UNSW startup BheemUP to launch Kickstarter campaign to raise important manufacturing funds
With the BheemUP Smart Best Incliner development now being manufacturing-ready, co-founders Nikhil Autar and UNSW student, Sachin Kinger, are set to launch a Kickstarter campaign to gauge market penetration and raise funds to continue their journey creating medical devices that make life safer and easier for the most vulnerable – the elderly, disabled and sick.
The BheemUP Smart Bed Incliner retrofits to any bed, converting it into a hospital bed alternative for a faction of the price, helping to prevent falls, bed sores and pneumonia, the most common causes of hospitalisation, and millions of fatalities annually. Fitted with the BheemSense Sensor Mat, the unique technology maps whole of body movement patterns which has many benefits including helping to locate bed sores and monitoring sleep, heart and breath rates.
“Our ambition is to minimise, or even eliminate, preventable illnesses”, says Autar who lost two friends within a week to avoidable complications and has battled with his own medical challenges. “Since the majority of these happen at home, we want to make our devices affordable and accessible to everyday people.”
The co-founders began their entrepreneurial journey in 2017, focusing on creating a hospital bed with features to reduce the number of preventable incidents. Audience validation helped the pair discover the problem was more prevalent at home and so they pivoted to develop a device that could be attached to a regular bed, converting it into hospital bed for minimal cost. From there interest soared.
They joined the UNSW Founders program in 2018, accessing Coach & Connect sessions, become Peter Farrell Cup finalists and received the $25,000 Jobs for NSW MVP Grant. They won NSW and Australian Student Startup of the Year in 2018 and in 2019, the TedXSydney Kickstart competition. In addition, Autar and Kinger participated in the Health 10x Pre-accelerator program.
Interested in supporting BheemUp by pre-ordering the Smart Bed Incliner? Register here to keep abreast of the Kickstarter launch which will feature exciting discounts and competitions. In fact, you could win one for free by signing up!