Fall 2025 Monday Bootcamp 1.0 BreathylBox Breathalyzer Security Devices

Project Owner: Sean Short

Email: seanshort@breathylbox.com

BreathylBox is a safety-first hardware startup developing secure storage devices that unlock only when the user passes a breathalyzer test and, optionally, a secondary form of authentication like a passcode. We’re on our second functional prototype, designed to prevent impaired individuals from accessing items that could endanger themselves or others—such as car keys, firearms, medications, or sensitive electronics.

The problem we’re addressing is straightforward but massive: every year, alcohol impairment plays a role in tens of thousands of preventable injuries and deaths, yet the market offers few consumer-friendly solutions to proactively stop these incidents before they happen. Current safety tools tend to focus on detection after an incident (such as ignition interlock devices) rather than prevention at the moment of access. We aim to close that gap.

Now is the right time to build this because hardware is becoming faster and cheaper to prototype, while embedded sensors like alcohol detectors are finally reaching price points that make consumer deployment feasible. Social awareness around alcohol-related harm is also increasing, and the rise of connected devices means users expect everyday items to be smarter and safer. By combining breath detection with smart locking, we’re creating a category that doesn’t exist yet in mainstream retail.

Our customers include households with children, firearm owners, caregivers for elderly or at-risk individuals, and even businesses that issue sensitive equipment. In early conversations, potential users have told us they want a discreet, affordable, and easy-to-use safeguard—something that works in the background but is reliable when needed.

We plan to start by selling directly to consumers online, using a mix of awareness-driven marketing (public safety campaigns, influencer partnerships, educational content) and targeted outreach to high-risk groups. Over time, we’ll expand into enterprise and institutional sales, such as schools, treatment facilities, and workplace safety programs. Our business model is simple: hardware sales at a healthy margin, with optional subscription-based features for remote access logs, multi-user management, and cloud-connected data.

Within a year, we aim to move from working prototype to small-batch manufacturing, begin pilot programs with select organizations, and build a waitlist of at least 5,000 potential customers. In a few years, we envision becoming the go-to brand for breathalyzer-based access control, with a product line that ranges from compact portable units to heavy-duty safes.

Our biggest immediate needs are guidance on scaling hardware production, refining our go-to-market strategy, and navigating regulatory considerations. While we haven’t filed a patent yet, we are preparing to do so to protect our unique integration of alcohol detection and physical access control.

What makes us the right team is our mix of personal drive, adaptability, and technical persistence. I’m a 16-year-old founder who’s already led the design, prototyping, and early user research for this product. My co-founder complements my skill set with mechanical design and hardware optimization experience. Together, we’ve shown that we can quickly move from idea to tangible product, and we’re committed to building something that not only works but saves lives.