Founders Spotlight — Moment AI

August 13, 2019

Andre Fowlkes

A Memphis Moment: Founder’s Spotlight with Megan Gray of Moment AI

Megan Gray, a native and long-time member of the tech community in Memphis, knows what can change in a moment. After experiencing multiple seizures, Doctor’s told her she would not drive again. From there, she decided to use her background and personal experience to create a technology that would help herself and other people whose ability to drive is affected by a medical condition.

Moment AI uses facial recognition software to monitor driver safety. The camera collects data points that can sense facial irregularities caused by everything from drowsiness to seizures and strokes. From there, the software can take control of the vehicle to drastically reduce the seriousness of crashes and quickly alert EMT professionals.

Along with Chief Technology Officer Jacob Sutton, Moment is part of the inaugural class of Start Co.’s Smart City Sky High Accelerator. We talked to Megan about her personal journey, relationship with Start Co. and her perspective as a woman of color in the tech ecosystem.

Liza: Hi Megan, please tell us a little about yourself.

Megan: I began my tech career as an IT intern, and then received a Google scholarship. I worked for Google for two years, including my time as an intern. At that point, I was more interested in technology and innovation and started building projects myself. I was working with electric cars and arduino projects when I began to have seizures while coming home from a business trip. I had multiple seizures and was told I would never be able to drive again. At that time I switched from being fascinated with electric to autonomous vehicles. I started building technology for autonomous vehicles and in 2018 received a scholarship from Google to become a certified software developer.

Liza: How did you met your co-founder Jacob?

Megan: Starting this company, I felt a woman founder would not be taken seriously by herself, so I needed to bring in a male partner. I figured he would need to be a CTO and engineer, so I actually posted online that I was looking for people. Jacob responded, we met up, and I asked him if he would join me as a co-founder. He said yes and he is a developer who can code in nearly every language, and he also has a fascination with autonomous vehicles as well. We began building everything from scratch, not using any third party software or API’s.

Liza: How did you first hear about the accelerator?

Megan: A few years ago, when I moved back to Memphis, and was diagnosed with epilepsy, I knew I wanted to build technology that could help people like myself. Moment AI is my second company. When I launched the first, I knew I needed a business advisor, so I searched on LinkedIn and that’s how I met Ryan (Start Co.’s Director Of Acceleration). We instantly clicked, I was a single founder and needed an advisor. He told me about Start Co. and that’s how I started to get involved.Over the past five years I have been apart of the Start Co. community and this past October when I heard about the new Smart City accelerator I decided to apply and see what would happen.

Liza: What would you say has been your biggest challenge this summer?

Megan: The tech world has so many different, moving pieces. The biggest challenge has been going to my everyday, regular meetings and then get to my accelerator meetings – it’s a very busy day. With all the pieces moving in tech, you constantly have to keep calling because not everyone is on the same time zone.

Liza: What has your experience been like being a female founder and CEO?

Megan: As a woman, you have to come double prepared, because in my experience, some men want to prove you are not as smart as them. No matter what you accomplish or what you can build, it’s part of our society, that some men feel they need to be on top. For me as a female founder, I’ve been making sure I set the tone that I want to have in meetings. It can be a hard thing, not only am I female, I’m the CEO, so my face and voice is the company. If I fail, there are no chances left, they won’t give me another chance, there’s no room.

Liza: What entrepreneurs influence you?

Megan: My first is Oprah. She has just done so much, and I felt like I could relate to her more as an African American and a woman, than I can to my white peers. She had to go through this during the time right after the Civil Rights Era. So for her to now be of the richest women in the world, it’s just amazing. My second favorite would definitely be Elon Musk because for me too, cars are not my only ambition. I love building technology for planes, I would love to work on space technology and I hope I get to do that as well.

Liza: What’s been of most value to you while at Start Co.?

Megan: Even though this is my second company, they have challenged me to think of questions I hadn’t thought of before. And I can keep coming back to these people, and use them as a resource, because I’m like “wow I like the way their brain works.” Start Co. has introduced me to people that are on a similar brainwave.

Liza: It’s the day after Demo Day.. where are you and what are you doing?

Megan: The day after Demo Day, I already have a meeting at 11:00am! I have a second investor meeting so that’s great to already kick it off with a meeting. I would definitely be working though, it will be like any other day, but hopefully I can start working towards getting some money.