Wearables startup Revolar finds new life, new investors

By: Greg Avery 

A high-profile Denver tech startup that makes wearable emergency alert devices has been brought back to life just in time for holiday sales.

Revolar, which shut down in October after being hamstrung by supply chain problems, has new owners who bought the company’s intellectual property and assets, and are backing the startup’s founders.

Revolar’s smart-phone connected emergency alert buttons went back on sale on the company’s website on Black Friday, and they’re expected to be on Amazon.com and some other online stores by week’s end, said Steve Bachar, a co-founder in Empowerment Capital, the Denver investment firm that led the purchase of Revolar.

Revolar hit a “hiccup” in manufacturing its devices and its existing investors determined the startup wasn’t likely to meet their return expectations, Bachar said, which led to an auction of Revolar to resolve the company’s debt.

Empowerment Capital and Volante Capital Advisors, a private equity firm that invests in medical device companies, bought the assets of Revolar at auction, out bidding several other companies. Bachar didn’t disclose the cost of the bid or the terms of the deal, saying only he thought there were at least a dozen firms bidding.

“We were victorious in that auction, we resolved the supply chain issue and we’re back selling product,” he said, adding that things came together just in time for the holiday buying season. “Now is the critical time for any consumer company.”

Jacqueline Ros and Andrea Perdomo, the co-founding executives of Revolar, are back-running the company as president and chief operating officer, respectively.

Empowerment Capital had hoped to invest in Revolar before it ran into supply-chain trouble, largely because of Ros and Perdomo, Bachar said.

“They’re significant visionaries, and we’re happy to still have them,” he said.

Ros, inspired to help prevent sexual assaults after her sister was attacked, came up with the idea for Revolar. She co-founded the company with Perdomo in 2013 and then led the startup through the Boulder-based Techstars startup accelerator programs, including a retail-focused Techstars program run in partnership with retail giant Target.

Revolar’s buttons let a user discreetly send an emergency text message and location to pre-selected contacts, or simply to check in with contacts. Women and users with disabilities have been the product’s main buyers.

Revolar’s technology seems particularly relevant now, given the national conversation surrounding sexual assault and harassment of women, Bachar said.

The startup attracted $6 million in equity and debt backing from investors that included the Foundry Group, a Boulder-based venture capital firm.

Revolar built a team of 22 employees before its supply chain problems occurred. Ros aims to hire back many of the company’s former employees, she said.

“We’ve worked with some really incredible people. The only reason we were able to get picked back up was because of the team we had,” she said.

Revolar faced a legal battle after San Diego-based Security5 LLC alleged last year that Revolar’s product infringed on a patent. Revolar challenged the validity of Security5’s patent with the U.S. patent & Trade Office, suspending the lawsuit in federal court.

Indications from the patent office have been positive for Revolar, Bachar said, and he’s “very, very confident the final decision will go our way.”

The patent dispute didn’t contribute to Revolar shutting down last month, Ros said, adding she’s always been confident Revolar’s intellectual property is strong.

Revolar will have redundancy in its supply chain to prevent a repeat of the issues that befell the startup before, Bachar said.

Revolar is approaching a busy holiday season trying to sell its inventory while it hires back employees and a new board of directors is established under the new ownership.

Ros praised Foundry Group and Techstars for supporting the company for three years.

“We’ve learned so much from everybody,” Ros said. “Very few businesses get the chances we’ve had.”

Ros in recent weeks has heard from several customers, who the company calls “Revolarians,” who sought reassurance that the service would continue.

Ros and Perdomo stayed motivated to keep the business going because of customer stories about how they and their families rely on Revolar technology to help feel secure, Ros said.

“That’s something worth fighting for,” she said.