FlamAid founder and CEO Julieta Rueff showing her "passive grenade" at Web Summit 2023
One in three women in the world has suffered physical or sexual assault, according to the World Health Organization. One is trying to end that by offering a “passive grenade” that uses 110 decibels of sound to scare off would-be predators and alert authorities.
“My goal is to get all women home safe,” says Barcelona-based Julieta Rueff, founder and CEO of FlamAid. “I’m a woman ... I’ve been in very scary situations and I felt totally helpless.”
The FlamAid is a $40 grenade-shaped alarm. It clips onto a purse, strap, belt, or belt, or fits in a pocket. Pull the pin with some force, and it will sound a loud alarm while simultaneously alerting 911 and sending messages to up to three friends or family members. It recharges via a USB-C port, knows its GPS coordinates, and can send SMS alerts, but the 911 calls and SMS alerts require an additional $7/month subscription. The base product is white, but skins are available in multiple colors to match a woman’s nails, lipstick, handbag, or outfit.
The FlamAid passive grenade fits easily in your hand.
Why the grenade shape?
“It’s a statement,” says Rueff, who is showcasing the device at Web Summit in Lisbon. “It’s visible. Most self-defense gadgets are hidden, but I don’t want to hide when I want help.”
It’s also not too grenade-shaped. In order to be kosher for airline flights the FlamAid sports vertical indentations, not outward ridges like real grenades. The FlamAid is also covered with soft silicone, fits easily in your hand, and is not heavy. When detonated, it must be turned off by a process in an accompanying app, as protection against an attacker simply silencing it. An important note: 110 decibels will not permanently damage hearing: harm happens at 130 decibels or higher for over 10 minutes.
Over time Rueff says that hotspots where women have used their FlamAids will be populated into a map that identifies danger zones.
The real question: will women use it?
“Seems like a nice step up from the brass knuckles that looked like a cat I used to carry around in my 20s,” says Sara Camden, an adtech executive.
Several female friends also replied in the affirmative when I asked the question on Facebook, with one saying that FlamAid “seems like a smart and cheap self-protection item.” Another said she’d “get one for my daughters if they had evening university classes or worked late … clip to backpack or bag. I like that it’s not just noise but calls too.”
Others had concerns: what if it goes off accidentally? What if you never carry a purse, and so don’t have a place to put it or clip it? Some thought the grenade shape might be too aggressive; some wanted something more outrageous.
The FlamAid is not alone, of course. WanderSafe offers a device for a similar purpose that clips on to a keychain, and offers multiple form factors. One friend mentioned she has a Spot device, which can call a helicopter right to her spot (albeit with significant cost for the rescue).
Rueff is early in her entrepreneurial journey with FlamAid. After starting the company late in 2022, she bootstrapped it to launch, and is now seeking investment. A large security company has tendered a significant pre-order contract, she says, while she’s raising capital for commercialization and expansion.
While women are her first core audience, she’s planning to expand to other customers.
“Right now I focus on women,” she told me. “But I would love to also tackle other vulnerable groups, including children.”
