WheelPad L3C

Julie Lineberger

Hello, I am Julie Lineberger, founder and CEO of WheelPad L3C, Luella Strattner, WheelPad’s Chief of Staff, is co-presenting with me today! 

Imagine living your best life, feeling on top of the world, in an instant, life throws a curve ball - within minutes you are literally fighting for your old life.  My godson, Riley Poor, was 4 days shy of his 26th birthday when that happened in a pool accident, resulting in quadriplegia. For others, it’s on a battlefield defending one’s country, or in a doctor's office with a diagnosis of CP, ALS, MS. In all of these instances perhaps the biggest surprise realization is: one’s home no longer fits the life situation, and returning to that place to heal  is no longer easy. 

This situation is more common than you think. Yet, for every 100 families who need accessible homes, only 7 have them - that’s 7%! Others start on a 6 month minimum expensive remodel  with all the tiny stress inducing decisions for accessibility, or face leaving their home the moment they need it the most. Additionally, 4.1 million people turn 65 each year 87% of us want to age in place.  That is nearly 3.6 million a year!

Joseph Cincotta, Inventor and Architect, my husband/co-founder, created a solution.  This is what our godson was facing.  We knew how to solve it for Riley, and now we are solving it for anyone. 

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Luella Strattner

We are building SuitePAD - a 200 square foot universally designed bedroom bathroom suite on wheels that can be attached to a home to rapidly add accessible living space. Our universal design meets or exceeds all ADA standards including an integrated hoist track and a full wet room bathroom.  SuitePAD can be fully installed in as little as two weeks after delivery. It was designed to be the “Coolest Room in the House”, our customers agree, calling it ‘peaceful’, a ‘sanctuary’.  The natural finishes and light-filled design are meant to feel like home instead of a hospital room.

We build with natural, non-toxic materials to support those with chemical sensitivities. Our manufacturing team in Vermont takes great care and pride in the work that they do, knowing that their efforts directly impact the quality of life for someone. And most of all, we design the pricing of our PADs to be universally accessible to everyone, with special financing, lease options, and a buy-back program.

Since our founding, we’ve placed over 20 SuitePADs across the lower 48, allowing us to prove our concept, improve the design, and build incredible demand. In 2022 we brought production in-house, building out a facility and a diverse team, and reengaged with contract manufacturing partners  across the country.The truth is, demand outpaces supply.  For each SuitePAD we’ve placed since 2018, we’ve had to say, “No” to 6 customers  because of a lack of inventory.

We want to be able to help Susan and her husband Lee, whose ALS is progressing much more quickly than they hoped. And Ankita, who after a car accident, would like to return home to her children, not remain in the rehab facility 2 hrs away. Jeff, a victim of home invasion gone. And Tyrone - skiing accident. 

In reality, WheelPad must start working on someone’s surprise accessibility project three months before the accident or diagnosis. Currently our hearts hurt as we cannot meet their timeframe dictated by a progressing disease or release from rehab. This is why we are now scaling our business.

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Julie Lineberger

Scaling, with a round of mission match investment, will allow us to create an inventory, thereby collapsing the time to deliver our PADs, Personal Accessible Dwellings. It will enable us to hire and retain manufacturing, construction, managerial professionals.  There are other companies building ADUs - yet none meeting, let alone exceeding, ADA standards. The WheelPad Team, currently 13 of us, needs to double in size to meet the current demand and address our proven and growing customer demands.

Should you be excited with the prospect of keeping even more families together in their own homes;  if our mission resonates with you, please, connect with us to join bringing our vision to reality. Please help us keep families together by making their homes accessible now.