{"id":11722,"date":"2024-12-16T09:16:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=11722"},"modified":"2024-12-16T09:16:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T15:16:17","slug":"a-uwo-titan-saw-family-friends-struggle-with-noise-his-award-winning-solution-is-becoming-a-business-before-graduation","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/a-uwo-titan-saw-family-friends-struggle-with-noise-his-award-winning-solution-is-becoming-a-business-before-graduation\/","title":{"rendered":"A UWO Titan saw family, friends struggle with noise. His award-winning solution is becoming a business before graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
UW-Oshkosh student Shane Kinson is focused on developing NoiseStil headphones to provide assistance to people managing autism and auditory processing disorders. (UW-Oshkosh)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The subtle sounds of daily life can be debilitating for some people. Shane Kinson saw family members and his circle of friends struggling.<\/p>\n

Kinson\u2019s brother lives with autism. He has friends who also manage a disorder called misophonia. For them, noises like chewing or even breathing aren\u2019t just unpleasant or annoyances. They are proverbial nails on a chalkboard, disrupting focus and success in school, work and life.<\/p>\n

So, Kinson set out to invent a solution. In his high school economics class, he came up with an idea: \u201cWhat if I had these headphones, and they made loud sounds quieter and quieter sounds louder,\u201d he said, recalling the birth of the headphones technology he created and dubbed NoiseStil. \u201c\u2026 There are a lot of practical applications, not just for that baseline feature but for so much more. This can positively impact people with auditory processing disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh audio production program and music business major\u2019s idea and once-conceptual product is on the brink of becoming a business.<\/p>\n

Months after earning a $3,000 first-place prize in the UWO Culver\u2019s Business Pitch Contest, Kinson is refining NoiseStil and pushing the product and business toward its launch. All while in college at UWO. All while he progresses toward his 2026 graduation destination.<\/p>\n

His goal: improve life for \u201cthose who get overstimulated or overwhelmed\u2014to increase their employment rate, because among autistic Americans, the rate of employment is far lower. The prior, best solution was to renovate offices spaces. So, (employers) kind of just shoved people into a corner, and that was the best way they could do it. It cost them a lot of money. People with auditory processing disorders felt ostracized\u2026 I\u2019m aiming to try and get rid of all these obstacles that should be fairly, easily solved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like any entrepreneur, Kinson\u2019s understandably cagey when it comes to the technology and design solutions that he feels differentiate NoiseStil from any competitors in the marketplace. In short, the headphones block out\u2014or \u201csolo out\u201d\u2014sounds that would be overwhelming and overstimulating for someone with auditory processing disorders. Current noise canceling headphones technology blocks out everything. NoiseStil is more inclusive and selective in its filtering; more conducive to communication, Kinson said.<\/p>\n

His UWO faculty mentors, advisers and supporters credit his blend of intellect, empathy and entrepreneurialism for fueling a new technology and enterprise that\u2019s also gotten a boost from the university\u2019s unique proving-ground audio studios and small business incubators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat stands out most to me is how his product is intended to help solve a very real challenge for autistic individuals,\u201d said Nathan Edwards, Director of Music Industry at UWO. \u201cI think that it shows a sense of compassion within Shane that he pursued this product as a means of making other people\u2019s lives a bit easier and more seamlessly integrated into the work world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
A judge, foreground, considers Shane Kinson\u2019s proposal at The Pitch-Fox Cities, held earlier this year at Lawrence University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kinson said, without question, Edwards and the UWO program within the Department of Music helped him bring NoiseStil to reality. While Kinson, who hails from Whitewater, had a university in his hometown, he zeroed in on UWO\u2019s unique audio production program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more I work with Nate Edwards and the audio production program, and the more I learn through his classes, the more familiar I become with audio processing and technology\u2014<\/strong>it allows me to take the solutions in my brain and apply them successfully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Alongside his academic program, Kinson has also been part of the Titan Accelerator Program (TAP), a UWO program to support student entrepreneurs bring ideas and startups to life. In spring 2024, he was accepted into the program after writing a synopsis pitching the NoiseStil concept. The 10-week program helped him analyze potential product competitors, hone branding and marketing plans, consider relevant laws and licensing and explore patent and intellectual property implications.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really, really helpful to go through that with people who have gone through these ventures before,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 It was helpful to get that jump on all this knowledge and things you wouldn\u2019t even begin to consider. \u2018What is my brand? What tone should I bring forth to my customers to make sure they are satisfied?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Trailblazer<\/h3>\n

UWO College of Business Instructional Program Manager John Bellotti considers Kinson inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cShane was introduced to me because I have a passion around how people learn and learning differences, specifically autism,\u201d Bellotti said. \u201cI quickly realized he appreciated the unique challenges faced by those with learning differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bellotti said Kinson\u2019s quiet demeanor didn\u2019t filter his passion and focus on developing NoiseStil to truly provide some breakthrough help for people managing autism and misophonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis determination shone through as he spoke about his mission to find a solution for misophonia, aiming to improve the lives of people like his friends and my children, freeing them from the relentless distraction of unavoidable noises. True to the spirit of an empathetic entrepreneur, Shane is driven to create a device that is not only effective but also discreet, ensuring that users can choose when and how to disclose their condition without feeling stigmatized.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, where\u2019s NoiseStil on its path to launch? Kinson is currently in a testing phase, preparing to lean on his UWO peers as a kind of test market yet this year. He said one of the primary audiences for NoiseStil is K-12 and higher education students who may have auditory processing disorders that have gone undiagnosed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to help them get better and operate in these standard environments. It is just really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinson said he recently received his Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions limited liability company (LLC) paperwork. It\u2019s one more example of the backstage, business preparatory work he wants to complete now so NoiseStil hits the ground running.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to bring this to fruition\u2026 Sometimes it can feel as though you\u2019re standing still. The way I thought about it for me is I feel like I\u2019m pulling the slingshot back right now so it can launch forward once I have the product.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs of right now, the goal in mind is not to be a CEO\u2026 but to give it to someone who I can trust,\u201d Kinson said. \u201cI also see some of the good I can accomplish without having to dedicate my entire life to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards said he is struck by Kinson\u2019s out-of-the-box thinking and drive. None of it has come at the expense of Kinson\u2019s kindness, professors said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was enjoyable to see his product and presentation come together, and he has been a fantastic representation of what we value here in the Music department: striving to achieve a high level of quality while remaining thoughtful and compassionate,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n

Bellotti said Kinson\u2019s love for music can\u2019t be overlooked, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe leverages his passion for music\u2014where repetitive sounds often create beautiful patterns of speech and sound to represent life\u2014to combat the disruptive repetition and patterns of everyday noises, helping people fully engage with life,\u201d Belotti said. \u201cHis innovative approach and unwavering dedication are a testament to his desire to make a meaningful difference in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Written by Alex Hummel<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwosh.edu\/today\/125150\/a-uwo-titan-saw-family-friends-struggle-with-noise-his-award-winning-solution-is-becoming-a-business-before-graduation\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The subtle sounds of daily life can be debilitating for some people. Shane Kinson saw family members and his circle of friends struggling. Kinson\u2019s brother lives with autism. He has friends who also manage a disorder called misophonia. For them, noises like chewing or even breathing aren\u2019t just unpleasant or annoyances. They are proverbial nails […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":11723,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[94],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-11722","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-oshkosh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/11722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=11722"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=11722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}