No Wheelchair Fit This Founder's Needs so He Built His Own and Now It's Backed by TechStars and an XTC Global Finalist

Many great startups were created because founders saw a problem with the world — often one that affects them — and decided to change it.

This couldn’t be more true for John DeBenedette, founder of ABBY by GOGOTECH Inc., a startup creating a safe, advanced and affordable wheelchair give people with reduced mobility a long-needed upgrade.

DeBenedette has been a wheelchair user since 1985, so he has intimate knowledge of the industry — and its flaws.

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DeBenedette is a serial entrepreneur who set out to fix this issue by inventing ABBY, a patented wheelchair that is safe, affordable and contains some of the latest technology. 

His invention has seemingly been well received. ABBY has raised over $181,000 on Wefunder from everyday people, and it’s backed by Techstars, one of the biggest and most prestigious startup accelerators in the world. ABBY is raising funds on Wefunder to help manufacture and fulfill its waitlist of over 1,000 subscribers. Anyone can invest in ABBY for a limited time. 

Not only has it gained traction on the investment side, ABBY was recently a Global Finalist for the 2022 Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC). XTC is the world's largest startup competition focused on purpose-driven innovation.

Unlike anything else on the market, the ABBY wheelchair has smart features like a reverse camera, a remote control and several others that can be controlled on a phone app. They’re power-assisted and cheaper than most existing market solutions, despite having tons more features. 

Wefunder calls startup investments like these “socially good lottery tickets” because startups like ABBY have the potential for large gains if they see an exit but are risky and often “win big or go bankrupt.” Even if it doesn’t go public, you can help get wheelchairs made to fit the needs of thousands of people.

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Original story found here.