Growing up, I remember my father being often tired, even during normal hours of the day. Well, he was working (and still is!) in a very demanding physical job, but it didn’t feel right; the snoring, unusual naps, and the ongoing fatigue indicated something else.
Me visiting my dad in a sleep lab
Like 30 million other Americans, and one Billion people globally, my father had undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Family and Electronics
I love creating and if there was a glimmer of thrill amongst my childhood, it was electronics.
I had an early interest in computers and physics, with natural curiosity around healthcare and physiology. This led me to pursue a double major degree in Electrical Engineering and Physics to transform this interest into my professional career. My engineering studies were difficult yet rewarding, followed by a long and meaningful service in the Israeli Defense Forces as an engineer and a leader.
During those years I continued my studies, developing my passion towards advancing healthcare through technology, and developed techniques to create a new type of printing technology for flexible electrodes.
Onto Tokyo 🗼
Fueled by a desire for spiritual and professional nourishment, I set off to Tokyo, Japan, to pursue my PhD in flexible electronics. This is an early field of development with a lot of promise to transform electronic devices as we know them today. The soft and flexible form factor allows for unobtrusive measurement of physiological data from any body location, in a reliable and continuous fashion.
My time in Japan has introduced challenges – personal, cultural, and professional, but they all made me become a stronger, more understanding, and open-minded human being.
Following my PhD graduation I began to work towards my very own startup, Tatch (now Wesper). I wanted to make a difference in healthcare and create a way for people to understand and treat their health condition better. Fast forward to 2021, Wesper has now raised over $5.6 million in funding with the mission to make sleep-health easy and accessible for all.
We are launching a wellness product soon (Wesper Sleep), and working on another product line with the FDA to create a more comprehensive ecosystem for sleep care. We are proud and excited about what we do and so do the thousands of people on our waitlist.
Wesper’s Empathy
My family values are embedded in every grain of Wesper. We invented the term ‘Wesper’ to reflect the moment parents quietly singing to their child near their bed, hoping for a peaceful night and bright morning to follow. This reminds me of home, and brings me to my life today, raising my own child and wespering for him at night.
At Wesper, we are a high-performing and mission-driven team, who believe in transparent communication and support to all the team members.
We are Built For Good.
My wife, Chen and I.
Signing off and until next time,
– Amir