At 15, Caleb Carr was training as a volunteer search-and-rescuer on Larch Mountain in northern Oregon when his instructor collapsed of an apparent heart attack. A Blackhawk helicopter arrived to transport the stricken man to the hospital, but strong winds swung the rescue basket too wildly to get through the dense tree cover to do an airlift. The instructor died on the mountain. Carr never forgot.
While still in college, Carr spent hours outside of class exploring ways to make helicopter lift systems (used for everything from emergency rescues to supply deliveries) more stable. Eventually, he and cofounder Derek Sikora found a fix in high-powered fans and motion sensors that attach to the bottom of any helicopter hoist to give pilots greater control and counteract violent motions caused by weather or human error.
Today their Broomfield, Colorado-based company, Vita Inclinata (the name is Latin for “life by motion”), has raised $10.7 million from investors, including Japanese trading giant Kanematsu, and says it’s finalizing $150 million in contracts with a few global military suppliers. Vita Inclinata’s success gained Carr and Sikora, who are both 25, a spot on this year’s Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in the Manufacturing & Industry category. “I love what we do,” says Carr, the company’s CEO. “In search-and-rescue I learned real quickly that you can be dead tomorrow, so what are you doing today?”
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