Sharp Focus VR

One out of four kids in Puerto Rico has Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that affects academics and professional performance. 46% of kids in juvenile facilities have ADHD. 

We propose a new way to develop critical skills, using virtual reality technology, as follow:

• Enhance attention span
• Develop self-management
• Improve decision making (under pressure)
• Accelerate your learning process
• Gain mental agility

With our solution, people with learning diversity will have the same opportunities and fairness to be more than competitive, but competent.  

More than 300 thousand people have ADHD in Puerto Rico. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 4% of the global population have ADHD. In Latin American, 36 million people have ADHD. 
Recently, we ran a small pilot program with kids (8 years) with ADHD in Habacub Bilingual Academy in Añasco, Puerto Rico. These kids improved their attention span by 30% in two months of training with our solution.
Currently, we are running another pilot program with 14 juveniles in the juvenile facility in Villalba, Puerto Rico. We are measuring their reaction times and inhibitory control. Also, we are providing training to develop these two skills. 
As preliminary data, the 14 juveniles have inhibitory control highest numbers, which represent a lack of control and poor decision making. Possibly the reason to be there in the juvenile facility.
Our proposal solve the main problem in these kids. With our solution, they will develop inhibitory control, better decision making, and self-management. 

We are running case studies with different populations like juveniles, kids and adolescents. With the process, we are learning more about their needs, problems, and difficulties. As a preventive process, we are training them to develop critical skills to be successful in further jobs and studies. 
One of the most important elements in the process is to understand their problems instead to apply the solution immediately. 
Our solution is a training process that needs voluntary behavior from the participants. The more they train the more they will improve their soft skills. Sharp Focus VR provides a noninvasive control space designed to enhance attention skills, including reaction time and inhibitory control.  

Sharp Focus VR is a virtual reality software that includes training to improve attention span, reaction times and inhibitory control. These main cognitive skills are important to make better decisions, develop self-management, increase speed processing (learning) and to pay attention to the daily tasks. Users need a VR goggle to be in the control space engaged without distractions. 
We provide the software, access to data, training (how to use it) and the VR headset. 

The Virtual Reality Interface Engages the Attention of Users
by Stimulating the Pre Frontal Cortex via Intentional Eye Movements. We created trainings based on cognitive neuroscience specifically to develop the main cognitive skills to regulate hyperactive and inattention behaviors.

Sharp Focus VR integrated cognitive and brain stimulation. We are using Alpha and Gamma waves to stimulate concentration and self management skills. Our proposal is a new way to develop soft skills, better decision making and leadership based on scientific trainings. 

Because our theory of change is based on case studies ran by us. 

This is our map.

Activities: We are running different case studies or pilot programs completely free with two purposes; Understand the problem & collect data.

Direct outputs: Students and participants are training their soft and cognitive skills.

Outcomes: We want to improve their lives one by one.

Short terms: They see their progress on their daily lives and their academic performance.

Long terms: We expected that they will be competent people in works areas.

1. Directly: Over 25 people (in the pilot programs). Indirectly: More than 250 people (People that are using our project in therapeutics scenarios like psychologists, psychiatrists, occupation therapies, private schools, optometrists and chiropractics). Online: We have more than 500 active users from different countries.

2. In one year we estimated more than 1,000 people.

3. In five years we estimated that will be more than 100,000 people. 

Our plan for the next year is to replicate our solution in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Panamá, Guatemala, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Our current model is implemented in schools & professional offices like psychologists, psychiatrists, occupation therapies, private schools, optometrists and chiropractics, among others. Also, we have a version for the general public that can buy online.
In five years we want to scale to Latin America (Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, among others). We expect to replicate our solution to make a sustainability approach.

Our current barrier is in public schools. They have a lot of bureaucracy to make decisions as implement a pilot program. On the other hand, their budget has to pass for different people and protocols to make a decision. That takes a long time (sometimes a year).

We want to focus on innovators and early adopters like private schools because they have more autonomy to make decisions. 

Market Opportunity: 36 million people with ADHD in Latin America.

Our plan:

Industry: Health & Education

Segment: Mental Health & Special Education

Customer segment: Psychologists, psychiatrists, occupation therapies, private schools, optometrists and chiropractics, among others.

End user: People with ADHD

3 members 

• Full time: Joel Acevedo, CEO & Founder: He's the scientist and responsible to run case studies in schools. 
• Part-time: Athelyn Jiménez, Co-founder: She's a lawyer and she has the responsibility to run the case study specifically in the juvenile facility to collect data and understand better the root of the problem. 
• Contractor: Neysha Borrero, Engineer (she's contractor or freelancer and hire her periodically as our App developer).

Because we are a team engaged with social impact.

Joel Acevedo has a PhD in Neuroscience after overcome his ADHD. He has a strong background in psychology and mental health. He has training in business model canvas from I-Corps NSF & he was part of the MIT-Harvard Medical School Healthcare Innovation Bootcamp. On the other hand, Athelyn has a strong background in social impact because she have been working with the worst consequences of a untreated diagnostic. She's a juvenile defender for the last 15 years. 

Non of them.

Value proposition: Non-invasive control space to train and increase the main cognitive skills.
Segments: Caregivers, students with ADHD
Type of intervention: Training process or digital therapeutic
Channels: Social networks, www.sharpfocusvr.com, professional offices or schools.
Key activities: Pilot programs & case studies
Key resources: Brand, a test platform just for research
Key partners: Private schools, educators, influencers
Cost structure: Staff, maintenance, equipment
Surplus: Development, marketing, improvements
Revenue: Subscriptions, licensing

We are selling to private schools and professionals. A one year license for $900 each one. 

We expect to build a strong relationship with TPrize, SOLVE and MIT to help us change the way to implement our solution in schools and professional offices. 
Our challenge is the bureaucracy in the public schools and educational system. If we win the challenge we think that we can run larger protocols and pilot programs to collect more data and build the reliability in the people and educational system through the scientific data.  

Universidad de Monterey, Universidad de los Andes, MIT Sloan, SOLVE, TPrize, UNICEF