Ajuma aims to reduce the risk of sunburn in children with a turtle-shaped smart gadget. The wearable, which can be attached to clothing or a sun hat, measures sun exposure and sends a timely warning to parents' smartphones. A Kickstarter campaign has recently been launched by Startups.
1. Who are you and what do you do?
We're Annette and Julian, and our goal is to prevent sunburn! Julian holds a doctorate in physics and atmospheric research, while Annette has an MBA and worked for many years as a product and innovation manager in industry. Annette is very sensitive to the sun, and when we had a young daughter, the idea of developing the UV Bodyguard was born.
The goal is to measure the healthy UV dose, prevent sunburn, and reduce the risk of skin cancer in the long term. The UV Bodyguard is a wearable device that, together with an app, measures UV dose and provides timely warnings when it's time to get out of the sun.
2. But that's been around for a long time!
One-time measurements of UV index or UV intensity already exist. However, there is no device yet that continuously measures UV exposure and predicts the remaining time in the sun. Our UV Bodyguard was developed and designed specifically for children. It looks like a small turtle and has been tested according to the Toy Safety Directive, making it safe even for the very youngest.
Prevent sunburn with Ajuma
But why does it actually make sense to measure UV exposure? There are many reasons for this: without protection, children can only stay in the sun for 5-10 minutes; with sunscreen with an SPF of 30, small children should be in the sun for a maximum of 2.5 hours, and with SPF 50 only a little more than 4 hours. This time in the sun cannot be extended by applying more sunscreen. Even on cloudy days or in the shade, our skin is still exposed to up to 90% of the available UV radiation. Sunburn is one consequence – but it also increases the risk of skin cancer: just three sunburns in childhood increase the risk of skin cancer by three to five times. And so it is good to keep an overview and be able to react in time, before too much sun becomes too much sun.
3. What are the three main ingredients for your recipe for success?
We're a great team – and we can really get into the details and don't give up easily. And sometimes a good dose of humor is really important!
Kickstarter campaign is running
4. Let’s get down to business: How is business going?
We don't exist yet – but we will soon: On July 3, 2019, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. There, we'll be presenting our UV Bodyguard to the public for the first time, and people can pre-order our UV Bodyguard (delivery is scheduled for early spring in March 2020) or support us with a donation.
5. What does Munich mean to you?
Annette is from Munich, we love the mountains and the lakes in the Munich area. Ajuma was admitted to the startup incubator of the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship which we are very proud of.
6. How will your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
The health and protection of the youngest children who aren't yet able to protect themselves is simply an important issue for all of us. Especially in the summer, when playing sports outdoors and in the mountains. And with a thinning ozone layer, it's becoming increasingly important to pay attention to good sun protection. This awareness is growing in society, and we can and want to support this!
7. Hiking or beer garden?
Of course, the best thing is a combination of both. We enjoy being out in nature, on foot, by bike, or in a rowboat. We used to be alone, now we're with our family.
