Whether you're experiencing pain while sleeping, caretaking, working, working out, or on a night out... we are right there by your side.
Paola Galeano
Founder & CEO
"Every other product was asking me to work my life and my pain around it. I felt like that was wrong."
Why did you create Cinder?
It made me irate that nobody seemed to understand what it really felt like to live with chronic pain. How pain can radiate through your body in crazy ways, make you writhe around in desperation, and in the most vulnerable moments figure out a way to heat up scalding water, put something in the microwave, detangle wires, and create an elaborate setup - only to have that interrupted by going to the bathroom or sleeping.I hated missing school, gymnastics, and work. It didn’t make sense to me that technologies existed to help, but nobody had thought of how they should really come together in a human way. Every other product was asking me to work my life and my pain around it. I felt like that was wrong and it should be the other way around.
You don’t come from the traditional background of a med-tech founder. How does your background translate into Cinder?
Well, even in that question, I think it illuminates part of the problem. People still feel that med-tech is so separate from lifestyle, what humans touch, or how they behave, every day. I actually think my background is uniquely suited for Cinder because I come from understanding and designing fashion; how people want to feel, how they move, but my role in Solutions Engineering in tech was such that organizations and systems broke down when tools didn’t work with people. I heard it from every industry, every vertical, every C-suite. I’ve always been really good at finding out where the real pain points are - I treat them like a puzzle - and designing products with a real felt sense behind them.
Why start with pelvic pain rather than a broader market?
I am impatient and deeply care (and can’t wait) to serve the broader market and use cases. My team often has to pull the reins on me. But really, this is a community that has been the most highly underserved in the medical arena. The amount of pink washing, minimizing, and white-labeling existing products as innovation has gone on for too long, I think. Women are warriors and they push through so much - through caretaking, working, you name it. They deserve solutions that are as dynamic as they are.
How would you describe Cinder in one sentence?
Cinder is your pain care companion that is always with you. We’re putting pain management technology into your clothing so care fits into the very fabric of your life. Sorry! That was two!
What sets Cinder apart from existing solutions (patches, heating belts, standard TENS)?
We believe pain care should match the symptoms. We’re anatomically precise, meaning we actually reach more pain areas than anybody else offering more coverage. Every other solution behaves like leaving open wounds without a bandaid. We’re discreet. Our users can wear Cinder under any of their clothes, all day, without anyone knowing. With zero compromise on function or comfort. We’re more powerful. We understand how pain is different within the body and our tech within the modulation zones matches this as it is operated independently or in combination. Our form factor meets the realities of life.
Where does product development stand today?
We are working with the world-class R&D lab, CSEM, in Switzerland and have worked through prototypes from our first testers. We are entering development of our final prototype before our first manufactured MVP.
"We believe pain care should match the symptoms and body."
"Your pain is real and you deserve better."
What's your vision for Cinder in 5 years?
That Cinder has put pain on the map and made it sexy to talk about! That we’ve created a movement where we’ve created more empathy among anyone who is suffering. That we’ve become the reference point for the ultimate pain and general body care. Like, The Apple, ON, Dyson, Spanx, Skims, Oura of this world. All of these companies have taken such a human centric approach and made problem solving beautiful and culture changing.
A word for people discovering Cinder today?
Your pain is real and you deserve better than makeshift solutions. We’re building Cinder for you and with you. And we really want to hear from you. Your stories will shape our product and contribute to the cultural conversations that need to take place around care.