Every product in AECorner Community started with someone who cared deeply about another person, a family member, a patient, someone whose daily life deserved better than what existed. Six founders took that care and built something tangible with it, something that could be held, used, and passed on to the families who needed it most. This first episode is their origin story, and an open door for anyone navigating adaptive equipment for a loved one or for themselves. Come on in.
Takeaways:
The genesis of AE Corner Community stems from a profound commitment to improving the lives of individuals in need of adaptive solutions.
Each founder within AE Corner Community has a deeply personal motivation that drives their innovation in adaptive products.
The collaborative effort of six founders illustrates the power of community in addressing shared challenges faced by those requiring adaptive equipment.
AE Corner Community serves as a vital resource for families navigating the complexities of adaptive living, fostering dignity and independence in daily life.
The adaptive equipment innovator community, known as EPIC, exemplifies a commitment to developing practical solutions for real-world problems.
Over a decade, AE Corner Community has positively impacted over 104,000 families, demonstrating significant growth and outreach in adaptive solutions.
This is everyday adaptive from AE Corner Community Real solutions for Dignity, Independence and Comfort in Daily life Today's piece Love Built the Products Belief Built the Community Love Built the Products Belief Built the Community.
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That is the shortest version of how AE Corner Community came to exist.
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The longer version starts with six founders, a mastermind and a shared refusal to accept that the people who needed better solutions would simply never get them.
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Janice Chakrian, founder of Tow C Brands, watched her father sitting in a nursing home chair, a pillow half cocked under his neck, deeply uncomfortable and unable to rest.
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She patented a pillowcase to fix that.
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Kathleen Quinn, founder of Mobility Towel, watched her mother, K, lose the small private dignity of drying herself after a bath due to rheumatoid arthritis.
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She invented a weighted towel with handles so K could do it herself.
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Diane Vitillo, physical therapist and founder of the original AFO Assist, had a patient look her in the eye and ask if there was anything she could do to help them put on their own ankle foot orthosis.
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There was nothing on the market, so she built it.
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Carrie Mellon, founder of Easyhold, refused to give up the sports, music and hobbies that made her feel alive.
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After her grip was compromised, she invented a universal adaptive silicone cuff so nobody else would have to give them up either.
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Linda, Mary and Celine Skerdyk, the occupational and physical therapist, co founders of Functional Hand by Thera Solutions, kept watching parents beg for custom handles for every single tool their child needed to use.
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They built one adaptable device that works with all of them.
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Cindy and Christina Hardin Weiss brought over 50 years of combined clinical experience as a physical therapist and a speech therapist to something deceptively testing adaptive products honestly and telling people exactly what they found.
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They just showed up, told the truth and trusted that the right people would find them.
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A decade later, 104,000 families are still learning and growing alongside them.
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These six were already in a mastermind together, each solving problems in their own lane.
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When AE Corner Community came to them with a simple let us amplify what you have already built.
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They didn't hesitate.
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That is how AECC was born.
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AE Corner Community is the consumer and clinical professional facing home for everyone, navigating adaptive equipment for everyday living.
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And epic, the adaptive equipment product innovator community, is the home for the brands and inventors building those solutions.
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Because EPIC is epic.
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Every founder in it proves that every single day.
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The community that started with six founding brands has grown.
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It has shown up at Abilities Expo and other trade shows.
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It has partnered with retail channels spanning clinical distribution, senior living and the active disability community and the origin story of how it all came together.
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That is a story worth its own telling.
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When you build from love, you build something that lasts.
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That is what you will find here.
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AE Corner community exists for moments exactly like this one.
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Dignity, independence and comfort aren't just words.
