On my flight home from California a few weeks ago, I struck up a conversation with a friendly, bearded guy sitting next to me.
He was very talkative — until he had a few beers and fell asleep.
Then he started snoring, choking, and gasping for air, which attracted the attention of everyone within a few rows of us.
For those of us sitting near him, this was a minor annoyance.
But as he explained to me when he woke up, these were symptoms of a deadly disease.
In the article you’re about to read, I’ll tell you more about this disease…
Then I’ll show you how you could potentially profit from it.
Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a surprisingly common medical condition.
It affects as many as 100 million people worldwide.
As I learned on my flight home, the most frequent symptoms are snoring, choking, and gasping for air when asleep, and sleepiness when awake.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can contribute to serious health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, memory loss, and even cancer.
Current Treatments
Here’s the standard treatment for OSA:
It’s called a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device.
The CPAP machine increases air pressure in your throat so your airways don’t collapse when you breathe.
This device can be effective at treating the symptoms of sleep apnea. Basically, by preventing your airways from collapsing, this device stops you from snoring.
But as you might have gathered from looking at the image above, it can be extraordinarily uncomfortable and inconvenient to use — which helps explain why about 80% of patients abandon it in less than a year.
A New Solution
But now a new start-up has devised a better solution.
It’s a lightweight high-tech device you can attach to your nose. There are no masks, hoses or cords, no power wires, and no noisy hum.
It's called Airing, and here’s what it looks like:
Amazingly, this is a single-use device (meaning, you’d use a new one every night), and it’s projected to cost consumers just $3.00.
And since it’s single-use, there’s no need to clean it or charge it.
Airing has built an early prototype — and it’s already striking a nerve.
For example:
Airing raised $1.9 million from 20,000 contributors on Indiegogo, making it one of the top-grossing crowdfunding campaigns for a medical device…
The company has attracted 8 million visitors to its website, and its product videos have attracted 55 million views…
And it’s secured a strategic relationship with a major manufacturer to help bring its product to market commercially.
But now, to fund efforts to build its final product, it’s raising a new investment round.
Which is where you come in…
Airing’s New Funding Round
Airing is currently raising $1.07 million from investors like you.
The minimum investment is $250.
With 100 million people suffering from sleep apnea, this is a huge opportunity…
And certainly, Airing has already made significant progress.
But there are major risks here, too. For example:
Product Risk — Airing still needs to figure out how to build one of the key components of its device: a “micro-blower” that can blow air. If it’s unable to pull this off, the company might fail.
FDA Approval — Since the original CPAP device already received FDA approval, and the Airing simply improves upon the CPAP, it believes approval might be “accelerated.” But there are no guarantees.
Hardware is Risky — Start-ups like Airing that build physical devices have relatively higher operating costs than software companies — and this makes them riskier. While hardware companies can (and do) become successful, statistically speaking, their lack of capital efficiency correlates to a higher risk of going out of business.
Breathe Easy
As you just learned, Airing is a high-risk, high-potential investment.
But if it works, this breathing device could be a game-changer for sufferers of sleep apnea…
And a game-changer for its early investors.
To learn more, click here to review its funding page »
Happy Investing
Please note: Crowdability has no relationship with Airing, or with any of the companies or platforms we write about. Crowdability is an independent provider of education, information and research on start-ups and alternative investments.
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
