Phoenix Business Journal - Scottsdale stress-reducing wearable developer wins funding for hiring, sells $2M of device

Scottsdale-based the TouchPoint Solution, developers of a stress-reducing wearable device, has sold over $2 million worth of devices and received funding to hire a chief engineer.

TouchPoint Solution is also continuing to hire with four open positions after a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.

The startup has raised close to $250,000 through Indiegogo for its TouchPoints Basic device, a non-invasive, wearable device that helps wearers alleviate stress and improves performance.

The goal was to raise $15,000 through Indiegogo, and the campaign ended up being 953 percent funded on July 11.

CEO and co-founder Vicki Mayo teamed with Peoria neuropsychologist Dr. Amy Serin, the company’s co-founder and chief science officer, to start the company after Mayo was searching for a solution to help her young daughter who was experiencing night terrors.

Serin recommended the new technology she had developed to help her own patients manage their stress. She runs the Serin Center in Peoria and has a Ph.D in clinical psychology with a specialty in neuropsychology.

“That night, during the middle of a particularly heinous night terror, I put what would later become TouchPoints into my daughter’s hand, and she went to sleep in thirty seconds,” Mayo said.

The two started the company in December 2015.

TouchPoints Original, which users control via an app, is the first product launched in 2016. The company raised more than $76,000 for the original device through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

TouchPoints Basic, launched in June with the Indiegogo campaign, is the same technology but offered at a lower cost and works without connecting to the app.

“This product is geared to a younger crowd,” Mayo said. “They still want to use the technology, but this is for kids or adults who might not have access to the app.”

After the Indiegogo launch, the company joined the Arrow certification program, which allows for Arrow engineers to verify the product’s design to vouch for its effectiveness and reliability.

Arrow’s stamp of approval can assure backers they can trust the device and expect it to perform as promised, Mayo said.

Arrow helped identify an alternate supplier to meet the company’s long-term needs after problems arose sourcing an important component for their design, she said.

The TouchPoints team also receives a 10 percent discount on components purchased through Arrow.

“Any way we can keep our manufacturing costs down, we can pass that on to our clients, whether that be through discounts or adding a new feature,” Mayo said.

TouchPoint recently won $75,000 in flash funding from Arrow, which was used to hire a chief engineer.

“We had a critical hire we were holding on,” Mayo said. “We’re using the funding to bring that person on board.”

The 17-employee company is also hiring for an executive assistant, customer experience supervisor, project manager and app developer.

TouchPoint is working with Arrow to develop a new product, which is planned to come out next year.

Mayo was recently named as a Phoenix Business Journal “Most Admired Leader.”

*This article first appeared in the Phoenix Business Journal on Oct 6, 2017, 12:00 am by Hayley Ringle  – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal. To read the full article, click here.