Jewelry That Saves Lives: De-stigmatizing Aging Through Design with Mara Perlmutter

When Mara Perlmutter’s mother refused to wear the standard "white unattractive plastic" medical alert devices available on the market, she asked Mara to create something beautiful instead. In this episode, Keren is joined by Mara Perlmutter, founder and CEO of Trelawear, to discuss how thoughtful design can de-stigmatize aging and improve safety for women.Mara discusses her transition from over 25 years in the jewelry industry to becoming a hardware founder in the AgeTech space. She breaks down the engineering challenges of creating the first metal-based wireless emergency device.We also dive into the business side of the startup journey, including the grueling two-year process to launch on QVC and how Trelawear navigated FSA and HSA eligibility to make the product more accessible.Topics Covered:Why "ugly" tech leads to low adoption and how Trelawear solves this.The reality of the QVC merchant process.Expanding use cases: From seniors to real estate agents and lone workers.