Katherine Olives
Were very proud to share some exciting news! Today, 3M announced a multi-million dollar stake in one of our resident startups, StrongArm Technologies, Inc. Since their beginnings with us, the StrongArm„¢ team has been an important fixture at the Zahn Center and within the larger CCNY community. The company formed lasting relationships with mentors at the City College and the Zahn Center, and worked closely with students and other startups at the Zahn Center to provide feedback and advisement on business and product development. The StrongArm„¢ team is a perfect model of the entrepreneurial spirit come to life, and we are so thrilled that all of their hard work has paid off in this amazing deal.
StrongArm„¢ has spent countless hours traveling around the country to attend trade shows and pitch to investors. This deal with 3M will open the global market and allow the young company to grow into a hub of innovation for the industrial world. We are incredibly excited for this major milestone for StrongArm, said Lindsay Siegel, Director of the Zahn Innovation Center. The team has been an integral part of the Zahn Center since we opened, and an extraordinary group of role models and mentors for our other students. It is a testament to their vision and talent to have successfully attracted the partnership with 3M.
StrongArm„¢ came to the Zahn Center from Rochester, NY in 2013. After winning Mass Challenge in 2012 and graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology, founders Sean Petterson and Justin Hillery sought a co-working space in New York City where they could develop their products for commercialization. They proved to be a perfect fit for the Zahn Centers residency program, as the companys mission aligns with the Zahn Centers mission to create innovative technologies that transform the way we approach our world.
StrongArm„¢ develops leading safety solutions for injury prevention and peak performance for industrial workers, or those they call Industrial Athletes„¢. Sean and Justin were driven to create StrongArm„¢ because of their personal experiences with their fathers, who worked strenuous blue collar jobs, and needed to protect their bodies for the sake of their careers. This inspired the founders to create safety performance gear for the tens of millions of people who use their bodies as instruments for productivity daily.
Since their start at the Zahn Center, StrongArm„¢ has worked in the prototyping lab experimenting with and perfecting product designs. The company formed lasting relationships with mentors at the City College, working closely with senior design classes in the mechanical engineering department. Sean and Justin met their first full-time hire, VP of Engineering Mike Kim, through a senior design class. Mike, a City College alumnus, graduated in 2014 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was hired by StrongArm full-time shortly after graduation, but worked with the team as an intern while he was still studying at CCNY.
The Zahn Center has been an exceptional environment and great experience for myself personally and for StrongArm. They foster a great community where everyone is willing to help each other in all aspects of business and product development. The resources at the Zahn Center have helped me and the company grow faster and learn more about ourselves and the business we are in, said Michael Kim, VP of Engineering.
The team has been an active participant in many Zahn Center events and a lasting role model to our other student teams, especially CENSIR and Cubbies, who work in the same space and share similar aspirations of success. Last April, founder Sean Petterson was a panelist at CCNYs first CUNY TEDx Salon, where he shared his personal experiences as a young entrepreneur with an audience of over 100. For Sean, The Zahn Center was an unbelievable asset. He adds, Without places like his, hardware companies simply wouldnt exist in NYC. The resources available saved valuable development time and money, and allowed us to control innovation by bringing it in house. I was happy to call it my home away from home.
For more information about StrongArm„¢, visit www.strongarmtech.com.