Kelvin Crosby: 0:06

Welcome to Investing in Accessibility, a Samaritan Partners podcast. We're not waiting for change, we're investing in it. Join us as we speak with entrepreneurs and thought leaders that are focused on creating a more accessible world. Hey, hey, hey, so good to see you, even though I can't see you. It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood, and I'm so excited that you're here at Investing in Accessibility. I'm your host, Kelvin Crosby. And here's my co-host, Chris Maher. How you doing, man?

Chris Maher: 0:44

I'm good, Kelvin. It's good to see you and good to be with you, my friend.

Kelvin Crosby: 0:48

I tell you, we just had Thanksgiving. We had some turkey. We had, well, at least I had some turkey. I can't speak for you, but and I tell you, my father-in-law made me my favorite breakfast, and that was biscuit and gravy. I can always go with a good sausage biscuit and gravy.

Chris Maher: 1:07

Well, we had a lot of turkey too. It's such a you know, I love this time of year with Thanksgiving that then rolls into the holidays, and with my family, we we celebrate a little bit of everything because my wife is is half Jewish on her mom's side, and so we celebrate Christmas and get out the menorah for a little Hanukkah, and and so yeah, it's a you know, and I where I am in in southern Connecticut, it's starting to get cold. We had some flurries the other day, you know, San Diego. You have perfect weather every day.

Kelvin Crosby: 1:35

What are flurries? I mean, I've never I've never experienced a thing called white snow.

Chris Maher: 1:39

You don't know what you're missing, buddy. You gotta come come to the northeast and experience Christmas when it's snowing out.

Kelvin Crosby: 1:46

I'll pass. I like wearing shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt all year long. I'll take it all year long.

Chris Maher: 1:53

Fair enough. Well, it's a fun, it's a fun time of year, and and we're gonna have some fun kind of wrapping up our year of Investing in Accessibility.

Kelvin Crosby: 2:01

Yeah, it's crazy. It's been 25 episodes launching January 5th of this year. Crazy to think about.

Chris Maher: 2:09

And my friend, you get all the credit for us doing this because we would not have done this if a little over a year ago when we met, and after a couple conversations, it was your idea. And I was, basically my response was like, I've never even been a guest, like I don't even know where to start. And you're like, Don't worry, I got you covered. I'm so glad that you gave me the nudge to do this because it's been a blast.

Kelvin Crosby: 2:35

Well, it has been, and it's been one of the things like there's been so many episodes that we've done, and like I think about the Wheel the Wolrd podcast that we did.

Chris Maher: 2:46

With Alvaro at Wheel the World.

Kelvin Crosby: 2:49

And I think about his, and I'm like, whoo, man, that was a good idea.

Chris Maher: 2:54

What's what's been so neat about it is there are certainly some common threads, right? Most of our guests, there's lived experience with disability, but there's also all these very unique things about each of the guests. And so I think it was fun that we had a chance to talk with people where we had some commonality, but then we were always learning something. And it was entrepreneurs and it was thought leaders, and so it was just a really nice, I guess, kind of diverse mix of of folks, and we're all trying to do the same thing in terms of making this world more accessible and more inclusive, which is awesome.

Kelvin Crosby: 3:31

Yeah, well, and then I think that's the other thing is like I learned like wow, this is the space to be in right now. Accessibility, universal design, access for all, and I'm like, hmm, yeah, this is the right place to be.

Chris Maher: 3:48

Amen, brother. I'm with you.

Kelvin Crosby: 3:50

This is where the cutting-edge technology is happening because what's happening is we're creating access. And what we're gonna find is if you're gonna be at CES, check us out because we're gonna be at CES this year with our mics. I'll be a little robot with little microphones.

Chris Maher: 4:08

And pal, I know you were there, what was the last time you were there? How many years ago?

Kelvin Crosby: 4:16

I was there in 2018.

Chris Maher: 4:16

Gotcha. Yeah, and it's overwhelming, like it's nuts. It's 130,000, 140,000 people.

Kelvin Crosby: 4:21

Oh, yeah.

Chris Maher: 4:22

But we're gonna have fun. We're gonna be paling around together at CES. It'll only be the second time that we'll be together in person.

Kelvin Crosby: 4:28

Yes. I'm just hoping you smell okay. You know, that's my main concern.

Chris Maher: 4:32

I'll make sure I do. Did I did I not smell okay the last time?

Kelvin Crosby: 4:38

You did you smell just fine. You smell like you smell like lemons.

Chris Maher: 4:41

I mean, you're just you're just making fun of me.

Kelvin Crosby: 4:43

Oh, yes, I can't help myself.

Chris Maher: 4:45

That's all right. That's all right. No, yeah, that's gonna be exciting. That'll be a lot of fun to be together at CES and hitting the expo and doing sessions, but then also we're gonna see a lot of our friends there, and we're gonna be kind of you know a mobile roving live podcast. Well, not live podcast, but we're gonna record people on the fly with your equipment, and it's gonna be super fun.

Kelvin Crosby: 5:07

Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. I'm super excited about it, and I think that's been the fun thing about this whole year about doing Investing in Accessibility, is we started with like a really specific like concept, like working on them educating people about why this is important for investing, what are the opportunities, and then we're gonna go full circle come around this coming year into the accelerator process. And what does that mean? And why is it so important that we look into accelerators that are focused on improving access for all? And I think that's deciding what we're gonna be doing next year.

Chris Maher: 5:52

Yeah, it's gonna be super, super fun. For our listeners. We have we have already recorded a number of episodes that we're gonna launch in January, which we're calling the "Accelerator Series." And there are, you know, a handful, half a dozen of wonderful organizations that run accelerator programs for entrepreneurs with disabilities and companies that are focused on developing disability tech and assistive tech. So we're doing a series where we're giving each of them a chance to come on the podcast and talk about what they do and how they're unique and how they're helping early stage companies and entrepreneurs to accelerate their their businesses and the innovations that they're building. So that's gonna be a super fun way to kick off the year with that accelerator series on the podcast.

Kelvin Crosby: 6:37

So let's dive into where is Samaritan Partners right now? Like where are you guys at? .

Chris Maher: 6:44

Thank you for asking. And so, you know, as we wrap up 2025, we've invested in seven companies now, a total of seven companies. Super excited about all of them. And it's broadly disability. And we've talked a little bit about this probably early on in the podcast. But with Samaritan, our focus is broadly disability. We're not focusing on any one specific area. So we've invested in accessible tourism with Wheel the World. We've invested in blind / low vision with Be My Eyes. With Sign-Speak we've invested in deaf and hard of hearing. Two companies that are in the inclusive or integrated employment space, Making Space and Vertical Harvest. There's a mental health company we've invested in called Robin. And the most recent investment is a fintech platform called Purple, which is helping adults with disabilities and their families to manage their finances and maintain their benefits in a more convenient and effective way. And so yeah, really excited about the portfolio. Several of them are doing well enough to where they're kicking off their next rounds of financing, which is always a good sign to raise more money and accelerate their opportunities. But just personally, just really excited about the diversity of our companies and we're really touching kind of all areas of the disability spectrum, which is pretty cool. And hopefully we'll add more, or not hopefully, but we will add more investments in 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 8:11

You're still trying to reach your goal for funding, correct?

Chris Maher: 8:15

Correct, yeah. So we obviously have a number of investors that we've brought into the fund and have made our first seven investments, but we are still accepting investors and we'll continue to do so for a while. And as we raise more capital, we'll make more investments, and that will be new companies as well as doing follow-on investments, supporting our portfolio companies as they grow and they scale.

Kelvin Crosby: 8:38

For people to understand how to invest and what that process looks like. Can you kind of explain, like, all right? Do they just reach out to you via email and say, hey, Chris, I want to learn, I want to pitch deck, tell me what's going on, or like what does that look like?

Chris Maher: 8:53

Yeah, it's actually kind of just how you explain. So people that are interested, they reach out and connect with me, and we set up a call and I give them the background on the fund and share materials like pitch decks and you know, our annual report from last year, you know, and then it's typically a process of answering questions and understanding what you know the focus of the fund is. And it's like a typical venture capital fund. And yeah, so you know, listen, venture capital is not for everybody. There's inherently more risk with venture capital, and typically your money is locked up for a little bit longer period of time. You know, most venture funds that horizon is is seven to ten years, but you're not putting all of your money into a venture investment, right? You're gonna be setting aside a portion of your capital, you know, for something like that. And then the unique thing about Samaritan is it's not just purely traditional venture where it's all about for profit. You know, certainly we are gonna go in and get a great return, but we're also gonna go invest in companies that are gonna give a fantastic social return as well.

Kelvin Crosby: 9:56

And that's what I love about Samaritan Partners and what it does. Like you're doing a social good, you're also you're helping your wallet, you know, becoming more independent and more financially stable, you know. And so that was my other question is because honestly, I don't know a lot about VC, the VC world, and that's because it's never been something I've really had to look at. But do you have to be an accredited investor to invest in Samaritan partners?

Chris Maher: 10:23

That's a great question. And by the way, folks, that was not a setup, that was just Kelvin. That's actually a really, really good question. For Samaritan partners, yes, you do have to be an accredited investor. And so that means that you have to make a certain amount of income a year, and that threshold isn't massive, or you may have to have a certain amount of

Kelvin Crosby: 10:42

Net worth?

Chris Maher: 10:42

Of net worth, exactly. Thank you, right? And and assets, and that's a process that we talk people through. But you're correct. And we have minimums in terms of investing in the fund, in terms of the minimum amount to come into the fund. But yes, for our fund, you do have to be an accredited, what's called an accredited investor.

Kelvin Crosby: 11:00

I've been wanting to ask these questions for a while. So I'm like, this is awesome, this is working out great for me.

Chris Maher: 11:05

Well, I mean, you've never shied away from asking questions before.

Kelvin Crosby: 11:09

Well, all the episodes have been more on the other thing.

Chris Maher: 11:13

It's true, you know, the first two episodes, right? The first episode we focused on your background, the second episode was really my background and the impetus or genesis for starting Samaritan. And then since then, we've been with other people. So it's been what is that now, 22 episodes since we've had a chance to just you and me shooting the breeze.

Kelvin Crosby: 11:36

Shooting the breeze, kind of. I mean, there is there is an agenda, like as you guys are seeing, like they're in the process of today's show. But and I know there's a lot of people that if you're wondering, like, is this a possibility for me? Is that a good way to go? And what did that look like? So I I feel like we've covered all the bases on how can you invest in Samaritan partners. So as you're looking into 2026, are you guys gonna be receiving more investments? And or are you guys gonna kind of kind of float this next year along?

Chris Maher: 12:09

Great question. I think it'll be a combination of things. And so obviously, we're gonna continue with the podcast, and as we talked about, we've already got the first probably quarter of 2026 set up with our episodes that we've already recorded, and obviously a highlight of that will be the Accelerator Series. We've got some conferences coming up. So I've got a speaking opportunity at CES this year, actually with our good friend Steve Ewell of the CTA Foundation. He, by the way, he does an amazing job at CES. As you know, he's the Executive Director of the CTA Foundation, which is part of the CTA, which owns and runs CES. But Steve has been a driver behind the accessibility and age tech stuff that goes on there. And he has this new thing this year called, he's calling it the Accessibility Stage, where he's gonna have throughout the day during the conference, at this stage, which will all be at the Venetian, that's where all of the CTA foundation and all the accessibility and age tech stuff is. He's gonna be having a series of speakers and panels and fireside chats, and so he's asked me. So get this, Kelvin. He's asked me to speak on a panel, the name of which happens to be, ironically, Investing in Accessibility. No lie, no lie. And so, you know, you'll be there at CES, so that's we'll kick the year off.

Kelvin Crosby: 13:24

Well, I'll be allowed to record it, and then we'll put it on the podcast so all of you can hear his wonderful voice and the bad audio quality in those rooms.

Chris Maher: 13:33

And then another cool thing for viewers remember back in September I spoke on a panel at a general market innovation conference called RALLY that was in Indianapolis, which is really nice to see a general market conference pull accessibility into their programming. Have a really special opportunity in March at South by Southwest, a group of actually it's Rebecca Rosenberg from from Rebokeh, which she and her team have built an app specifically for the low vision community. She put in a submission for a panel around accessibility. It was accepted. And so I'm gonna moderate a panel at South by Southwest, uh, which is fantastic. I mean, talk about like a fantastic large general market conference that is now starting to pull accessibility into their programming is just fantastic to see. And then we'll continue to raise more money, we'll continue to invest in more companies. We also have T he Accessibility Lab, which is where we're putting uh assistive tech and accessibility services into built environment, The Schoolhouse Hotel. And so we'll continue to do work there. So yeah, it's gonna be a busy year, you know, in terms of the number of companies that will invest in in 2026, I think that kind of depends a little bit on what we're seeing, but certainly, you know, a number of more companies hopefully will be investing in, and again, keeping it broadly disability. And so, yeah, it's gonna be, I think it's gonna be a busy but a really fun and exciting year. And just hopefully build on, you know, you and I were talking before we jumped on to record, and it just feels like there's a lot of momentum that is building around accessibility and not just in our startup ecosystem. That's been going on for a while, but it really feels like at the corporate level, you're starting to see more corporate leaders lean into and make more of a commitment around accessibility because they're realizing now that you know it's that shift that's going from basically compliance and checking the ADA box to then, hey, mitigating risk around getting sued, to then, okay, well, it's the right thing to do. To now it's like, oh, by the way, this is also really good for business. And so hopefully that will continue to accelerate in 2026. So I think there's a lot of momentum as as we're wrapping up 25 and going into 26. So I think it's gonna be an exciting year.

Kelvin Crosby: 15:55

Well, I'm I'm super excited about it, and I'm looking forward to 2026. And you and I are gonna do some a little bit more conferences together. We're doing CES together, we'll probably do C Sun together, and then probably a few others after that. And absolutely. Yeah, I'm I'm just excited for the new one.

Chris Maher: 16:13

What's the for what's the latest on The See Me Cane? What are you hoping for that to be kind of ready for market?

Kelvin Crosby: 16:18

Our goal I wish I had a good number. I kept saying it was gonna be October this year, but things didn't happen that way. A lot of testing failures, and there's a potential partnership that I'm working on that will probably come to fruition before CSUN, but uh in March. But there's a lot of unknowns when the launch date will be, but I will say we're at the final, we're literally about a mile away from the finish line. But the question is, can we make it? And that's where we're kind of working through. What does that next mile looks like a couple months, and if we can hit them, speed it up, then we should be able to launch this summer.

Chris Maher: 17:03

Yeah, and I know you've got a pretty key partnership that you can't really talk too much about right now because you're still working through some stuff. But yeah, you're living that entrepreneurial journey.

Kelvin Crosby: 17:15

Oh, I am.

Chris Maher: 17:15

I know because we're talking on a regular basis, and it's, yeah, it's a roller coaster ride, right, my friend?

Kelvin Crosby: 17:22

It is, it is, and then DeafBlind Potter, uh let's just put it this way. DeafBlind Potter, that part of my business, it's not about selling pottery anymore. It's about helping people deal with their darkness parts of their lives. And that to me has been the most rewarding thing to see me go from just being a potter to being able to help people deal with the mental illness, dealing with their loneliness issues, their depression, anxiety using the potter wheel. And that alone has been the biggest reward for 2025 for me, is seeing people see my content and be like, Oh, I can do it too. I can move forward too. It's not that painful. It is painful, but how do we find joy in it? How do we work through it? And that has been extremely, extremely exciting for me. And now that we're going into 2026, I just can't wait to see what's gonna happen. I t's almost like a roller coaster. Riding a roller coaster blind. Yes, you're going on a ride, and it's gonna have some drops, and it's gonna have some climbs. But you know you're on the right track.

Chris Maher: 18:40

Yeah, and Kelvin, part of what I love about you so much is that you your focus is very much about helping other people and being of service, and it's been that way for a long time, and that comes out of your own lived experience and the ups and downs of your own personal journey, and where you went to some pretty dark places. And, you know, the folks, listeners that haven't checked out Kelvin on on Instagram and some of the social channels at Deaf Blind Potter, check it out. His pottery is amazing, but he also has just a fantastic message and up pretty much uplifting messages every day, you know, for his followers. And, you know, I do think in 2026 we should do, and for those of you who are new to our podcast, go back and listen to our very first podcast, which is really Kelvin talking about his life story and his journey and you know being being born with with vision impairment, I'm sorry, hearing impairment, which proceeded to get worse, and then as a teenager being diagnosed with with Usher II syndrome and which led to him losing his sight by the time you're what 20, early 20s.

Kelvin Crosby: 19:45

Yeah.

Chris Maher: 19:46

And the really hard times and challenges, and you talk very openly about being suicidal and, you know, a number of things, but pottery was a big part of really getting you through that.

Kelvin Crosby: 19:57

The healing process.

Chris Maher: 19:57

Yeah, the healing process. And you now have turned that into spreading the word and helping so many other people with that which is just which is awesome. But I think we should do an episode where you, I think, you dig into your pottery and kind of what you're doing with DeafBlind potter. So I think we get that on the agenda or on the calendar for 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 20:19

Well let's just say, let's get enough people wanting to have it, so if you want me to do something like that, go to this post on LinkedIn find this episode and say yes we want to hear the Deaf Blind potter story and then we'll have to do it. So, we need, let's just say we need at least 50 people to say yes we want to hear the Deaf Blind potter story. I'll be happy to do it.

Chris Maher: 20:49

Alright, I like it, I like it. Was there anything from our past year of doing the podcast together that was kind of like a favorite memory. Or, and or, any resolutions for New Year's resolutions for 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 21:03

So I think my favorite memory is when we interviewed your daughter. That was so much fun. We had a blast.

Chris Maher: 21:13

Yeah.

Kelvin Crosby: 21:14

Well honestly, because it got me to see who you as a dad, right, but it also got me to see how your daughter has been able to grow up into a woman that is gonna change the world. right.

Chris Maher: 21:31

Well, I appreciate that.

Kelvin Crosby: 21:32

And that's something as a dad it gets you to a point where you're like wow. And that was fun to watch you be proud and watch her be like I got this and me just being a goof ball and giving you guys both a hard time. That that was just, it was heartwarming and I mean there's so many episodes that I feel like were really good, that I really enjoyed this year. But I honestly our friendship that we've been able to build and be able to be there for each other because this year has not been easy for me. I can't really talk about it because there's legal things involved in it. And so let's just put it it's related to my son. And so and it's been it's been a journey right, it's been a journey dealing with those up and downs and working through that and then just the relationship we've been able to build and just keep moving forward. So for my resolution I don't really do resolutions or things like that but my goal for 2026 is every day to encourage somebody to keep on going. That's my goal for 2026.

Chris Maher: 22:44

I love it. I love it.

Kelvin Crosby: 22:45

What about you man?

Chris Maher: 22:47

So I will admit that that one of my fond memories of this past year was also when we had my daughter on the podcast and and we just had such a good time and just how you two connected so quickly which quickly turned into you two making fun of me which was awesome. And so that was one of my fond memories as well. Another one though I will say is when I had a chance, when we got together in person for the first time after knowing each other for many months, which was in March at C Sun and your dad Jerry was there. And so to like not only hang with you then but also to hang with your dad and to see the relationship that you have and just how he's I mean he's amazing. And by the way we may have to have him on the podcast in 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 23:36

He's really bad at being in front of a mic. He gets choked up and starts crying.

Chris Maher: 23:41

That's okay.

Kelvin Crosby: 23:42

He's a big blubber. I'm not sure if we want that on the podcast.

Chris Maher: 23:46

If he came on and started blubbering he probably would trigger my waterfall as well and I'd start blubbering and we'd be two blubbering dads.

Kelvin Crosby: 23:53

Just like at torture camp you know, just at torture camp. No restraint camp that's what it was.

Chris Maher: 23:58

Kelvin, you know torture camp. It probably did feel like torture. Oh my gosh I can't believe you just said that. But no Jerry, is the best and it was so wonderful spending time with him and just seeing that like, he was he was your crew, you had your gear there because you were doing interviews and he's right there and he's working, he was like your sound man and your techie, it was so awesome and I think we should have him on the podcast in 2026. Listen we could all get a little good cry in. But then for me also Kelvin, it is our friendship my friend, like it has been so amazing getting to know you and I've learned so much from you and, my friend, you inspire me every day. And you're right it's been a really hard year for you, but I tell you have handled it with with grace and dignity and as you always say you just got to keep moving forward, right. And you've got to live beyond, as you as you wrap up all of our shows, you've got to live beyond those challenges. And so, yeah, I am super thankful for that and that you and I, you know how the universe conspires to bring people together, and now we've got this awesome friendship. And and so yeah, the feeling is mutual there. And I guess for me for my new year's resolution, yeah I don't do those that often either, but you know I think for me it's just trying to continue to help as many people within our community as possible. Right. And whether that's, you know, me trying to help people directly or connecting them with people where they can help each other. And so, continuing to try to do that as much as we can for 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 25:59

I think that wraps up Investment in Accessibility for for 2025.

Chris Maher: 26:05

And so now when you sign off it's not we'll see in two weeks it's we'll see in 2026.

Kelvin Crosby: 26:10

Yeah, I like it, I like it.

Chris Maher: 26:11

Have a fantastic holiday.

Kelvin Crosby: 26:14

Same to you.

Chris Maher: 26:15

I'm really looking forward to seeing it in early January at CES. It's gonna be great.

Kelvin Crosby: 26:18

That wraps up Investment in Accessibility and we'll see you in 2026 and go live beyond your challenges. Thank you for listening to Investing in Accessibility a Samaritan Partners podcast where we invest in change for accessibility not wait for change. If you want to follow us you can find us on YouTube or LinkedIn at @Samaritan Partners. If you would like to invest in Samaritan Partners email Chris at chris@samaritanpartners.com. If you'd like to learn more about us go to www.samaritanpartners.com. You can take the first step in investing in change by giving us five stars and sharing this podcast with everybody that you know so we can spread the word so that we can give access to all by Investing in Accessibility