About | swiv

CREATING A MORE INCLUSIVE WORLD DESIGNED FOR ALL ABILITIES

We started Swiv with one goal: to help more kids with developmental disabilities achieve independence in their daily self care.

Swiv is a toothbrush that reduces the physical, cognitive, and focus-based challenges through completely reimagining the motion used for effective brushing.

OUR STORY

Growing up in my home, toothbrushing was a nightmare. My older brother, Ethan, was born with a genetic disorder, called Fragile X Syndrome, which makes learning, focusing, and fine motor skills almost impossible. The most fun-loving, caring, and sweet boy you’ve ever met would turn into an aggressive adversary ready for battle when it came time for brushing his teeth.

Though Ethan faces countless obstacles to simply to get through an average day, his desires were never different than other children growing up: he wanted to develop autonomy and independence, just like me, his adored younger sister. Unfortunately, his restricted cognition, hyper-sensitivities, challenged fine motor skills, and attentional complexities limited the development of his independent life skills, above all toothbrushing. Ethan and my family are undoubtedly not alone with this perplexing challenge; it disheartens me that a basic daily life skill that most take for granted, can escalate into hysteria and dread multiple times, every day for people living with different abilities.

I’ve witnessed first-hand that Ethan and others have a greater potential for independence if equipped with the right strategies and tools that level the playing field to enable them to learn and succeed. If only the world viewed and addressed problems from a more inclusive lens; solutions to the world’s smallest or greatest challenges would have better outcomes for all. This has always been my vision and my mission.

Quite simply, my brother is my inspiration. Although I am younger, it’s always been within me to take care of him. This motivated me to become an engineer, product designer, and entrepreneur aspiring to improve life for people living with complex difficulties. And so, Swiv was born.

-Victoria Fishman, Co-founder & CEO

HOW WE STARTED

We spent several months conducting in-depth contextual research with families, dentists, schools, and special needs therapists which revealed the countless challenges that exist with toothbrushing and the lack of adequate solutions to address them.

We continued collaboration with stakeholders throughout the product development stages, including brainstorming, prototype testing, feedback, and design iteration. These relationships provided us with invaluable input which shaped the design of Swiv.

OUR TEAM

We are a team of three co-founders that began working together during graduate school in the Integrated Product Design Master's Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Since then we have gained expertise developing and bringing products to market through roles in Engineering Product Development, Design Strategy, and Product Management. We are a strong, balanced team that is passionate about developing impactful products to create a more inclusive world.