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Impulse

See the forces.
Prevent the injury.

Real-time biomechanical intelligence for basketball injury prevention.

Impulse  ·  USC Iovine & Young Academy  ·  April 14, 2026
The best in the world

These athletes define the game.

KD
[ KD ]
Kevin Durant
2× NBA Champion · 2× Finals MVP · 14× All-Star
Tatum
[ Tatum ]
Jayson Tatum
NBA Champion · 6× All-Star · Olympic Gold Medalist
Kyrie
[ Kyrie ]
Kyrie Irving
NBA Champion · 9× All-Star · 2016 Finals clutch shot
Klay
[ Klay ]
Klay Thompson
4× NBA Champion · 6× All-Star · Greatest shooter ever
Dame
[ Dame ]
Damian Lillard
8× All-Star · Franchise leader · 3× 3PT contest winner
Butler
[ Butler ]
Jimmy Butler
6× All-Star · 5× All-NBA · 2× Finals appearance
Haliburton
[ Haliburton ]
Tyrese Haliburton
2× All-Star · Led Pacers to 2025 NBA Finals
Murray
[ Murray ]
Jamal Murray
NBA Champion · Bubble legend · Jokić's co-star
Brink
[ Brink ]
Cameron Brink
NCAA Champion · #2 WNBA Pick · Team USA 3×3
JuJu
[ JuJu ]
JuJu Watkins
Consensus POY · USC · 1,709 pts in 2 seasons
One moment changes everything

Non-contact. No collision. No foul.

Every one of these injuries happened without contact from another player. Their own biomechanics failed them — and no one saw it coming.

KD injured
[ KD — 2019 ]
Kevin Durant
Achilles rupture. Crossover move. Missed 18 months.
Jun 2019 · NBA Finals
▶ WATCH
Tatum injured
[ Tatum — 2025 ]
Jayson Tatum
Achilles rupture sprinting for loose ball. 42 pts that night.
May 2025 · East Semis
▶ WATCH
Kyrie injured
[ Kyrie — 2025 ]
Kyrie Irving
Torn ACL. First full season missed in 15-year career.
Mar 2025 · Regular Season
▶ WATCH
Klay injured
[ Klay — 2019 ]
Klay Thompson
ACL tear + Achilles. 941 consecutive days sidelined.
Jun 2019 → Nov 2020
▶ WATCH
Lillard injured
[ Dame — 2025 ]
Damian Lillard
Achilles tear chasing loose rebound. Out all of 2025-26.
Apr 2025 · Playoffs R1
▶ WATCH
Butler injured
[ Butler — 2026 ]
Jimmy Butler
Torn ACL. Landed awkwardly catching a pass. Season over.
Jan 2026 · Warriors
▶ WATCH
Haliburton injured
[ Haliburton — 2025 ]
Tyrese Haliburton
Achilles tear in Game 7 of the Finals. Out all of 2025-26.
Jun 2025 · NBA Finals
▶ WATCH
Murray injured
[ Murray — 2021 ]
Jamal Murray
ACL tear on a drive. Knee buckled. Missed 18+ months.
Apr 2021 · vs Warriors
▶ WATCH
Brink injured
[ Brink — 2024 ]
Cameron Brink
ACL + meniscus. Knee buckled on a drive. Missed Olympics.
Jun 2024 · WNBA Rookie
▶ WATCH
JuJu injured
[ JuJu — 2025 ]
JuJu Watkins
ACL tear on fast break. Carried off. Out entire 2025-26.
Mar 2025 · NCAA Tourney
▶ WATCH
The Problem

Non-contact injuries are basketball's biggest blind spot.

70%
of ACL injuries in basketball are non-contact
$2.4B
spent annually on sports injuries in the NCAA alone
0
real-time tools exist to monitor biomechanics during live play

Today's wearables track heart rate, sleep, and steps — but they miss the forces that actually cause injuries. How the foot loads, how pressure shifts, how fatigue changes movement patterns in real time. By the time a trainer notices something is wrong, it's already too late.

The Financial Reality

Injured stars don't just miss games — they hemorrhage money.

Player & Injury
Annual Salary
Days Lost
Salary Paid While Out
Kevin Durant Achilles · 2019 NBA Finals
$37.2M / yr
548 days
~$56M
Klay Thompson ACL + Achilles · 2019–20
$32.7M / yr
941 days
~$84M
Damian Lillard Achilles · Apr 2025
$45.6M / yr
365+ days
~$46M+
Kyrie Irving ACL · Mar 2025
$36.5M / yr
~365 days
~$37M
Jayson Tatum Achilles · May 2025
$32.6M / yr
365+ days
~$33M+
$256M+
In salary paid to these 5 players alone while they couldn't take the floor. Every dollar of it avoidable if the warning was caught in time.
When Impulse Pays You Back
40 programs — break-even ~$450K ARR
200 programs — 20% NCAA ~$2.25M ARR
1,100 programs — full NCAA ~$12.4M ARR
+ NBA expansion (30 teams) +$1.5M ARR
Priced at $11.25K/program/yr avg · Hardware at $175/pair. At 10% NCAA penetration: $16.5M ARR
The Solution

What if a coach could see the injury coming — and stop it?

A smart insole worn over the existing insole that streams live biomechanical data to a sideline dashboard — giving coaches a real-time traffic light alert system for every player on the floor.

CLEAR
→
MONITOR
→
PULL
How the data prevents the injury
📍
Deviation Detected
Heel zone hits 52% load — +24% above the player's personal baseline. System recognizes the Achilles overload pattern.
🔴
Coach Alerted Instantly
Dashboard fires a red alert with player name, affected zone, and injury type. No interpretation needed — just act.
🪑
Player Subbed & Treated
Trainer pulls player at next dead ball. Load pattern addressed before it compounds into structural damage.
✅
Injury Never Happens
The Achilles or ACL never reaches failure threshold. $30M+ in salary protected. Season intact.
Live Pressure Heatmap · Designed by CTO Mussie Yimer
● Balanced
20% 18% 18% 16% 28%
All zones
within normal
⚠ Warning
22% 14% 12% 10% 42%
Heel overload
+14% deviation
🔴 Pull Now
28% 6% 8% 6% 52%
Critical overload
ACL/Achilles risk
5 sensor zones: Heel · Medial Mid · Lateral Mid · Forefoot Medial · Forefoot Lateral — mapped to specific injury patterns in real time.
How It Works

From foot to sideline decision in real time.

👟
Smart Insole
Sits over the existing insole. Pressure sensors + IMU capture force, asymmetry, and fatigue.
→
📡
Bluetooth 5.0
Streams biomechanical data wirelessly from every player to the sideline in real time.
→
📊
Coach Dashboard
Tablet displays a traffic light per player. Green, yellow, red — one glance, one decision.
→
🛡️
Injury Prevented
Pull the player before the injury happens. Protect careers. Reduce program costs.
Key differentiator: Competitors like Plantiga and DorsaVi analyze data after the session — like reviewing a camera. Impulse works during the session — like having a coach.
Traction & Validation

Built on real demand signals.

Product-Market Fit
86%
"Extremely Excited"
86%
Willing to join pilot
2.1×
Ellis PMF threshold
13+ validation interviews across 10+ programs. 7 formal survey respondents. 71% rated the problem "Critical."
Sales Pipeline
6Power 5 programs engaged (USC, Maryland, Ohio State, UConn, Colorado, UCLA)
5Stage 4 (High Interest) contacts — LOI candidates
1AAU program (Maryland Playmakers / Under Armour Association)
1Clinical partner (Capitol Rehab — sports medicine)
Industry Validation · Gary Vitti
32-year Lakers head athletic trainer · 5 NBA championships. Engaged directly with Impulse's technical approach — provided actionable hardware design feedback on insole stability under lateral cutting forces and sensor-to-foot friction, shaping the v0.2 prototype. His depth of engagement validates both the problem and the product direction.
Prototype
v0.1 breadboard built. v0.2 flex PCB in fabrication.
Legal
Delaware LLC filed. Provisional patent filing in progress. EIN secured.
Advisors
Arturo Nuñez (Nike/Apple). Craig Williams (Flagship Pioneering).
Business Model
Hardware + SaaS. $175/pair + $9K–$13.5K/team/yr subscription.
Market Opportunity

Own the basketball biomechanics layer — then expand.

TAM
$4.5B
Smart insole market (2025)
Projected $12.8B by 2035
SAM
$110M
Basketball programs, AAU, & sports medicine in North America
SOM
$16.5M
10% NCAA penetration
$5K–$15K/program/yr
1,100
NCAA basketball programs
500K+
AAU players annually
$500M+
NBA salary lost to injury per year
17%
Smart insole CAGR through 2035
The Team

Five founders. One mission. Built at USC.

JP
Julian Perkins
CEO & Founder
IYA Cohort 11. Strategy, product, brand. 13+ athlete interviews.
MY
Mussie Yimer
CTO
Viterbi ECE. Hardware, firmware, embedded systems. Built v0.1 prototype.
XT
Xavier Tall
Head of Legal
Gould School of Law. IP strategy, contracts, brand positioning.
KJ
Khorie Jenkins
Head of Research
Keck Medicine. Kinesiology, biomechanics accuracy, injury prevention.
MM
Malcolm McKenzie
Strategy & Partnerships
Former collegiate athlete. Ohio State & Delaware network. GTM execution.
🎯
Advisor
Arturo Nuñez
Former Nike & Apple executive
🧬
Advisor
Craig Williams
Apriori Bio / Flagship Pioneering
Impulse

The injury no one saw coming
is the one we're here to prevent.

Real-time biomechanical intelligence. Built for basketball. Starting at USC.

impulsetechs.com → LinkedIn →
jtperkin@usc.edu  ·  USC Iovine & Young Academy
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