Founded in 1996, Everway (formerly Texthelp) has grown from a small mission-driven assistive technology company into a global edtech platform. In this keynote, founder Martin McKay shares the business decisions that shaped that growth. From establishing itself in the market, to bringing in private investment, to expansion through strategic acquisitions, Martin will reflect on what it takes to grow with intention, the importance of aligning product vision with business strategy, and the journey behind scaling a company while staying true to its purpose.

Martin McKay – Everway

Early‑stage assistive technology startups often struggle to move from ideas to real‑world adoption—not because the technology isn’t strong, but because readiness, market fit, and funding expectations are misaligned. In this session, the IMPACT Center at the University of Pittsburgh shares a practical, three‑phase approach designed to help AT startups validate early, make smarter go‑to‑market decisions, and reduce the risk of premature scaling. The framework integrates customer discovery, stakeholder input, readiness assessment, and mentor‑guided feedback to identify gaps before they become costly setbacks. Founders will learn how to strengthen product‑market alignment, improve positioning for pilots and investment, and build a clearer path from concept to adoption. Attendees leave with an actionable roadmap to advance startup‑stage AT solutions with greater confidence and traction.

Michelle Zorrilla, PhD, MPH – IMPACT Center

The U.S. Congress appropriates millions in federal funds to support research, innovation, and to improve access to assistive technology (AT) in K-12 schools. Participants will learn about the federal education funding landscape and how current policies and practices are impacting access to education and research dollars meant for States and other entities.

Laura Kaloi – Stride Policy Solutions

A walk through of the complete arc of building a fundable, valuable company. This session introduces a lifecycle and KPI framework to help you understand where your company sits today and what you need to prove to unlock the next stage of capital. Learn how valuation is calculated using revenue multiples and EBITDA, and the factors unique to the assistive technology market that influence that number. You’ll also gain a clear view of the investment waterfall — who gets paid, in what order, and why it should shape your funding decisions early. You’ll leave with a practical pitch deck framework built around the three things every investor needs to hear, with examples grounded in the AT and special needs market.

Kevin Custer – Arc Capital Development

Strong partnerships are essential to scaling assistive technology and sustaining impact. This session explores how AT companies, public education leaders, workforce partners, and community organizations can build strategic public-private partnerships that align funding around shared goals for accessibility, inclusion, and measurable outcomes. Participants will learn practical strategies to coordinate funding sources, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, reduce implementation risk, and support long term sustainability while advancing both public impact and business growth.

Glenna Wright-Gallo – Everway

Building an assistive technology company requires more than a great product, it requires navigating the complex realities of fundraising, growth, and scaling impact. This panel is a continuation of the Capital Markets Primer that will bring the topic into a real-world context, featuring founders from pre-seed, seed, and Series A-stage companies as they share their firsthand experiences raising capital and building their businesses.
Through a candid conversation, panelists will discuss how investor expectations evolve across stages, how they have approached valuation and fundraising strategy, and the key decisions and tradeoffs they faced along the way. They will also explore the challenge of balancing mission-driven impact with the demands of building a scalable, financially sustainable company.

Moderator: Chris Maher – Samaritan Partners

Microsoft has long helped define the accessibility agenda—pairing technology innovation with practical best practices that other companies can adopt and scale. In this keynote, Jessica Rafuse will show how that leadership comes to life across the full innovation lifecycle: from building on Azure with the security, compliance, identity, and device compatibility needed for enterprise growth, to applying inclusive design principles that make products more usable from the first interaction onward. She will highlight how Microsoft’s accessibility ecosystem, partner resources, and market experience can help assistive technology companies accelerate innovation, strengthen product quality, and scale with greater confidence.

Jessica Rafuse – Microsoft

As AI becomes embedded across the assistive technology product lifecycle—from prototyping and content generation to model training, testing, and AI-assisted coding—the need for responsible development increases. This panel will examine how teams can apply Microsoft’s trusted technology principles to accelerate innovation while maintaining privacy, security, inclusion, and user trust.
Panelists will discuss practical approaches to data governance, personal information protection, and bias mitigation across training data, design decisions, and AI-enabled development practices. The conversation will focus on how developers and product leaders can use AI intentionally—moving faster without compromising accessibility, responsible design, or user needs.

Moderator: Angela Lean – Microsoft

Drawing from experience building Therapy Binder and previously working in large-scale technology environments, this session will discuss how to think about partnerships across multiple layers: technical infrastructure, data interoperability, shared workflows, and strategic alignment. We’ll explore practical questions like: What makes a good API or data contract? When should a company build internally versus integrate with another platform? How do you design partnerships that expand value for both organizations rather than creating fragmented user experiences?
In AT and special education, no single platform can solve every problem alone. The organizations that create the greatest impact will be those that understand where they uniquely add value, where partners can complement them, and how to create coordinated systems that feel seamless to educators, therapists, caregivers, and students.

Ethan Goldberg – Therapy Binder

Participants will learn how technology can become a core part of service delivery, not just an add-on. The session highlights practical strategies for integrating technology into daily operations, aligning supports with person-centered outcomes, and designing remote support models that complement existing services. Attendees will also explore how these approaches reduce staffing strain, improve response times, and create new opportunities for independence.

Brian Hart – Heylo

AI is everywhere, but product value isn’t. This panel brings together AT product leaders supporting institutions deploying AI in real organisation. What we have learned is that capability is rarely the blocker; it’s where and how it is integrated into learning. We’ll explore where AI truly improves outcomes and where it creates noise. Panelists will unpack the questions that separate demos from real adoption: Who is the user? What task is changed? What data is permissible? What are the guardrails and human-in-the-loop? Leave with a practical lens for thinking about AI integration in your product.

Moderator: Jeremy Brassington – Habitat Learn

Generic design leaves the most vulnerable learners behind. Move past baseline compliance checklists with leaders who have built companies and teams specifically for students with diverse special education needs and disabilities. Panelists will share real-world playbooks across the product lifecycle – from specialized research to inclusive QA – candidly breaking down what has worked and what hasn’t. Walk away with actionable strategies to treat specialized user needs as a core requirement across the product and company development lifecycle.

Moderator: Emma Fish – Everway

Packaging is often a user’s first interaction with a product—and too often, it creates unnecessary friction. In this session, Microsoft will share insights from its Accessible Packaging Toolkit, a practical resource grounded in real product design experience. Attendees will see how inclusive design principles translate into tangible packaging decisions, from clear visual layout and readable typography to tactile features such as pull tabs, notches, and Braille.
Designed for companies developing hardware, this session will highlight practical ways to reduce physical effort, improve usability, and create more intuitive unboxing experiences for people across a wide range of abilities—demonstrating how accessible packaging leads to better design for all users.

This panel discussion will explore how organizations across the AT ecosystem can unlock new growth through co-marketing and collaboration. With 5 primary segments within the industry, co-marketing relationships could create a unique opportunity to expand reach, share audiences, and strengthen impact. Panelists will discuss real-world examples of successful partnerships, the challenges of aligning brands and goals, and how to build trust across diverse stakeholders. Attendees will gain insights into identifying the right collaborators, navigating competitive dynamics, and developing joint strategies that elevate awareness with shared customers, drive adoption, and create value across the broader AT market.

Moderators: Sarah Wilds – PRC Saltillo, Todd Tyler – Control Bionics

Build stronger pathways to market by partnering with nonprofits that know your customers best. This session explores how to create meaningful collaborations that expand reach, accelerate adoption, and inform smarter product development. Learn practical approaches to co-creating solutions, aligning incentives, and leveraging nonprofit networks to drive awareness, trust, and impact, while strengthening your roadmap through real-world user insights and community feedback.

Karina Nagin – Bridging Voice

AT adoption in schools is driven by structured processes, not just product features. The Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology (QIAT) provide a nationally recognized framework that guides how schools do ATConsideration, ATAssessments, ATImplementation, Evaluate AT Effectiveness, and AT Transitions. They are used to define administrative support and provide professional development. These indicators were developed over many years as a result of collaboration of educators, parents of students with disabilities and universities.
For vendors who are interested in more fully connecting with school-based AT providers, it’s essential to understand their legal, systemic and practical needs. This session helps to translate the 8 QIAT indicator areas into practical insights that vendor representatives can use immediately to connect to your school customers. Attendees will leave with a clearer view of how industry partners can best align sales, training, and support.

Kelly Fonner – QIAT

Innovative assistive and inclusive technologies drive better outcomes when aligned with district policy, funding, and real-world implementation. Hosted by the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES), this session helps solution providers understand how districts adopt and scale inclusive technologies. Drawing on implementation science and partnerships across U.S. states and districts, CITES will share how special education, accessibility, and instructional priorities shape decision-making. Learn how procurement and partnerships accelerate adoption, and how districts assess readiness, support implementation, and plan for long-term sustainability.

Christine Fox – CITES / CAST

Irisbond shares the behind-the-scenes realities of thier 10-year journey. Offering practical insights for US companies looking toward Europe, and international teams exploring the US market.
We’ll focus on four specific challenges Irisbond faced, and how we approached them, including: Launching in Spain when market awareness, popularity, and knowledge of eye-tracking were low, overcoming the complex task of culturally and clinically adapting AAC software and activities for users in Spain, and connecting directly with end-users to build trust, gather feedback, and cultivate authentic brand advocates. We’ll also analyze Irisbond’s approach to expanding into Europe and the US by leveraging local partners for regional funding and support expertise.

Hannah Erickson – Irisbond