Past Client Q&A: SmartyPill
SmartyPill is a smart pill dispenser for senior citizens and medically fragile children that manages and keeps track of all medication. Prior to coming to Generate, Matt Swenson, Co-Founder of SmartyPill, was planning on participating in the Husky Startup Challenge in Fall 2019 and wanted a prototype for the product and a more refined value proposition to show off at the end of the event.
Swenson learned about Generate through Northeastern University’s venture accelerator IDEA. He applied to become a client under Generate for the Fall 2019 semester, where Smarty Pill was led by Megan Sapack for the hardware aspect and Noah Appleby for software.
Some aspects of the interview have been edited for brevity and clarity.
What problem does Smarty Pill strive to solve?
The problem that I am trying to solve is medication adherence in senior citizens and medically fragile children. These two groups find it difficult to manage and keep track of all their medications. For senior citizens, I specifically want to help those with memory impairments, and for medically fragile children, I want to help those with rare and chronic illnesses, like sickle cell and hemophilia.
What led you to creating SmartyPill?
I created SmartyPill for two reasons. First, this is a problem which affects some of my family members and myself. Second, a review of products in the marketplace suggested that there was no good solution. There were some products that partially addressed it, but none that completely solved it. In consulting family members, senior citizens and medically fragile children, and healthcare professionals, I felt that the only way I could holistically solve this problem was by building something myself.
How did you find out about Generate?
Before applying to Generate, I was in IDEA and had learned about a product development studio that was student-run and that could accelerate hardware and software development.
Why did you decide to prototype through Generate?
Being a computer engineering and computer science major, I was intrigued by the possibility of being a client and developing SmartyPill much faster than I could have by myself or with my two other team members. I was also planning on participating in the Husky Startup Challenge that same semester, and having a prototype to show off at the end of HSC, in addition to a much more refined value proposition, was something that really excited me.
What was the process like working with Generate?
Being able to meet weekly to brainstorm SmartyPill was something I found immensely helpful. There were constant back and forth discussions between the two project leads, Megan and Noah, the 13 other project members, and myself, which was crucial to the success of the project. Having that constant communication, as well as a roadmap defined in the beginning of the semester, made it really easy to visualize the progress of the prototypes.
What was the most difficult part in the process?
SmartyPill was unusual because I had a hardware and software team who had to both develop independent and interdependent systems at the same time. Because of this, there were some roadblocks that came up every now and then which required some slight modifications, but at the end it was amazing to see the completed work on the prototype.
Where are you right now with your venture?
I hope to complete a Ready Stage Pitch for IDEA soon, so that our team can progress and have access to more resources and further develop our venture. We are also on the tail end of working with Scout, a student-run design studio, and they have been a huge help in creating a brand, logo, and voice for SmartyPill.
How has Generate helped you?
Generate was essential in realizing many of the ideas I had in mind for SmartyPill, and flushing out and implementing the core functionality of the device. In addition, one the Generate team members who worked on SmartyPill while I was a client, Thomas Keith, has now joined SmartyPill as a part of the team, so I’m excited to see what our new team can do this year and beyond!
