STORY BY HANNAH KIRK
ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE CARLYLE
The large blue handicap buttons that automatically open doors may seem like a strong solution to make building entrances accessible, but they are only a solution if the person needing it can reach them. “One day I was in a building, and nobody was around. I couldn’t reach the button. Usually, someone comes and could help me in, but one day nobody was around. I had to call a friend to help me.”
That was the lightbulb moment for Dana Jones. She decided it was time that technology should be used to increase accessibility. That sparked her now LLC, Accessadoor.
Dana said one of the greatest struggles she faces everyday is simply getting into buildings. The transition from high school to college was especially difficult for her because her clases were all in different buildings. She decided that it was time more buildings were accessible to more people. Therefore, her company, Accessadoor has created an app, prepared to be launched this May, that allows the app user to open mechanical swing-doors by pressing a button on the application. The ‘Accessadoor Smart Kit,’ allowing establishments to implement this technology, is currently available for preorder at Accessadoor.com.
For as long as she can remember, Dana always had a love for business and entrepreneurship. “It has always been my thing, ever since I was little,” Dana said, “I like being able to do my own thing, and it gives me the opportunity to tie all my creativity together with my love for math.”
Dana was in fourth grade when she first opened a lemonade stand with her brother. “We lived next to the rail trail, which is a walking path attached to the Walkway over the Hudson. We would have the stand there. We were supposed to have a permit, but we were in fourth grade,” Dana laughed.
For many years following, Dana would daydream about starting companies and being involved in the business world. However, it was not until high school that she began thinking about real companies, and it was in college that she started Accessadoor, her first company.
Dana originally attended Dutchess Community College where she received her associate’s degree. She then transferred to Marist College where she majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. At DCC, Dana was able to graduate a semester early, which allowed her to graduate a semester early from Marist, in the Fall of 2019.
“When I was at DCC it was my first time doing things on my own. One thing that really got in my way during the day was opening doors. That was my biggest obstacle getting to class, getting into the building. The standard technology didn’t work for me. The buttons were hard to push; they are either too high or too low. Or they would be next to a staircase. While I am a good driver, not everybody is, so it can become dangerous.”
With little technical experience, Dana did not know what the next step should be. So she sat on the idea for a few months. Later that year she attended a Fundraising Gala at DCC. One of the attendees was an engineer at Philips, Karen Trovato. Dana took the opportunity to speak to Trovato about her idea, and she loved it.
From there, everything was a collaborative effort. DCC got on board with the idea and engaged multiple departments to get this idea off the ground. That is how Dana met her partner, Jacob Ernst. With help from the Business Department, the company went to business competitions, which helped provide Accessadoor crucial funding.
“During sophomore year we won first place at regionals, and second place at States. That was the second time students from a community college won for that category. From there everything spiraled and trickled down into a real company. All based on that one connection.”
Accessadoor will officially launch in May of this year. “We're super excited to get that up and going and see what happens from there we are. We've been gaining support throughout the last few months.”
An important aspect of business that Dana focuses on is the accessibility of the technology. It is important that any company that wants the technology is not steered away from purchasing it because of financial restraint. “The technology needs to be accessible to the user, but it also needs to be accessible to the establishment. We want to make sure that anyone from a pizza shop to a National Hospital can afford it. It is about being fair. We want to make a profit as a company but we don’t need to rip people off while doing it.
“We would rather see it in 100 doors and charge $100 than charge $1,000 and only see it in 10 doors.”
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