Reno, Bay Area teens launch company to help children with special needs

by Kaleb Roedle, NNBW

Many high school students spend their summers working a full- or part-time job.

Priyanka Senthil spent hers helping launch a social enterprise.

In July, Senthil, a senior at Davidson Academy in Reno, and four Bay Area-based high school students formed AUesome, a startup that makes customizable at-home therapy kits that help children with special needs improve communication and motor skills.

Senthil and AUesome co-founders — Isabella He, Andrew Kim, Anshul Gupta and Arnav Gurudatt — started their social enterprise through LaunchX, a summer entrepreneurship program for high school students worldwide.

Out of 63 teams formed, AUesome placed second overall in the program, with recognition for best pitches in feasibility, marketing, financial and traction.

The startup officially registered as an LLC in the state of Nevada on Aug. 29.

The inspiration for startup, Senthil said, stemmed from the quintet’s individual experiences working with children with special needs.

Senthil, for example, volunteers at the Reno-based nonprofit Northern Nevada RAVE Family Foundation, which provides respite to families caring for children with special needs. Other AUesome founders volunteer at Bay Area-based nonprofit Friends of Children with Special Needs (FCSN).

“Learning about autism and researching autism has been a personal passion for all of us,” Senthil said in a video interview with the NNBW. “And having worked with these children, we saw a real need for at-home therapy and for it to be more accessible to parents.”

Read entire article at NNBW: https://www.nnbw.com/news/reno-bay-area-teens-launch-company-to-help-children-with-special-needs