SPRING 2024 | 39 ing in dogs. TiCK MiTT, however, is nontoxic and the only product specifically designed for people and pets, she says. TiCK MiTT, which also differs from other fabrics that need to be used in the shower, is made of a scientifically engineered microfiber that works like Velcro. The glove is then placed in a mesh bag for the dryer, where the heat kills the ticks. “The challenge is that our product is so different from other things on the market, we have to educate people on why the products they're currently using are unhelpful compared to ours or potentially dangerous,” Abrams says. “Our product is something that the entire family can use, and if you send it with your kid to school for recess or soccer or whatever, you should have absolutely no concern because it’s just fabric.” TiCK MiTT’s first national exposure came in May 2023, on ABC’s “The View,” which led to the sale of 8,000 mitts in a span of 24 hours, she says. After that, TiCK MiTT was featured on another ABC show, “Good Morning America”. TiCK MiTT can now be bought on Tractor Supply’s website and Amazon, which Abrams says is aiding sales. “The next step we’re working on with students at Lehigh is creating new products and figuring out how we can help the U.S. government prevent and control tick-borne diseases,” Abrams says. FUSE As they prepared to graduate from Lehigh two years ago, Amanda Karr ’22 and Elodie Clowes ’22 commiserated about their past relationship troubles—their significant others and their friends just had not gotten along. The rift had put a strain on both their romantic relationships and their friendships. They thought, why not date people who your friends have approved of? Though there are a number of mobile dating applications on the market today, none solved their issue. That’s when the idea for fuse was born. Similar to other dating apps, fuse, when it hits the market, will have a “freemium” subscription model, meaning it will be free to use and match with other singles, while users paying for a subscription will receive additional features, such as more matches and interactions. But with fuse, the users’ friends, whether single or in a relationship, will be on the app and able to give feedback on matches. If any of the users’ friends are in a relationship, they won’t have to create a profile to use the app, Karr says, avoiding issues in which a person in a relationship would be on a dating app. They won’t connect with others either; they’ll simply swipe in a direction to indicate whether someone would be a good match for their friend. The users still will have the final say on whether they want to connect with someone, Clowes says. They’ll just have additional feedback from friends on their matches. With Clowes landing a full-time corporate job and Karr taking time off after graduation, their idea had percolated for a few months. Eventually, Karr started looking into what it would take to create an app as she began applying for jobs. Clowes ended up quitting her job. In February 2023, the two decided to team up to work on fuse full-time. Over the past year Karr and Clowes have worked with a team based in London, which has assisted with a range of tasks including app development, marketing, branding, finance and operation. They are an approval away from Apple’s App Store officially launching fuse, which already has received approval from the Google Play Store. Nearly 400 users are on a waitlist. The app will be available for downALEXANDER MILEWSKI Elodie Clowes ’22 (left) and Amanda Karr ’22 used experience from past relationships to create fuse, a new dating app.
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