ATDev Podcast Episode 51 - Paul Kent

ATDev Podcast, Owen and Todd speak with Paul Kent of Disabled Life Alliance (DLA) about his journey from Wall Street and social impact into disability innovation after becoming a bilateral below-the-knee amputee following a surgical research study. Paul explains DLA’s dual structure—a public benefit corporation providing advisory and transactional support and the Disabled Life Foundation focused on education, advocacy, awareness, and a charitable investment program that deploys catalytic capital to move innovations from discovery to impact. The conversation covers shifting perceptions of disability from charitable welfare to investable opportunity, the curb cut effect, accessibility as a must-have for tech companies, AI and robotics trends, caregiver fatigue, and the “valley of death” funding gap. Paul also describes DLA’s Innovation Gateway, a “Zillow for disability innovation,” and invites listeners to disabledlifealliance.com and disabledlifefoundation.org. 00:00 Welcome and Guests 00:22 Paul’s Journey to DLA 02:05 Why Assistive Tech Matters 02:59 Accessibility by Design 04:00 Making Disability Investable 06:07 AI and Robotics Momentum 07:57 Disabled Founders and Social Capital 10:27 Valley of Opportunity Funding 13:30 Innovation Gateway Explained 15:54 Who DLA Works With 18:18 Future Tech and Closing