Like all great products, PATCH started out as an idea to solve a hard problem. Specifically, it was a military problem close to the PATCH inventors, Dana De Coster, a recently retired Navy SEAL, and Maeve Garigan, a Johns Hopkins engineer who spent her career supporting elite military commands.

It’s daybreak in Austin, and retired US Navy SEAL Dana De Coster’s day has begun. His days start differently now—instead of leading an assault on a target in Iraq, he is now shooting a video on how to use PATCH, a new device that he co-invented to help people stay connected in remote, off-grid environments. In between shots, he and his wife Shayla take turns looking after their daughter, Bryn. “Serving my country as a Navy SEAL was what I dreamed of as a kid, so it was difficult to follow up on my dream career. Like many veterans, my transition out of active duty after 20 years of service was a time of soul-searching. How could I find a new, meaningful path as a civilian?”