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RALLY Innovation 2025: Accessible Innovation Panel
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In this episode of Investing in Accessibility, co-hosts Kelvin Crosby and Chris Maher kick off the holiday season with something special: a recorded panel from the RALLY Innovation Conference in Indianapolis.
Moderated by Jennison Asuncion (Head of Accessibility Engineering Evangelism at LinkedIn and co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day), this conversation brings together four leaders shaping the future of disability tech and digital accessibility:
- Chris Maher – Founder & General Partner at Samaritan Partners
- Molly Lazarus – Director of the Remarkable US Accelerator
- Kate Kalcevich – Head of Accessibility Innovation at Fable
- Michael Bervell – Co-founder & CEO of TestParty
Together, they explore why disability is not a niche market but a massive, underserved opportunity; how accelerators and impact VCs are backing founders building assistive and disability-focused tech; and why accessibility is both a moral imperative and a powerful business strategy. You’ll hear how human insight and lived experience combine with AI and automation to scale accessibility, what founders in this space commonly struggle with, and why “nothing about us without us” needs to be a non-negotiable design principle.
The panel also digs into:
- The growing legal and regulatory landscape, including lawsuits and global accessibility laws
- How accessibility features like captions and curb cuts become mainstream advantages
- The travel industry and other sectors waking up to the economic power of disabled consumers and their families
- The promise and risks of AI in accessibility, and why inclusive leadership at the top matters
If you’re an investor, founder, product leader, or just curious about how innovation and inclusion intersect, this episode will challenge how you think about accessibility and show why now is the time to invest in change, not wait for it.
Links & Resources:
RALLY Innovation: Website
Jennison Asuncion: LinkedIn / GAAD: Website
Molly Lazarus: LinkedIn / Remarkable Accelerator: Website
Kate Kalcevich: LinkedIn / Fable: Website
Michael Bervell: LinkedIn / TestParty: Website
COMING SOON!
American Sign Language (ASL) and Captioning for each episode will be provided on our YouTube channel. Go to handle @SamaritanPartners.
Chapters
1. Hosts Set The Stage (00:00:00)
2. Panel Opens And Intros (00:03:01)
3. Defining Disability And Accessibility (00:06:04)
4. Remarkable’s Approach To Disability Tech (00:08:31)
5. Venture Lens On Impact And Scale (00:12:35)
6. Founder Challenges And Storytelling (00:17:42)
7. Shifting To Digital Accessibility (00:21:08)
8. Human-Led Testing At Scale (00:23:28)
9. Automation, AI, And Compliance (00:25:35)
10. Human And Tech: Better Together (00:28:18)
11. Accessibility As SEO And Growth (00:31:10)
12. Travel As A Business Case (00:35:09)
13. AI Promise And Risks (00:38:10)
14. Audience Q&A: Focus Areas (00:40:26)
15. Inclusion, Leadership, And Startup Culture (00:44:13)
16. Wrap-Up And Links (00:48:35)
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