be here.” And sometimes you just need to take a step back and say, “Do I really need to answer this email at midnight or should I go to bed?” I think there’s a little bit of Will helps me be able to say like, “Hey, you don’t need to be doing this right now. Go take some time for yourself. I can see you’re stressed out. I can see that you’re having a hard time. Go for a walk. It’ll be here an hour from now.”
Kyle Rand:
That is the best advice and it is so true. It is both the best part and the worst part about being totally obsessed with your mission because you could spend every waking moment on it because you get so much from it.
Sidney Collins:
And it’s also draining. It’s hard to explain because it’s not that you don’t need a break. You do need a break.
Kyle Rand:
You do.
Sidney Collins:
You do need to be able to sleep and do other things. I don’t know who these founders are that are getting three hours of sleep and are still alive and successful because it’s not me. I need a solid eight hours of sleep to even look at someone in the morning.
Kyle Rand:
But I love the idea and the focus on really relying on your co-founders to look at you as a holistic person, because they’re probably the only people in the entire world who really understand you that deeply.
Sidney Collins:
There are points where you have to do it. There’s going to be sprints where there’s some big deal that’s happening and you just need to get through it. And that’s normal. I think it’s okay, how do you go from that sprint of not sleeping, not taking lunch, not eating, whatever it is because you’re just go, go, go working on a goal. To then getting back into the rhythm of a healthy, sustainable balance.
Kyle Rand:
This is the beginning of 2024. As you look to the rest of this year, what are you most excited about?
Sidney Collins:
This year we’re focusing a lot more on senior living communities, which has been really interesting to see the success there in terms of reduction in falls, increase in independence, all the same things that we can show direct to consumer, are also really valuable for people who are living in senior living communities.
Kyle Rand:
Senior living is a totally new model. Speaking of more money, more problems, there’s a lot going on in senior living. But yeah, it’s a totally new thing to be taking on. Is that part of why you brought in a new CEO?
Sidney Collins:
Yeah, definitely. And as I mentioned, some of the strategic partnerships that we’re bringing on board this year, I think that’s where her expertise will really shine. And it allows me to focus a lot more on the technology, which is what I love. So, I’m now in a president and CTO role.
Kyle Rand:
Exciting.
Sidney Collins:
It’s been great.
Kyle Rand:
Oh, your eyes just lit up as you said all of that, and I’m so excited for you. I think anytime you bring on whether or not it’s a new CEO or a new leadership team member in general, it’s a really transformational change that you get to open the door for. I think in order for it to be a success, it has to be treated as a partnership. Can you walk me through a little bit about how you’ve kind of brought her in and really taken on this journey together?
Sidney Collins:
Oh, for sure. Yeah. I mean, even in the very beginning in the interview process, the relationship starts at that point. And so something that I was really cognizant of as we were doing the interview process is I want to share with her all of the opportunities that we have, and I want to share with her all of the things that are hard for us because we need to be able to be completely open and honest about “These are the things that we’re struggling with and these are the things that I’m hoping you and your expertise can come in and potentially help solve.” And just being an open book in terms of all of the mistakes that we’ve made, all of the success that we have, all of the places where we see opportunity going forward.
She spends the first month pretty much just shadowing and trying to learn as much as she can. So, I’m bringing her into all of these customer visits that we were doing in December, bringing her to some of these conversations with strategic partners. I think about the partnership as bringing her on to help without taking away any of the accountability or responsibility from me, so that she doesn’t feel like I’m just dumping something on her.
Kyle Rand:
Knowing what excites you and how to take that next step and being open to all the different opportunities is amazing. And it’s just another moment where I just want to applaud you.
Sidney Collins:
Thank you. Since starting the company though, I’ve always been in the CEO role because that’s what was needed, but I’m an engineer. I’ve always wanted to focus a lot more on the technology, and we got the opportunity to hire this incredible woman who I trust. I trust to be able to be in the CEO role, and that allows me to focus on the things that I love, and so I feel really lucky to be able to be in this position.
Kyle Rand:
Is there any final words of advice you would give to founders that are listening or people who know someone like Jack, that they have this itch?
Sidney Collins:
Just build it. Get out there. Do what excites you. If this isn’t what excites you, don’t do it. If it is, then do it and get it out there.
Kyle Rand:
Awesome. Okay. Sidney, this has been an amazing conversation. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m so excited for you going into this next year, and I hope you have an amazing rest of the week here at CES.
Sidney Collins:
Thank you so much, Kyle. Thanks for interviewing me.
Tanya Perkins:
Thanks for listening to AgeTech Talks from AgeTech Collaborative from AARP. You can learn more about today’s guests and all the innovative startups in the AgeTech Collaborative by visiting the startup directory on agetechcollaborative.org.
