Married entrepreneurs Brittany Palmer and Rich Palmer, both with disabilities, have walked the walk by co-founding a new angel investor group. This informal group is committed to uplifting and supporting startups that are creating disability and accessibility technology. With decades of experience in the startup and investment sectors, they are hungry to make a difference. Their aim is to assist in filling the funding gap for creative solutions that address the needs of people with disabilities.
The entrepreneurial and investment history of the couple is deep and wide. Brittany Palmer, who has previously pitched her venture Beeyonder. At the forefront of this industry was this pioneering company that created custom virtual travel experiences exclusively for people with disabilities. Rich Palmer is the co-founder of Gravyty. He is a managing director and angel investor at Launchpad Venture Group, an organization that invests in tech and science-based startups.
The new firm will conduct quarterly meetings where a minimum of four startups will present their pitches to potential investors. After these pitches, investors will cast votes on which companies to move to the next round of due diligence. This systematic process helps to provide the right balance of attention and funding to the most promising of these startups to help them achieve early success.
Brittany Palmer expressed her frustration with traditional venture capital firms, stating, “Venture capital firms really didn’t understand the disability community, or how big it was, or the opportunities to sell to them.” Fostering this understanding fuels their mission to lead with purpose and intention toward a space largely underrepresented by traditional investors.
Rich Palmer reinforced this idea, emphasizing the importance of angel investments for their own professional journeys. “We’ve both benefited from angel investors who took early bets on us,” he said. Their experiences have informed their desire to create similar opportunities for the next generation of businesses building innovative solutions in the disability tech space.
In 2023, the global assistive technology market was valued at over $22 billion. In fact, experts predict that this market will be worth over $540 billion by 2030. This historic increase is a testament to the growing demand for creative technologies that make the world more accessible to people with disabilities. Entrepreneurs Brittany and Rich Palmer have focused their startup investments in this niche market. Yet they hope to spur broader economic development and build transformative impact for people who use assistive technologies.
Their firm will greatly benefit from their investments in groundbreaking innovations that meet authentic needs brought to us by people living with disabilities. And the founders are very focused on helping these startups succeed. They are confident this will accelerate innovations that make life more accessible and convenient for millions of Americans.
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