Interview with Allysa Dittmar, Cofounder of ClearMask
THE DAILY MOTH:
Here is an interview with Allysa Dittmar, the cofounder of ClearMask.
ALLYSA DITTMAR:
Hi. I’m Allysa Dittmar. I’m the co-founder and president of ClearMask. I’m from Baltimore.
THE DAILY MOTH:
ClearMask took off this year because of skyrocketing demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Forbes reported that it’s on track to generate $40 million in sales this year. But how did the concept first come in place?
ALLYSA DITTMAR:
Really, ClearMask started in 2015. I had my surgery, and I had requested an interpreter for my surgery, and no interpreter showed up. I later found out it was an admin scheduling error. They scheduled the wrong month. So, I had to get through that surgery experience with very limited communication access. That was a really traumatic experience.
So, after that surgery experience, I went home and did research online trying to find a see-through mask, and there weren’t any. So, I met three others who instantly believed in the idea and product.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Dittmar worked on the ClearMask concept with three people that she met through her studies at Johns Hopkins University, where she graduated with a degree in public health.
They would go into various innovation and entrepreneurship programs, where they won several “Shark Tank” style pitch competitions with tens of thousands of dollars in investments.
I asked Dittmar on how much things changed in 2019.
ALLYSA DITTMAR:
Wow. A lot has changed. In 2019, we had zero sales. We hadn’t started selling ClearMasks because we hadn’t received FDA approval. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, we received many calls and emails, from all over the world including Asia, Europe, Canada, and the U.S. The demand for clear masks skyrocketed, and we received FDA approval in April 2020.
Our business plan in 2017 doesn’t look the same today. That’s impossible! A lot of changes. For example, decisions that typically require months to oversee and plan have changed to move within days. Things must move fast. We set up an e-commerce online store fast, and increased our ClearMask production. We have fast shipping. We expanded from four co-founders to 250 staff, and we also made a big decision to have two product groups: a non-medical customer version, and that easily applies to general environments like businesses and schools that don’t require a medical environment. That version is cheaper. The other one is medical and FDA approved, for hospital use. There are two groups, and that’s important to us so anyone can buy a ClearMask. So, in an eight-month period, we had zero ClearMask sold to over 12.5 million masks sold. We grew our initial customer base from deaf and hard of hearing people, children, and senior citizens to anyone. Now international and national state governments buy them, as well as Fortune 500 businesses like Apple, and even athletic sports coaches use ClearMask too.
It’s really amazing to see an universal design like this. It reminds me of how deaf people created the football huddle, and now everyone uses that. That’s a similar concept to ClearMask too, I think.
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THE DAILY MOTH:
I asked Dittmar to explain the FDA authorization process.
ALLYSA DITTMAR:
There are two concepts - FDA approval, and FDA emergency authorization. Our non-medical customer version mask is still fine to use in hospitals and health care settings under the FDA emergency authorization when other masks are not available. It’s fine, under FDA’s definition. Our medical masks are FDA approved and can be used anywhere in health care. We are designated as a Class 2 medical device, as a transparent surgical mask, and that meets the highest standards. They can be used in operating rooms, dental offices, isolation areas, and the vet. Getting that FDA-approved mask requires a rigorous process, and involves an independent third party lab testing. It’s a really long and demanding application. That took about one year for us to complete and submit to the FDA.
THE DAILY MOTH:
I asked Dittmar to share her final thoughts.
ALLYSA DITTMAR:
When you have an idea of innovation and people question you or tell you no, don’t accept that. Keep going. There have been many times for us when people just didn’t believe in the product. Don’t be dejected and give up. Don’t. Keep going. Find your supporters. Find your mentors. They can help you continue to grow and tweak your idea. I’m very fortunate to have a strong, supportive community and partners like Johns Hopkins, Gallaudet University, and the local Deaf ecosystem. We use the deaf bank. We really try to encourage the use of that community, and I found many deaf mentors too. I really hope I can support other deaf innovators, too. Use the Deaf ecosystem. There’s only a few of us, and we deaf people have amazing abilities to create innovative ideas and change the world.
THE DAILY MOTH:
Thank you, Allysa Dittmar, for your time! It is very inspiring to see the company grow from a single concept and a team of four people to something that has worldwide impact and employs 250 people.
https://www.theclearmask.com/