The Student Entrepreneurial Program (StEP) at Washington University in St. Louis kicks off its speaker program at 5 p.m. Monday, March 23, with entrepreneurial brothers Andrew and Matthew Brimer.
Andrew Brimer, a 2013 graduate of Washington University, runs Sparo Labs, a St. Louis-based startup that is creating a revolutionary device for asthma sufferers. His brother, Matthew, lives in New York, where he operates General Assembly, a company that offers programs and workshops on key entrepreneurial skills such as design, coding and data science at campuses across the globe.
The event takes place in Room 276 of the Danforth University Center and is free and open to the public.
Not long ago, the brothers Brimer were shooting claymation movies and tinkering with busted electronics in their south St. Louis County home.
“Both of our folks worked on their own businesses and they encouraged us to be creative and to get our hands dirty,” Andrew Brimer said. “The idea that you could start your own business or create something on your own rubbed off on us.”
The brothers will discuss their start as college entrepreneurs, share their setbacks and offer advice about launching a successful startup. Not that anyone should heed it, Brimer said.
“Be wary of anyone who says, ‘This is what you should do’ or ‘This is how it’s always been done,’” Andrew Brimer said. “I’ve always found the best advice focuses on showing not telling: ‘Here is what I did in a similar situation, and here is how it worked out for me.’”
Andrew Brimer graduated from the School of Engineering & Applied Science with a degree in mechanical engineering and co-founded Sparo Labs with fellow 2013 graduate Abigail Cohen.
The team is developing a device called Wing – a pocket-sized sensor and app that takes the fear and uncertainty out of asthma. Wing empowers patients to measure, track and proactively control their asthma anytime, anywhere, Brimer said.
Even before graduation, Brimer and Cohen had earned hundreds of thousands of dollars in competition winnings, including a $150,000 grand prize from the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology; a $50,00 Arch Grant; $30,00 in the Skandalaris Center’s Olin Cup Competition; and others. Since then, Sparo Labs has received additional grants and backing from angel investors.
Matthew Brimer graduated with a degree in sociology from Yale University in 2009 and co-founded General Assembly in 2011. General Assembly has been celebrated in Vanity Fair’s “The Next Establishment” and Brimer recently has been named in Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30,” and Business Insider’s “Silicon Alley 100.” He also is an adviser and investor in Sparo Labs.
For more information on StEP and other aspects of the program, visit the StEP website.