iMPACTiSSiMO! Podcast Episode 52: Joseph Garcia with MOBI
70 million Americans deal with mobility challenges.
Of individuals surveyed, the biggest pain point was actually the kitchen.
As a college student and entrepreneur, Joseph Garcia with MOBI, is working to provide a safe, affordable way for those in a wheelchair to have full independence in their home to cook for themselves without having to remodel their home.
Winner of the Do Good. Better. Conference at the BYU Ballard Center for Social Impact.
Podcast Transcript
Jacob: Several weeks ago, I attended the Do Good Better Conference hosted by the Ballard Center for Social Impact. And one of the first things they had at the event was a pitch competition where students presented their social enterprises to a team of judges. Joseph with MOBI was there, and he was the last presenter that night and had a working prototype of his modular kitchen for those with mobility challenges, and he came away with the top prize. And so we have Joseph Garcia on the show today to discuss his team’s startup and what they need right now to reach the impact they wanna create in the world. So welcome, Joseph.
Joseph: Hey, Jacob. Thank you so much for having me. It’s good to be here, man.
Jacob: Yeah. So, tell us about what MOBI is and how you got into all this.
Joseph: My junior year, [00:01:00] I got into this awesome program at BYU where we’re able to essentially look at different societal pain points, and one community we felt was very overlooked, wheelchair users.
We started just doing simple interviews here and there. Like, what kind of struggles do you go through on a daily basis? Public bathrooms, they’re not very accessible; getting in and out of cars. Their most challenging, the greatest source of all their pain actually was in the kitchen. It was a source of frustration for them, a place where they lost their independence. Wounded warriors will come back from battle accustomed to being independent, having to rely on somebody else, like a caretaker or a family member.
That’s been life-changing for me, seeing that perspective. It’s a very personal thing to me. My father was an Air Force physician growing up, I had the privilege of going with him and seeing America’s heroes who suffered various mobility challenges. They gave everything for freedom, and the way they live their lives afterwards, it was hard to watch, devastating.
Jacob: How does your social venture address those mobility challenges?
Joseph: We started out with a couple, dozen interviews and then couple hundred. Piece by piece, [00:02:00] we holistically put together why is the kitchen dangerous? Number one reason, the countertop is too high. When they’re trying to cook something like spaghetti or pasta, they can’t even see into the pot because the counter is up here, and they’re down here. There’s risk of burns and spills nine out of 10 times. Being able to chop vegetables, get to the sink, just maneuvering around their kitchen in general is just not an accessibility friendly zone.
What we did is we invented this mobile modular unit called the WAYSTATION. The first thing it has is an adjustable height mechanism. So with the press of a button, you’re able to literally cook at your level. The second thing is an induction stove. There’s no risk of burns or spills. You’re able to see things at your level. No fire hazards.
And we have a sink we’re able to rig with independent plumbing, you don’t have to hook it up to any water system. Think of it almost like a desk where you can take it anywhere. You have independent plumbing, you fill the water reservoir, and then there’s a prep space. So you’re able to chop your vegetables, knead your dough, plug in your kitchen appliances, that sort of thing.
Jacob: In your research, what did you find as far as what were the alternatives out there? [00:03:00] This isn’t a new challenge, and people have been finding workarounds, but what’s in the market now, and what was the gap that you feel like this is filling?
Joseph: That’s a really good question. The first thing we encountered, I was actually baffled at the solutions that they had. Essentially, what we noticed is as one of two things. One, you could renovate or retrofit your kitchen/house anywhere from like 20,000 to $70,000 on average, just for a kitchen renovation. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that disposable income lying around. Not only is that a hassle, but it’s quite costly. Also, retrofitting or renovating your kitchen is gonna kill the resale value of your home because that’s something that’s very niche and customized. So that’s a huge financial burden for people.
Solution number two is having caretakers or hire help. We also noticed people often rely on like DoorDash, fast food,,packaged foods. So there’s a lot of health implications there.
Joseph: Those are the current workarounds: kitchen renovations or hire help. Not a lot of good ideas out [00:04:00] there, to be honest, not a lot of long-lasting, impactful solutions.
Jacob: Yeah. WAYSTATION is meant to be so someone has an existing kitchen that isn’t retrofitted. They can have this delivered, set up, and fit in any kind of situation. There’s no like structural needs inside of the home that are required; it’s totally independent. Is that, is that accurate?
Joseph: Absolutely. That’s essentially what we had in mind, okay, number one, how can we make this more economic and ergonomic? How can we save people a lot of money? Give ’em something that’s a fraction of the price and something that really, truly will be user-friendly, intuitive, and something that’s easy for them to use, trying to save people money and make their lives a lot better.
Jacob: So this WAYSTATION, as far as cost, what are your estimates what one of these retail would go for?
Joseph: So, currently, we’ve made a few different iterations, I would say two major prototypes. And I’ve talked to some contractors ’cause we’re currently developing a second methodology, where we can integrate it into people’s homes.
At any rate, the industry [00:05:00] experts were telling me about $6K per unit, which is still a fraction of the price of what it would cost. Initially I wanted it to be lower because I really wanna make it as afford, affordable as possible.
Jacob: In your entrepreneurial journey, where are you at in that whole process? You obviously have a working prototype that you showed at the competition. I think helped visualize it and make it feel more real than just a good idea. Tell me where you’re at in your journey right now.
Joseph: So I’m getting ready to wrap things up here at BYU. It’s been a wonderful privilege; I’ve grown so much. As a college student, I don’t have the most funds. Essentially, I would like to make one last prototype, just to make sure it’s really locked in. That we addressed the ergonomics. It’s the perfect fit for people in apartments and wherever they may be in their home.
And the second thing is we’re just trying to accumulate as much funding as we possibly can to get this business off the ground and make that positive change.
It’s been a fun process. I don’t have an engineering background or anything like that, it was me and a fellow student. We [00:06:00] jerry rigged it, I think I took over my parents’ garage. I commandeered it for a few days. And had the help of my grandpa, who likes to build airplanes in his garage for fun. So he’s been a huge help in that way.
Jacob: What’s your vision for this?
Joseph: If I could find a way to get one of these to all the wounded warriors, all the people who struggle from multiple sclerosis, to I mean, they don’t even have to suffer with mobility challenges. It’s a very versatile product, you could have dwarfism, you could just be really tall. You could have kyphosis, you could be an MS victim.
I would love to see one of these in different facilities, independent living facilities, rehabilitation centers for the VA, all sorts of things. I’d love to see those all over, just helping people reacclimate. If I could, I’d like to subsidize ’em or find a way to get it to those who served America for free, I just have so much respect for those people.
Jacob: What’s the next big hurdle to jump over?
Joseph: I would love to build a strong team. To build something that’s greater than myself, I need some smart, innovative people who really have the know-how. Who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and work [00:07:00] hard. Building a team of industrial engineers, some people who are tech savvy, people who could run the finances, just essentially build a well-oiled machine. Something that we could expeditiously or efficiently get the ball rolling, so to speak.
It’s a pioneer initiative, I’m trying to go where nobody’s gone before. I realize I’m just a young college kid with a dream, and having a mentor would make a world of difference to me. Somebody who has that practical experience. Somebody who wants to make a change, somebody who can help me get from point A to point B. Taking it from a dream to a tangible reality would be awesome. So those are the two main things: a team and B, a mentor, and obviously three, funding.
Jacob: Yeah. If you were to list more specifically roles that you would want to, you need to build out, I mean, you sort of suggested some. Which ones have you already found, or which ones are you still looking for? Like, Hey, you really need someone who’s a supply chain expert, or an industrial engineer with product manufacturing experience, or whatever that is. What’s your wishlist of allies that you need right now?
Joseph: I’ve been told by [00:08:00] industry experts, one of the greatest things to have would be like an industrial, I believe what they’re called, an industrial engineer. Somebody who could help me figure out the intricacies of this. And as I said, perfect the ergonomics. I’ve gotten certain feedback, this WAYSTATION really does resolve all the pain points. But finding a way to make it more lightweight, maybe collapsible and foldable, that kind of thing.
Someone on the engineering side, contractors, from when we focus on our B methodology, where we’re able to start implementing things into an integrated system in their homes. Somebody who’s really good, who knows the ins and outs of product development, how to get things manufactured. Financial advisor, who can help me budget wisely and just learn how to more judiciously allocate those funds, I think, would be extremely helpful. I’m sure there’s some more help I could definitely use. I’m just taking it one step at a time. So I’ll take all the help I can get.
The most important thing to me over expertise are people who are really passionate about the initiative. I think that would make a world of difference as well.
Jacob: There’s a lot of different ways to sort of try and get this in front of the right people. And just curious what your current thoughts are. Say you’ve got it all [00:09:00] manufactured and designed, and it’s sitting in your warehouse, how do you get someone to know you exist and to buy it and get it to them? What’s that game plan currently?
Joseph: To be quite honest, I don’t have the answer to everything. That’s something I’ve been trying to figure out. I’ve been so hyper-focused on making the product itself. As far as a marketing strategy goes, that’s something I need to kind of perfect. I’ve been doing organic marketing, get it out there. Spread the good word.
We’ve been working with some collaborators, this wonderful woman named Danny, who helped us do a lot of our research. She’s a big influencer in the wheelchair community. A very successful entrepreneur and wheelchair user. She helped get valuable feedback.
Jacob: Awesome. Well, any last words before we let you go?
Joseph: I think we, as human beings, far too often we have the propensity to think about things that might segregate us. You know, put us in boxes and label us. And consequently I feel that we have sense of alienation from each other. I think in reality, we have so much more that unites us than divides us. And one of those commonalities is [00:10:00] that all of us as human beings suffer with something. Whether it’s something visible or some battle within something that’s internal.
We all have something that eats away at us, something that stresses us out, something that engenders anxiety, something that feels insurmountable on our own. I think one of the beautiful reasons we’re put on this earth, in communities and teams, is to help each other. Think about other people and treat them how you would wanna be treated. Think about the problems that you go through, you’re not alone. There are people who legitimately struggle, and they could really, really use your help. That’s my call to action. I love people. I wanna serve people. I wanna make the world a better place. I want to be that, as Gandhi says, as much of a platitude as it is, is, or it may sound. Be that positive change you wanna see in the world instead of just wishing for it to come around.
If you wanna see a change in the world, you wanna make a positive difference. You wanna help alleviate some suffering, improve the quality of people’s lives, jump on this initiative, whatever initiative it may be, be the difference, be the light in your community.
And if you want to join MOBI, all the better.
Jacob: Alright. Well said. [00:11:00] excited to see where you go with this and best wishes with the next steps, and wanna be apprised how your journey goes. So, kudos to all that you’re doing and keep up the good work.
Joseph: Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you so much, Jacob. I appreciate your time, sir, and I hope you have a wonderful day and you keep up what you’re doing. I really appreciate it and I respect it a lot.
Jacob: Thank you.
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