Pitch Link: https://vimeo.com/310152251/f8281dec05
Company Bio: Xplosion provides wearable sensors coupled with The Homer Technique™ to provide training staff comprehensive reports about athletes’ susceptibility to injury. With this information we can characterize the body, set expectations for it, and determine what is needed to finish strong.
Xplosion Tech was created by Kehlin Swain after his experience as a division one college baseball athlete. Unfortunately, Kehlin suffered a serious ankle injury that impeded his performance. Before the injury he was one of the top players on the team. Moving forward he was never able to fully recover back to his old self. He began to research possibilities of how he could recover, especially through rehab. Through his research, Kehlin was able to connect with some professors with backgrounds in entrepreneurship and biomechanics. It finally dawned on him that other athletes were experiencing injuries that were detrimental to their sports careers. These professors sparked Kehlin to start a venture by utilizing his engineering background to develop a prototype.
Kehlin developed a wearable device that is supported through an app that can assess an athlete’s performance in regards to power and acceleration. This technology would be able to track trends that could be useful for athletes regarding their swings and sprints. Eventually Kehlin was able to connect with one of his engineering colleagues – co-founder Isis Ashford – to join him on this endeavor. She had also dealt with the same dilemma as a track athlete. They knew they had a special opportunity that they both could take advantage of by combining forces.
As Xplosion Tech grew, they were able to receive investments while also pitching in over 10 competitions. They were being recognized for their out-of-the-box idea. The ball started rolling once they transitioned as college students into adult life. As the company matured, it led the Miami Heat to contact Xplosion Tech. They had worries about one of their star NBA players who suffered constant injuries. Xplosion Tech jumped in to provide an assessment where they were able to identify key risk areas that aren’t noticeable on an MRI or X-Ray. By following their method, this player was able to rehab more effectively, and it allowed him to get back to his prime health. This was a huge accomplishment for Xplosion Tech to be recognized by an organization like the Miami Heat. However, this wasn’t Xplosion Tech’s biggest accomplishment. Kehlin and the team was awarded an NSF grant for $225,000 to make a second version of the device, where they would be able to reduce the setup time. Being awarded this grant was a tremendous win as it signifies the faith that organizations like NSF have in Kehlin and Xplosion Tech.
As time went on, there were some challenges that started to arise along the way. They had to partner with actual medical doctors and bio mechanics to work with them. It can be very challenging to find the best of the best in industries like this, especially to build a strategic business partnership. Kehlin had to overcome this obstacle by pitching their technology to them. By doing so, Kehlin developed an impressive pitch that allowed Xplosion Tech to win 10 pitch competitions, including the Fall 2018 Dallas Elevate My Business Challenge.
Even with how busy he is, Kehlin knows the importance of working on your business and not in it. This is what drew his attention to the EMBC program. It was crucial for Xplosion Tech to find tools and resources that were aimed at alleviating accounting and finance pressures that come with the business. Without tools like the business model canvas, Kehlin wouldn’t be able to identify crucial gaps. Even to this day, Kehlin still adjusts his canvas to experiment and evaluate opportunities because of how instrumental it is. This has led Kehlin to play around with some ideas for adding other potential revenue streams. He has also been scaling the company, bringing on a medical doctor, a bio mechanic, and some accounting staff.
This process has been great so far for Kehlin and his confidence is sky high. Five years from now Kehlin would like to see consistent revenue growth where they can transform into a zebra or phoenix company. The impact Kehlin wants to leave with Xplosion Tech is to unlock the human potential through the many different ideas that he has. We have no doubt that Xplosion Tech will reach these goals.
His key piece of advice that could benefit other entrepreneurs is to list and map out all possible ideas. Putting these thoughts on paper makes it easier to assess how you can move forward with them. Kehlin emphasizes that you try every single one until one works out for you. The motto that Xplosion Tech lives off of is “build, measure, and learn.” WIth that type of mantra there is no doubt your company will experience some wins, too. Please check out Xplosion Tech and the rest of their story on xplosionlive.com.
