Inventor: Yasmine Mustafa | Age: 33 | Profession: CEO, ROAR for Good
ROAR for Good’s first product, available in the spring of 2016, is Athena—fashionable jewelry for women’s self-defense. When threatened, the wearer presses a button, instantly sounding a loud alarm that sends your GPS via text to pre-programmed emergency contacts. We’re also engineering a way to call 911 in the future.
Our goal is to diminish violence against women in two ways: by making existing self-defense tools better, and by investing part of the proceeds into nonprofits that educate young boys about empathy and equality. We’ve discovered that addressing lack of empathy and transforming viewpoints on healthy relationships are key to decreasing aggression.
We’re a benefit corporation, also known as a B-corp, because they are designed as triple bottom line businesses that set specific standards for social and environmental performance. It’s a community that provides us the support we need to be our best.
The device and circuit board for the Athena are fabricated in Philadelphia. In addition to using local industrial designers, electrical and mechanical engineers, we’ve been 3D printing at Shapeways and NextFab.
Being an inventor has been a rollercoaster ride. I feel on top of the world when I have the latest prototype in my hand and I think about how it was just an idea at one point. And there are low moments when something doesn’t work and you have to go back to the starting point. At the end of the day, I learn from them and they help make the product better. It’s incredibly satisfying to work on something that will help create a better world.
How do I get it? Pre-order an Athena safety device by contributing to the INDEGOGO campaign or at: roarforgood.com
