HW Venture hosted Zygo co-founder Sheera Goren ’05 as a guest speaker. Zygo makes headsets that utilize bone conduction technology, allowing swimmers to hear audio underwater. Goren said the company’s aim is to make swimming more enjoyable for all and strengthen athlete-coach communication in the pool.

“It’s very similar to [the transition from] black and white TV to color,” Goren said. “Once you start swimming to music, to any sort of entertainment, it’s very hard to go back to the monotonous way that you swam previously.”

Zygo’s products are a result of a fresh perspective on swimming, Goren said.

Goren said she doesn’t consider herself a swimmer, which provides an advantage in Zygo’s business approach.

“Most swim tech has been made by swimmers for swimmers,” Goren said. “We look at the category completely differently than someone who has swam everyday… How do you engage this generation that wants to have fun as they’re working out?”

At the end of the meeting, Goren encouraged those interested in entrepreneurship to dive into their ideas and collaborate with others.

“I think a lot of people think they have to have everything figured out before they get going, but the truth is it’s probably not even close to what you need to do,” Goren said. “When you talk to the right people, they start poking holes in your ideas and make you think differently, or they might validate [your ideas].”

Venture Head of Workshop Events and Club Co-Lead Ryan Pinsker ’23 said it was interesting to see how Goren adapted to learn about a community she wasn’t originally part of.

“I think she sent a great message to all of us,” Pinsker said. “ As long as we’re able to put up the work, we can do anything.”