So far, my sister has won $46,500 this year from startup competitions.
The Sacramento Kings CapitalizeTech Competition is a startup competition for innovators sponsored by the NBA. The winner amongst the four finalists will be announced at the Sacramento Kings halftime this Wednesday, April 9, 2025 during their game vs the Denver Nuggets. Simran Lallian, my older sister, and her co-founder Jaya Athuluru are competing with their startup idea, EpiSense.
EpiSense is a seizure protection device designed to notify and protect an individual from the effects of epilepsy with a wearable EEG device and machine learning. With its unique design and their ambitious goals, I think it’s only fair that I cover my sister’s story.
Simran and Jaya met at Neurotech@davis, a student-run club at UC Davis. During their time together Jaya shared that she was diagnosed with epilepsy in middle school. Through this interaction Jaya and Simran formed their startup EpiSense. Together they would win a total of $46,500 from startup competitions, like the “Big Bang! Competition” with a grand prize of $25,000 for first place. Simran and Jaya have left an imprint wherever they presented whether that be “Impact Challenge at Business Today’s International Conference” with a 2% acceptance rate, or going “Face to Face with Chancellor May.” It’s safe to say, Simran and Jaya are definitely a tough act to follow.
I tend to see my older sister as a mentor rather than a competitor. Her experiences are what help shape my future. Her advice is the best tool to have in my back pocket. Her support is what keeps me going. And of course I am aware of the saying “be yourself” but I tend to gravitate towards my sister nonetheless.
My older sister has taught me how to remain resilient during tough times. Going to college is a major step in life but my sister has remained bold. She’d describe the late nights she’d spend studying for classes while also forming a team to combat seizures. I can see now that EpiSense is a device to help those with epilepsy but also a mechanism to spread her ideas far beyond what her sister hears. Not to mention, Jaya has built a product from a seemingly tough condition which is truly admirable. From Jaya’s struggle I was inspired to write my informative speech about my struggle with my Essential Tremor. So it would seem that even Jaya, let alone Simran, has really inspired my journey.
Simran’s boldness to create and innovate change is what I admire most about her startup journey. It would seem that EpiSense sprung out of nowhere and created a huge shift in Simran’s life. My sister is one to embrace change and do everything in her power to stand above the rest. Me on the other hand, I am one to shy away from change. I am used to the comfort of similarity and often keep things to routine. I realize that this habit is not ideal, especially for someone that is constantly moving into new chapters of life. The main takeaway? Change is what leads to success, and not success in terms of money, but in terms of developing your character. For me to truly adapt to change I must learn from my sister, who is in my opinion, the most successful figure in my life. In the end, it is her unshattered mindset that does it for me.
If you would like to help support the development of their product by voting here:
nba.com/kings/capitalizetech
Voting is open until 8pm on April 9th! It only takes 10 seconds to win 10,000.
Updated : As of April 10th, Simran Lallian and Jaya Athuluru won $10,000 in the Kings CapitalizeTech Competition.
