‘Athena is just a Band-Aid on the issue of assault’

For hardware startups, the holiday season can be a make-or-break period.

At ROAR for Good, the Philly-based hardware startup behind wearable safety device Athena, it’s been a busy one thus far.

The company started to build momentum over the summer when it began shipping the long-awaited Athenas. Around that same time, it announced a partnership with real estate startup Houwzer to provide agents with the safety devices.

In November, in celebration of hitting the three-year mark, it gave away 250 of its devices to Philly-based nonprofit Women Against Abuse. Later that month, the company cofounded by Yasmine Mustafa and Anthony Gold had its Joy moment when the Home Shopping Network (HSN) demo’d the product:

Rounding out November, Gold spoke with Cheddar’s Breaking Next about the company’s story:

Ty to the @cheddar for showcasing @ROARforGood, our Athena safety device, and most importantly, our mission to help reduce assaults and transform society. https://t.co/krwIrAiPxW

— Anthony's Desk (@Anthonys_Desk) December 4, 2017

“Athena is just a Band-Aid on the issue of assault,” the cofounder said on the show.

Gold tells Technical.ly the startup has had strong online sales thus far, likely boomed by the product now being live on Amazon.

“You’ve heard me say this many times before, but it bears repeating: Yasmine’s and my goal with ROAR is to be able to put ourselves out of business — for there no longer to be a need for products like Athena and companies like ROAR,” Gold said. “Until then, we will do everything in our power to help make a difference.”