Founder Friday with Carlyn Loncaric of VodaSafe
VodaSafe—an alumni company of Creative Destruction Lab founded by engineer Carlyn Loncaric—has developed AquaEye®: a patent-pending handheld sonar device created with machine learning to interpret sonar echoes for water rescue and recovery. AquaEye is the fast, safe, and intelligent way to rapidly locate missing people in the water. It is designed to interpret complicated sonar data for the user, ultimately increasing the rescues' accuracy, speed, and chance at saving a life. The device is currently used on six continents and in 47 countries around the world, making both rescues and recoveries safer and faster.
We caught up with Carlyn to hear what’s new for VodaSafe, what’s coming up next, insights into what’s happening in the industry, and advice she would give to her past self and up-and-coming women founders.
What’s New
Stepping strongly into 2024, AquaEye achieved a significant milestone with its first successful recovery mission in Scotland, marking a monumental breakthrough for the company in the UK. The recovery, which garnered widespread attention, involved the swift retrieval of a missing individual within a mere two hours, showcasing the remarkable efficiency of the technology in comparison to traditional search and rescue methods.
This notable recovery not only brought relief to a man’s family grieving his body that was missing for nearly three weeks but also prompted a surge of support, exemplified by a crowdfunding initiative to buy additional AquaEye units for local rescue teams.
Alongside these triumphs, AquaEye has enjoyed a series of awards, including winning the Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Competition and being one of the top five grand prize winners of the 2023 Telus #StandWithOwners Competition, increasing their national visibility and fostering a momentum of growth and innovation within their operations.
Despite the challenges posed by the stigma surrounding drowning prevention, Carlyn shares that AquaEye remains steadfast in its mission, actively pursuing avenues to revolutionize rescue efforts and reshape perceptions. The team is engaged in a fundraising campaign aimed at expansion and growth initiatives.
What’s Next
To date, AquaEye has been used to locate a missing person in over 50 documented recoveries. What's important to add to that fact is that those are just the recoveries reported back to the VodaSafe team, so the actual number is likely much higher.
With stats like that driving them forward, the team has innovation and R&D-focused work in the pipeline, and they are dedicated to continue pushing boundaries and delivering innovative solutions. While specific details may be under wraps for now, stakeholders can anticipate exciting developments by staying engaged with the company's social media channels and website, where glimpses of their progress, news features, and outreach efforts will emerge.
VodaSafe is always actively participating in upcoming conferences and demonstrations, underscoring their proactive approach towards staying on top of industry trends and fostering collaboration within the field.
Looking ahead, Carlyn and the team are committed to growing globally, with a keen focus on penetrating new markets and territories. With a vision set on achieving bigger and better milestones, the company's trajectory promises continued innovation and impact and ongoing fundraising to bolster its team and enhance support services for customers.
What’s Going On in the Industry
Looking at recent years, drowning rates in different parts of the world have varied but consistently been cause for concern. Take, for example, these stats:
In August 2020 in Ontario, there had been 61 drownings, compared to 59 in 2019
Devastatingly in Quebec during the same timeframe, there were 60 deaths by August, compared to 46 in the year prior
In May 2020, Florida and Texas—the top two states for child drownings in pools and spas—had already reported higher numbers than last year. Drowning deaths also tripled in Arizona in 2020.
The Journal of Aging and Health 2021 published a study that found that older adults, those 65+, have been drowning at increasing rates—estimating that Canada could see drowning rates in the 65+ age group reach a range of 209-430 people/year by 2050
This rise can be attributed to various factors, including heightened natural disasters, unpredictable ice conditions in the wintertime, increased flooding, activity-related, and much more.
Consequently, Carlyn and the team are seeing a growing demand for innovative technology to address these challenges and a willingness to change how things have historically been done and adopt new approaches within the rescue and prevention sector.
AquaEye has observed a positive trend with a growing community of satisfied customers who actively advocate for the product, creating a network of users that contribute to VodaSafe's growth and success. This organic endorsement from customers highlights the effectiveness of the team’s solutions and emphasizes the power of community-driven amplification.
Advice to Your Past Self & Other Women Founders
“Try not to doubt yourself so much,” Carlyn says. “Build yourself a team and a network that you can lean on because you can't do this alone.”
Doubting yourself is a common hurdle as a founder, but recognize that self-doubt can be a hindrance rather than a motivator. By surrounding yourself with a supportive team and network, you can leverage the diverse strengths and perspectives of others to overcome the inevitable setbacks and bumps in the road.
Building a trusted network fosters an environment where you can seek guidance, share ideas, and receive encouragement, ultimately bolstering confidence and resilience.
Together, this network becomes a source of strength, reminding you that while your own effort is crucial, we are stronger and more capable when we work together. Trust in self-belief and the power of collaboration.
The51 is proud to partner with the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) in telling founder stories to accelerate the representation of women within Canada’s innovation economy.