Pitching in Sign

by Max Druz, Techstars Community Operations

I’ve always thought that sign language is such a beautiful method of communication — but wondered what it would be like to rely on this method for all interaction. In a time when so much of human conversation is held through digital means, consisting of impersonal texts and emails, the idea of a language that is transmitted through physical human interaction is truly remarkable. After this Techstars Startup Weekend, I wanted to learn more from Marcos about his experience, as a person and as an entrepreneur.

Marcos he told me that his struggles with communication are what led to his participation in Techstars Startup Weekend, and ultimately to the concept for his team’s winning business plan. Marcos explained that in Brazil, many people who are hard of hearing are economically challenged, and often feel isolated and struggle to find ways to grow in their lives and careers.

Marcos ties his interest in entrepreneurship to his goal of bringing a voice to the deaf community. By participating in Techstars Startup Weekend in his city, he wanted to serve as an example for those in his community, and show that it’s possible to pursue economic and personal growth through innovation. Not being able to communicate in everyday places like supermarkets, bakeries, and hospitals leads to desperation and anguish for many people. Marcos hopes to find a solution to this problem in order to bring more freedom and versatility to his own life — and the lives of many of his friends who are also hard of hearing.

Marcos began to observe and research the communication amongst those with hearing loss at the places he often visited. At places like convenience stores or health clinics, communication for people like him, with hearing loss, was often extremely difficult without an interpreter. How could he and his friends and community go shopping or to the doctor on their own? He wanted to improve the dialogue, and to use technology to do so.

Let me Order is his solution, so that people with hearing loss always have an interpreter available to facilitate communication — and their lifestyle. With Let Me Order, he envisioned an app that provides access to a translator who speaks the local language, though just the click of a button.

At Techstars Startup Weekend, participants who have a startup idea pitch on Friday evening, and then everyone forms teams around the best ideas. The result at this weekend: participants without hearing loss working on a startup for people with hearing loss — and with a cofounder with hearing loss. Team members were extremely curious about the experiences of those with hearing loss, as well as the science and physiology of hearing loss.

One thing that they learned was the importance of an interpreter. Throughout most of the weekend, Marcos had interpreters by his side, so communication was quite smooth among his team. But Marcos worked hard to emphasize the importance of having an interpreter to the rest of his team and to all of the Startup Weekend participants. People who don’t have hearing loss take for granted their ability to communicate on their own, without the need for an additional person always with them to help. Marcos also guided his team to a strong focus on visuals in the product design and systems, explaining that his hearing loss makes visual communication particularly useful and important.

Techstars Startup Weekend includes pitch training, to help participants communicate their ideas as effectively as possible. In his training pitch, Marcos was quite nervous, and he worried that he wouldn’t be able to find a way for the panel of judges to understand his concept. He struggled through the training pitch. He was having a hard time figuring out how to express himself in a direct and objective manner.

The Techstars Startup Weekend community rallied to help solve his problem. Between his team, Techstars Startup Weekend mentors, and interpreters, Marcos was able to develop a pitch that was more clear and concise.

Marcos told me he was quite anxious before his final pitch, presenting Let Me Order to a panel of judges, made up of leaders from the local entrepreneurial community. When the pitch began he tried to focus on the judges. He doesn’t remember ever looking at the other Techstars Startup Weekend participants in the audience. The nervousness made him shaky and jumpy, but he tried to control his emotions, smile, and show off what he and his team had prepared. He was immensely grateful to have an interpreter by his side to facilitate communication with the judges, so they could understand him in their language. He wanted to “present something that the judges would think sounded like a present from his essence to theirs.”

His present was accepted with open arms: Let Me Order won first place.

Let me Order’s story didn’t end at Techstars Startup Weekend. Marcos recently told me that they have rebranded as Conecta Libras, or Connect Sign Languages, which he thinks is a more clear and directed name that will speak to those with hearing impairments. They are focused on implementing their platform in the community of Presidente Prudente, and then they plan to expand their services on a national scale in Brazil, with a strategy focused on different regions of the country. Every state will have interpreters who know the characteristics and signs of each regions’ language, allowing them to better service the communities in their respective regions. There is already massive interest for Conecta Libras in Presidente Prudente: the mayor wants to implement the project in many of the local health units in the city.

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