I could have died because the device I needed didn’t exist.
Now we’re building it.
Courtney Sanders
2x Emmy Award-Winning Executive Producer
& Founder of Trembo
THE LA WILDFIRES
January 2025. I'm standing in my living room staring at sweeping views of the black, Los Angeles sky. The wind is screaming, and I can see fire in the distance. My iPhone is pushing constant, city-wide alerts:
We must all be ready to run.
My living room. January 8, 2025
I am four times more likely to die tonight, and I don't know how to prevent it.
I have life-long hearing loss and live alone. That night I fall asleep knowing if the evacuation order comes for me, I won't hear it.
I wake safely, but the danger is far from over. I begin searching for the device I need to save my life.
The results are infuriating.
THE PROBLEM IS BIGGER THAN ME.
Most "assistive" devices available to the 1.5 BILLION PEOPLE with hearing loss look like 1970s hospital room accessories with 2026 premium price tags.
It turns out this fragmented, single-function thinking is the norm throughout the haptic market. Non-disabled and disabled consumers alike are forced to spend hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars any time they want to feel something new: from a video game to a favorite song to a therapy session to an alarm clock.
Silicon Valley isn't thinking big enough. And they're ignoring a gigantic white space in the market.
Baby Haptics
Gaming Haptics
Sleep Haptics
Wellness Haptics
THE SOLUTION
Introducing TREMBO.
A vibration-powered device designed to
enhance or replace sound
for entertainment, wellness & safety
Parenting: Soothing vibrations optimize your baby's sleep.
Senior Care: Crucial for independent living and fall prevention.
Gaming & Entertainment: Experience immersion without expensive haptic rigs.
Wellness & Mental Health: Ground yourself during meditation, anxiety or overwhelm.
Sleep & Alarms: For heavy sleepers, earplug wearers, anyone who's missed an alarm.
Critical Alerts: Never sleep through disaster warnings, glucose monitors or your selected calls and messages.
The first Trembo prototype is currently in development.
THE TREMBO LIFECYCLE
#Trembo4Life
As a newborn, nothing put you to sleep like a Trembo.
As you grew, it soothed you when you had big feelings.
You haven’t played a video game without it since you were a teenager.
Not only did your own baby have a Trembo, your mom had one that alerted you when she got out of bed.
Empty nesting was hard, but your Trembo immersed you in self-care every day.
Your Trembo ensures you don’t surrender your independence when you start losing your hearing.
WHY I’M BUILDING THIS.
I'm a 2x Emmy Award-winning Executive Producer who spent 20+ years building teams to make the unmakeable happen. But those skills were forged long before I stepped on a set.
I was born with progressive hearing loss and wouldn't change it if I could. It made me compassionate, determined (stubborn?) and quick to spot solutions before others see problems.
But the night the fires came, when my life literally depended on it, my only solution was a sleeping pill.
I thought about a grandfather sleeping through the smoke detector. A 13-year-old sleeping through a tornado siren. My own goddaughter, hospitalized after sleeping through her glucose monitor.
So I dug into the market. Here's what I found:
We're at the same frontier we faced in 2006.
Back then, our desks were littered with flip phones, calculators, notepads and MP3 players. Suddenly everything merged into one device and changed how the world moved.
That's where haptics is today: Entertainment immersion, wellness tools, assistive alerts, smart parenting, senior care, all scattered across a dozen single-purpose gadgets.
Trembo isn't joining that category. It's defining it. We're building the device that will save lives and change how the world feels.
Our pre-seed round is open. Please support Trembo however you're able: invest, donate, pre-order or share.
Thank you!
CourtneyWE MOVED FAST IN 2025.
Technical feasibility validated across all disciplines
Named Top 10 finalist in Startup World Cup regional
Chosen venture for UC Riverside’s EPIC Innovation Incubator
Established mission-aligned fiscal sponsorship
Supply chain mapped: Vietnam → US 3D printing → Mexico → India
Secured 12x international award-winning Industrial Designer
Completed $50K Friends & Family round
50 customer interviews + multiple LOIs in progress
Trembo trademarked and provisional patent filed
Joined prestigious UCLA Venture Accelerator
The market is ready.
A new layer of safety and awareness has become essential in everyday life.
of kids under 18 sleep through the sound of smoke detectors.
(Source)
80%
of adults under 30 already have hearing loss.
(Source)
20%
of people of all hearing levels and sleep stages were successfully woken by haptic devices.
(Source)
100%
CAGR in the haptic devices market, roughly doubling in value to nearly $14B by 2030.
(Source)
16%
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Haptics refers to technology that communicates through touch—specifically vibration, pressure, or movement patterns. It’s the same core tech you feel when your phone buzzes, your gaming controller rumbles, or a smartwatch taps your wrist. Trembo expands that capability into a larger surface and multiple real-world uses.
-
Trembo is a wireless, app-connected haptic pad that translates sound, alerts and other digital signals into customizable vibrations—so you can feel what matters.
-
Open the Trembo app, select the desired mode and place your Trembo:
●in a crib under a restless infant to allow the gentle vibrations to sooth them to sleep.
● on the seat of your chair or in a harness for immersive gaming.
● on the mattress under your elderly parent to monitor for bed exits.
● on your desk chair so you don’t miss alerts when wearing noise-cancelling headphones.
● on your chest for grounding when anxiety spikes.
● under pillows so none of the teenagers or heavy sleepers in your home miss alarms or detectors -
No. Trembo is a consumer product. It does not diagnose, treat, or claim medical outcomes. Users may choose to pair it with medical devices (like glucose monitors or fall detection apps), but Trembo is not regulated as medical equipment.
-
Trembo is universal design; built for everyone, essential for some.
-
• Slips under a pillow, seat cushion, or yoga mat
• Bluetooth 5.2 (with Auracast) and Wi-Fi enabled
• Connects to multiple apps and devices
• Customizable vibration patterns and swappable skins
• Capacitive touch + sleep mode for long battery life
• AI for personalized user patterns
• Trembo Connect™ – Two-Way Communication
– Under baby’s mattress → crib alerts to your device
– Under elderly parent’s bed → bed-exit alerts to prevent falls
– Monitor loved ones remotely for peace of mind
– Opens family-safety system potential -
Other devices are mostly single-function ($150–$1,600 each). Trembo aims to replace six devices with one and totally transform how daily life feels.
-
We are accepting pre-orders with a $20 deposit. Estimated delivery Q3 2027. Contact us for details.
-
Trembo is currently in pre-seed stage, meaning we are fundraising while developing and building the product. You can support bringing Trembo to market in 4 ways:
A tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor.
Pre-order your Trembo(s).
Join our pre-seed round as a funder and earn returns on your money.
Join our waitlist.
-
Great! Let’s chat. Click here or contact us at hello@trembo.io or 323.484.2044.