Orbit

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

Website Link: orbit.engineering

Industry: Biotechnology

Founding Student Name(s): Steven Pang, Colton El-Habr

Brief Description of Solution:  Orbit makes neurotech for gaming and virtual reality. By sending electrical signals to the movement centers of the brain, their device allows you to feel the in-game movements (like flying and spinning) — creating a new level of gaming immersion.

Funding Dollars: $550k

What led you to launch this venture? When I was a kid, I believed in magic. And people would always tell me, “Magic isn’t real.” I’ve always wanted to build something so amazing, so insanely magical that nobody would be able to tell me that magic isn’t real anymore. That’s what we’re building!

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture?

The biggest accomplishment has to be on the engineering side: we’ve built the best modulated noninvasive vestibular stimulation system in the world — and that’s pretty cool!

How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? When I got to Georgetown 14 months ago, I didn’t know what an MVP was; much less a SAFE or a Post-Money Cap. Georgetown taught me every single thing about launching a startup.

Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? My answer is actually not a class, but a seminar series led by Georgetown’s Georgetown Ventures program called “LaunchPad”. The big lesson the program taught me was: move fast and learn quickly.

What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Ken Williams has provided guidance to us since the very beginning. He has helped us weigh fundraising, team building, and all sorts of other questions.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? My parents started a company when I was young, and they always encouraged me to do the same. “Kind, caring people,” they told me, “should build things themselves, so that the big companies that impact a lot of people in the future will be kind and caring too.”

What is your long-term goal with your startup? We want to accelerate the path to generalized neurotechnology which can integrate the brain fully with a computer. If we could do that, we could do so many amazing, wonderful things!

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? The Georgetown startup space is one of the most supportive startup spaces in the world. Everyone wants each other to win and succeed, and everyone wants to help each other. Also, the end goal for everyone is to build something that helps people — and that’s really, really awesome!

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