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Interviews with purpose-driven leaders who are helping others and making a positive impact in the world.

INSPIRED IMPACT is an ongoing blog series that gives voice to purpose-driven organizations and passionate leaders and entrepreneurs who are making an impact in their communities and industries.



 

Jacqueline Ros and Andrea Perdomo

Jacqueline Ros and Andrea Perdomo are co-founders of Revolar. Follow them on social at @revolar and learn more at revolar.com.

 

WHAT DO YOU DO?
At our core, we believe everyone has the right to feel safe. Our mission is to make that a reality through technology so that noone’s passion or potential is extinguished by fear. That’s why we created the Revolar Instinct. It can quickly let your loved ones know where you are and if you’re safe, scared, or in an emergency. That way, you can get any help you need at the click of a button.

 

WHY DO YOU DO IT?
Jacqueline came up with the idea for Revolar after her little sister was assaulted twice before the age of 17. Andrea joined in on the journey of Revolar because her grandmother was kidnapped in Colombia and her family had no idea where she was for eight months. We believe that most people are good but we all still need help from time to time. It’s our goal to empower you to stay connected and communicating with your loved ones in the small and big moments.

 

WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
Revolar Instinct is the fastest way to communicate or send for help. Just click the button 1, 2, or 3 times to alert loved ones with your location and different custom text messages. Our families’ experiences taught us that in an unsafe situation, you may not have time to use your phone or be able to access it. And if things turn tense, attempting to call for help on your phone could make things worse by escalating the situation. While designing our safety devices, we spent hundreds of hours talking with assault survivors who said time and again of their experiences, “I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t call 911 based on a bad feeling.”

We never want you to feel paralyzed, that’s why Revolar empowers you to easily ask for help from people you trust, before a bad feeling becomes a dangerous situation.

 

WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO MAKE THIS IMPACT?
Survivors. Our name Revolar means to take flight again in Spanish and is an ode to their incredible strength and ability to pick themselves back up again. Fear keeps us from being our authentic selves. Imagine a world where everyone is brave enough to live fearlessly; now that would be a sight to see.

 

WHAT’S YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
We want to make safety a right, not a privilege. We believe that the combination of new educational, cultural, and yes, technological tools can end violence.

 

WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE?
Many investors cannot relate to the challenges our users face. We need support for our product and feedback from users (we call them Revolarians) so we can prove that there is a major gap between those who feel safe and those who don’t and the feedback is so we can constantly improve. The best way to support us today is through our indiegogo campaign.

 

WHAT IS (OR HAS BEEN) YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
We represent communities that are normally overlooked in the technology community. Our biggest challenge is proving our communities want and need Revolar, as well as that they are a viable market and worthy of us building new technology for.

 

WHAT WORDS OF ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER LEADERS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT?
Be patiently persistent. Not many people who have influence or capital will get it right away. It’s your job to respectfully bridge that knowledge gap and educate them. Be kind, be transparent, move fast, and in all the craziness find a way to stay connected to why you started in the first place. For me, that’s through customer care. I love hearing their stories of when we were able to help them. It keeps me focused and breathing.

 

HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
Support our indiegogo campaign! You can get a Revolar Instinct for yourself or someone you love! You can also donate a Revolar to a person in need and we deliver it to communities who can’t afford or access our safety technology.