Year Founded
2020
Website
https://www.rhminnovations.com/
Value Proposition
RHM Innovations Inc. creates solutions to assist individuals with activities of daily living (ADLs), with a primary focus on products that bring the joy back to bathing.
Awards & Mentions
  • First Place in 2023 New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC)
  • First Place in 2023 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition
  • First Place in 2021, 2022, and 2023 Student2Biz Regional NYBPCs
  • Semi-Finalists in 2022 and 2023 at WashU Olin’s Big Idea Bounce
  • Semi-Finalists in 2022 and 2021 NYBPCs
  • Second Place in 2022 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition
  • First Place in 2021 Swarm Starter Competition at UR
  • Second Place in 2021 BXLP Fall Start-Up Bootcamp at SUNY Buffalo
  • Second Place in 2021 BXLP Summer BBQ at SUNY Buffalo
  • Semi-Finalists in 2021 Mark Ain Business Model Competition at UR
  • Finalists in 2021 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition
  • First Place in 2021 Health Futures at SUNY Buffalo 
  • Second Place in 2021 emPower Pitch at SUNY Buffalo 
  • First Place in 2021 BXLP Winter Start-Up Bootcamp at SUNY Buffalo 
  • Second Place in 2020 Bulls Launch at SUNY Buffalo 
  • First Place in 2020 Aging Innovation Challenge at SUNY Buffalo

Making Activities of Daily Living Easier

RHM Innovations Inc. is a durable medical equipment company that seeks to assist individuals with activities of daily living (ADLs). They are primarily focused on the bathing process, both in terms of bringing a sense of ease and independence to aging individuals, as well as alleviating strain on their caregivers. Founded by CEO CJ Burris and CFO Brandon Davis ’24 (PhD) in November of 2020, RHM is a clear display of a love for helping people. From 2019-2020, both CJ and Brandon unfortunately lost close relatives, and both served as caregivers. Their experiences emboldened them to look for better, more dignified solutions for people just like their family members– honoring them, too, in the name of the company, which are the initials of the loved ones they lost.

RHM’s focal product is the Aiding Arm, which is currently in the beta testing stage. It is a shower chair attachment that moves a shower head side to side and back and forth, so a person would not have to contort their arm in an uncomfortable or impossible way. Other products they are working on include The Electric Aiding Arm, the Drop n’ Prop, and the Accessible Shower Caddy.

RHM has participated and excelled in countless different programs; the RIT Summer Accelerator program, multiple BXLP pitch competitions at SUNY Buffalo, and the Mark Ain Business Model Competition at UR, to name a few. Their most recent and largest achievements yet, though, were at the 2023 New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC), and the 2023 Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition. In both competitions, they were up against hundreds of other teams, all of whom had to pitch their business to hundreds of judges. Months of preparation, experience from previous participation in these programs, and years of product refinement through user-driven research set RHM up for great success; they won first place in both competitions, with a combined total of $50,000 to invest in their business.

Both CJ and Brandon are senior PhD candidates; CJ in Industrial and Systems Engineering from SUNY Buffalo, and Brandon in Biochemistry from UR. Once their studies are complete, both CJ and Brandon will be working full time for RHM, continuing to develop and perfect their products for eventual market release.