In this episode of Investing in Accessibility, co-hosts Kelvin Crosby and Chris Maher continue “Tales from the Innovation Showcase,” a special series of conversations recorded at the Accessible Innovation Showcase at The Schoolhouse Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

For the third episode in the series, Kelvin and Chris sit down with Pierre Paul, founder and CEO of We Hear You, the company behind the Hero Door Opener—a lightweight, affordable technology that can make virtually any door accessible in minutes.

Pierre shares his journey as an entrepreneur and how We Hear You evolved from its original work in sign language translation to tackling another everyday accessibility challenge: opening doors. He explains how the Hero Door Opener was designed to address a significant gap in the market by making interior doors more accessible without the cost, wiring, and complex installation required by traditional automatic door systems.

The episode then moves from the studio to the stage, where Pierre demonstrates the Hero Door Opener at the Accessible Innovation Showcase and shares his vision for expanding the technology into new markets around the world.

At the heart of our conversation is a simple message: the best innovation happens when we build with the disability community, not for them.

Links & Resources:

Pierre Paul: LinkedIn

We Hear You: Website

COMING SOON!

American Sign Language (ASL) and Captioning for each episode will be provided on our YouTube channel. Go to handle @SamaritanPartners.