Pursuing a Vision

By Lois Flowers
July 12, 2024

Pursuing a Vision

When Dimitri Clark ’23 wrote down an idea in a moleskin notebook for a class assignment his first year at JBU, he never imagined that he would be working to launch it as a startup company a few years later.

The class was Tools and Methods for Innovation, and the assignment was to carry the notebook around and make regular entries for new business ventures.

“The goal of the class is to develop observation skills and empathy for people experiencing problems in the world,” said Eva Fast, former associate professor of entrepreneurship, innovation and marketing, and former associate dean of the Soderquist College of Business.

Clark’s idea for “Abily,” an image-based web browser for people with motor and visual disabilities, came one evening when he watched his younger brother Leks use his cell phone in their family’s kitchen. Both brothers, who were adopted from Ukraine in 2002, have cerebral palsy. Now 23 years old, Leks is neurodiverse and reads at a second- or third-grade level.

“I thought, ‘What if I took an augmentative and alternative communication device, which displays pictures and projects sound for nonverbal people, and applied it to the internet?’” Clark said.

As he envisioned it, the application would allow users to navigate the internet on their own rather than depend on others for assistance. It would also help them learn and process new information beyond their perceived ability.

Clark jotted the idea down in his notebook and didn’t think much more about it until the following semester when JBU’s Ignite (formerly known as Enactus) program hosted an idea-pitch contest. Inspired by the feedback from that event, he decided to pursue his vision further.

Although he didn’t win the contest, the judges were intrigued by his idea and encouraged him to develop it into a full-fledged project. With this support, Clark decided to continue working on Abily as part of his capstone project for his degree in entrepreneurship & innovation.

Clark took courses like Market Discovery & Validation, where he and a partner conducted extensive interviews to assess the market need for a product like Abily. Their research confirmed that the application had potential, particularly in special-needs classrooms, which became their target market.

During his senior year, Clark entered the Innovation Launch Lab, where he refined his business model and delved into the technical feasibility of the product. Alongside his team, Clark entered Abily into several business-model competitions and continued to receive valuable feedback.

Clark also sought advice from a business advisory board, a requirement for entrepreneurship students at JBU. He remained open to feedback, allowing the idea to evolve while staying true to his core values. “Entrepreneurs often struggle to let go of their original concept,” said Fast. “But Dimitri welcomed the insights and allowed his idea to grow.”

After graduation, Clark took steps to transition Abily from a college project to a startup. He participated in a summer accelerator program with Builders + Backers and earned a $25,000 grant at The Heartland Summit. This opportunity allowed him to further develop Abily, and in January, he began a yearlong program through the Stepping Stones cohort.

Clark is currently collaborating with his biological brother, Sergey, a web developer in Ukraine, to prepare for beta testing Abily in the therapy clinic where Clark himself received treatment as a child. “Our goal is to launch the product in pediatric clinics,” Clark said, adding that many therapists have already expressed interest in the application for their patients.

Reflecting on his journey, Clark credits his life experiences and education for bringing Abily to life. “Ideas don’t just come out of nowhere,” Clark said. “They’re shaped by the experiences we collect over time. My education at JBU gave me the tools to turn those experiences into action and provided me with a supportive community to help bring my idea to life.”

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