“What we do is we create innovative seating, and apply this technology to applications ranging from wheelchairs to aviation and automotive,” commented Tim Balz, Founder and CEO of Kalogon.  

Tim has been in and around the wheelchair space for over a decade. It started “with a nonprofit that I founded in high school, and then I even designed the world’s first smart wheelchair, which was named the number one smart device of the year and endorsed by Stephen Hawking.  

“I’ve always been around technology and the wheelchair space, and I realised that this technology was lagging behind the rest of the world. That was the reason myself and my co-founders all left our jobs at companies like SpaceX and NASA to try and solve some of the issues that were still plaguing people with disabilities, even though technology seems like it should have been able to solve it.”  

The startup was born from the need to do better. Pressure injuries (PI) are one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States, and more than 50% of people who use wheelchairs have experienced a PI from sitting. With technology constantly evolving, why is it that the lives of those with disabilities aren’t made easier? The team at Kalogon took on this task to make sure tech did better for those that needed it.  

Kalogon started out in the wheelchair market, but has been expanding into different markets since it launched its first product. “The reason we entered these other markets initially is that we realised that it would allow us to keep pushing our technology forward and we could roll that back to our core market.”  

Startups Magazine first met Kalogon at CES 2023, and our paths crossed again later that year as the startup won the Early-Stage Innovation category at The Hustle Awards 2023.  

Since our first encounter with Kalogon, the business has skyrocketed, so it was time to catch up with them to talk about what’s been happening.  

What’s new? 

Kalogon has had a very busy period since we first met. “We’re so grateful to have been honoured by you guys, but since then, a lot has changed,” Tim said about Kalogon’s Hustle Award win.  

“We have clinical evidence now, and we were recently published in the Journal of Tissue Viability. An independent group tested our technology and found that it directly increased blood flow. So that’s really exciting and we’ve got more journals and research coming.  

“We also did a project with Hyundai, and we’ve got stuff with the Air Force and the pilots there, and three or four really cool new deals that we’re excited to release over the next few months.”  

The Orbiter Med 

In April 2024, Kalogon unveiled its newest product, the Orbiter Med. The Orbiter Med is a new custom wheelchair cushion, which is Medicare-approved.  

“In the States, this is huge. When you don’t have Medicare, you get access to sub-10 % of the market, so sub-10 % of people’s payers will fund you if you don’t have Medicare. Once you get Medicare, you get the entire other 90%. So that means the number of people that our technology could improve their lives, in the US, basically 10x overnight.” 

The new Orbiter Med combines Kalogon’s Advanced Pressure Management (APM) system with the posture influence of a custom cushion. The product combines four years of innovation into one new product that is tailored to meet the very accessible Medicare code. 

“How it does this is, instead of just having the cushion customised to your body using air bladders, this cushion can actually have the foam adjusted by clinicians, and you still get all that air bladder adjustment on top,” Tim commented.  

So what does that enable for the user?  

Tim explained: “We can give you deeper offloads, which is huge. When you look at a pressure map, validated by end users, this product, from an offload perspective, performs significantly better than even our current product.  

“You get all the same benefits of Kalogon’s existing technology, but there’s even more power for the clinician to be able to tune the cushion to exactly what the patient needs.”  

The challenges  

Whilst the startup has been growing, it hasn’t been without challenges.  

“We’re constantly having to change the way we do business, and change is always painful, no matter how agile your organisation is,” commented Tim. Whilst being flexible is a must for startups, that doesn’t mean that constant pivoting and changing with the market comes easily.  

“Besides that, there’s been some difficult market conditions. We are fortunate to build on value, not hype. We’re not selling a dream, we’re selling true value that we’re generating. But it has been challenging to raise in these environments. The good thing is now we’re starting to see cashflow and see that we built a truly sustainable business, and we’re reaping the rewards of that today. But over the last two-three years when everyone was getting crazy valuations on a company, it was tough to raise against that.” 

The highlights  

With the challenges come highlights, and Tim has found a unique way of recognising and celebrating these wins.  

“Whenever we hit a milestone, we’ll buy a bottle of cheap champagne and celebrate it. Someone on the team will pop the champagne and it creates a big moment. Well, I’ve kept every single one of those champagne corks, and I write on them with the date and achievement. It’s so cool going back through and seeing each of these and continually hitting these milestones and seeing the progression.” 

Another highlight is seeing the impact that Kalogon has already made on the industry. “Looking at this industry that, in my opinion, is due for more rapid innovation and disruption, and seeing Kalogon be able to have a seat at that table to where we are truly influencing the direction of the industry. Seeing how quickly we're moving is causing some of the other big players in the industry to try to move quickly as well and invest in innovation. And that, for me, means that no matter what happens, Kalogon is absolutely changing the industry today, which means we're changing even more lives than just our specific customers.” 

Having started to address the lack of innovation within the wheelchair space, the strides that Kalogon is making have truly disrupted the industry already, let alone what innovations are yet to come. 

The future 

Kalogon has a bright future ahead. Being a visionary within its field means that the startup isn’t slowing down anytime soon.  

So what’s next for Kalogon?  

“There’s things I’d love to talk about that I’m not allowed to yet…” Tim teased.  

“But overall, what you’re going to see from Kalogon is our technology popping up in other applications. These applications are going to be where people have to sit for extended periods, and often either have significant issues from that extended sitting or might need to perform well in an area where the pain from sitting can become a distraction.” 

Tim also stressed that the business is constantly working on expanding its reach to different areas of the world, to help people across the globe with its technology.  

This article originally appeared in the May/June issue of Startups Magazine. Click here to subscribe

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