ROAR for Good, on the corner of 34th and Market Streets, is a local startup company and benefit corporation that is developing smart self-defense jewelry, which alerts your loved ones with your GPS location when you are in a dangerous situation. The piece also lights up and launches a loud alarm to deter the attacker.
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When Yasmine Mustafa went backpacking around South America, she heard many stories of women being victims of sexual attacks and domestic violence. She then returned to Philadelphia, only to find that a woman was sexually assaulted just a block away from her apartment. It was only a week after she came back from her trip, when she saw that a woman who was feeding a parking meter was grabbed from behind, dragged to a dark alley, and brutally raped. That was the moment that Mustafa knew she needed to do something to protect herself.
She thought of a more accessible way of using mace, but after a lot of research she realized that mace is actually dangerous and illegal in many states. She also found out that many women were afraid of the self-defense mechanisms that were on the market. If overpowered by an attacker, women said they fear that their mace, Tasers, and guns will be used against them. So, Mustafa then partnered with Anthony Gold, and together they started ROAR for Good and created self-defense products in the form of wearable jewelry.
ROAR for Good’s first product, Athena, is named after the Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, and war strategy. Athena is a circular piece resembling a pendant that can be worn as a necklace, clipped onto clothing, or put onto a key fob. When you purchase Athena, you will also create an account on your smart phone that links up with the device to track your location and access your contacts in case of an emergency. If activated by pressing a button, it messages loved ones with your location for immediate help. It also emits lights and sounds a loud alarm to deter the attacker.
The product will be ready for pre-order as of October 20, 2015 during an Indiegogo campaign. A percentage of the proceeds will be invested into non-profit programs that are focused on reducing violence by teaching young children about empathy, respect, healthy relationships, and consent.
For both Mustafa and Gold, running their own business is a great opportunity to think big, pursue great ideas, and drive initiatives that can change the world. Nearly everyday they hear news about sexual assault victims. Seeing how terrible these attacks are and knowing how many women are sexually assaulted per year, they are eager to launch their product and start making an impact.
It is hard to start a company in Philadelphia, considering it is not as big of a startup city as Boston, New York or San Francisco. But there are a lot of organizations that are also trying to succeed in Philly like Dreamit, AWE Ventures, Rise of the Rest, and several others. ROAR for Good is a cause worth investing in.
In the next few years, ROAR for Good will be developing different designs for their self-defense products, including an even a smaller sized Athena. Mustafa and Gold said they measure their success by the number of lives they touch, thus they will continue to develop solutions to reduce assaults and ideally begin to transform society. They want to make the world a safer place, especially for women and nothing would bring them more joy than to obviate the need for devices like Athena.
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