Welcome to our Member Spotlight series, where we proudly showcase the businesses and individuals making a difference in our Strive community and beyond. Today we have the pleasure of visiting with Marty Strenczewilk with Afference, a highly innovative haptics technology provider operating out of Strive Boulder. Join us as we learn more about the story behind the business, and how they use advanced technology to bring brand new inventions to the fascinating world of neuroscience.
Tell us a little about Afference.
Afference enables seamless tactile experiences between the digital and physical worlds. Our founders have worked for decades bringing the sense of touch into prosthetics and are using that neuroscience expertise to enable touch for today’s digital world.
What led you to starting Afference?
We had discovered a new haptic technology, through our work bringing the sense of touch to amputees. It was clear to us that there were broader applications for the tech beyond prosthetics and that led us to start Afference.
What sets your business apart from your competitors?
Haptics are traditionally created with a physical actuator that moves. Our technology stimulates the nerve directly, which requires less power, smaller hardware, can refer the sensation from a ring wearable to their fingertip and allows more types of sensation than purely vibration.
What is something you wish you’d known when you were just starting your business?
A company is more than just great tech. You have to build the right team or the tech doesn’t go anywhere.
How do you navigate your work-life balance?
Having kids helps a lot, since they demand your time and force you to focus on them. But proactively, I turn off my notifications from all of the work apps and make sure people at work know that if something is truly time sensitive they need to text or call me. Then I can set my phone down, spend time with my family and make sure to get plenty of rest and exercise to recharge for the next day. Grind culture is something that we do not ascribe to and we’re very aware of how it can creep into a startup.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
Seeing the excitement on people’s faces when they feel our technology on their finger and how it solves something that has been missing from spatial computing and XR since its inception – the ability to send feedback to the user.
How has being a part of the Strive Denver community affected you and your business?
Being able to demo our new ring to the Strive community in December was great. It allowed us to get some great feedback from a wide variety of people and to meet some of the awesome people who work around us every day.
If you had a friend in town and you could take them to one of your favorite restaurants or spots in your community, where would you take them?
Definitely for a hike into the foothills on one of our many sunny mornings, followed by breakfast at Walnut Cafe.
We would like to thank Marty and the Afference team for their enthusiasm and willingness to share their story with us! If you are interested in spotlighting your business, whether through our member spotlight series or an organized community event, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Community Manager; we are always eager to help elevate your business in any way we can!