My inspiration is the forgotten disabled consumer with unmet needs. As a disabled vet and active over-50-year-old, I lived that gap and invented NULU — an ergonomic knife rooted in universal design — for myself. I built a team and took it to market for the millions with arthritis, limited mobility, vision impairment, or physical differences that most tools ignore. 1 in 4 Americans self-report disability — but the real number is larger. Mother Nature and Father Time ensure that.

Simply put, the people who NULU helps. When people light up by gaining or regaining autonomy — cooking a meal, feeding their family, living independently — that's all the motivation I need. Every customer who says 'I can cook again' — or cuts independently for the first time — reminds me why NULU exists. Impact isn't a byproduct of this business. It's the whole point. And when the dialogue moves to better cutting as injury prevention, the impact becomes universal.

$10,000 in inventory keeps pace with 20–30% month-over-month growth so no one delays their autonomy in the kitchen. $10,000 in digital marketing and key events — doubling our spend and allowing us to exhibit for the first time — brings NULU to communities who don't yet know it exists. The final $5,000 funds R&D for a dining knife and stabilizing cutting board to extend independence for people with limited mobility. This grant grows NULU and changes lives.