The Founding Mission
Empowering athletes, coaches, and families with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions about sports participation and wellness. Education is crucial in our approach, aiming to raise awareness around concussions and promote a culture of safety and prevention.
Ensuring the longevity and sustainability of sports by protecting athletes today and for generations to come. We believe in joy, community, and health benefits sports bring to society and are committed to making them safer for everyone.
En tant que pédiatre qui évalue fréquemment les jeunes athlètes souffrant de blessures à la tête, je pense qu'un outil fournissant des données précises et en temps réel sur l'impact rendra le diagnostic de commotion cérébrale plus facile, plus rapide et complétera l'outil SCAT.
— — Dr Liesl YoungConseil d'administration du médecin et du CIN
Our Team
Nick Kasten, CEO
Nick Kasten, born and raised in Colorado, has firsthand experience with concussions from skiing, football, and other sports—giving him a deep understanding of the injury, diagnosis, and recovery process. His frustration with outdated concussion assessments, like simplistic memory tests, led him to believe in Phreno’s potential to improve diagnosis and eliminate uncertainty.
His journey into tech and entrepreneurship began in 2020 with sneaker bots on Twitter, sparking his passion for software engineering. Later that year, he launched a software suite that helped over 2,000 businesses across Europe and Asia streamline operations. In 2023, he joined Flozy.com as Customer Success Lead, where he built and scaled a community of 40,000 businesses while contributing to website design and more. Now, he’s fully focused on Phreno while working toward his computer science degree.
Sebastien Hebbelinck, COO
Sebastien Hebbelinck, from Castle Rock, Colorado, is an entrepreneur, aviator, and U.S. Navy Reservist. He co-founded Better Wash LLC in high school, worked in logistics at APAX BD, and now studies at ATP Flight School while co-leading Phreno Inc., a sports safety tech company.
Gene Kwak, CTO
Gene is a Senior Mechatronics Engineer based in California. He was a founding engineer at Addressable and holds two patents for his innovative software and hardware. Gene is currently co-founder of AnyDrawer and also serving as a backend and firmware engineer at Phreno.
Jack Pawlik, Operations
Jack is an analytical professional with a strong foundation in financial modeling and investment analysis. He has directly applied these skills as a founder, managing the full P&L and business strategy for multiple FinTech and SaaS companies. Jack's hands-on experience of scaling ventures provides a unique, operational perspective on creating value. Jack is now formalizing this background as a Finance and Accounting student at DePaul University.
Bear Matthews, Growth Advisor
Working at the intersection of technology, media, and finance, Bear's work is characterized by a relentless pursuit of innovation and social impact. Bear Matthews has spoken at forums like SXSW, the Swiss Stock Exchange and the University of New Hampshire, as published in MarketWatch, TechCrunch, and CNN.
Brody Almon, Content
Brody was born and raised in the Denver area and has been doing photography and film for a little over five years. The majority of his background is in narrative (fiction) films. My goal is to deliver Phreno’s story to you.
Eric Garcia, iOS Engineer
Eric Garcia is a seasoned mobile engineer and engineering leader with a proven track record of delivering high-quality mobile experiences. He has built products at both startups and large companies—including award-winning travel apps at Mobiata and Expedia, recognized by the Apple App Store and the Webby Awards.
Carter Grinnell, Hardware engineer
Carter is currently pursuing a degree in Petroleum Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. He introduced the initial concept behind Phreno’s impact sensor and led early prototyping efforts. Now serving as an advisor for hardware R&D, Carter focuses on refining our housing and ensuring the device meets real-world performance demands.
