For most of us, simple activities like walking around our surroundings or climbing a set of stairs are just a part of our everyday life. However, there are millions who struggle to perform these basic actions. McKinsey alum Kathryn Zealand (Sydney 12-20), founder and CEO of Skip, has addressed this issue head-on. Inspired by her own experiences with her grandmother's struggles with mobility, she has created the first "e-bike for walking"—an ultralight exoskeleton designed to help people live healthier, more active lives.
We had the opportunity to speak with Kathryn about the inspiration behind founding Skip, the core challenges her product addresses, the personal journey that led her to create wearable tech, and how her background in theoretical physics and experience at McKinsey have influenced her approach to creating innovative solutions for mobility.
What was your inspiration behind founding Skip, and what are the core challenges you aim to address with the product?
The inspiration was something that I believe everyone has experienced at some point in their lifetime—trying to help a family member as they age. My experience started with my grandmother. At the time, I was working at Google X, Alphabet's top-secret research and development lab, where they were creating self-driving cars and robots. I made a connection between my day job, where all this new technology was being developed, and my post-working hours, when I’d visit my grandmother.
She was trying to live alone but was reaching that tipping point where she went from being quite independent to really struggling with her mobility. She could no longer do the things she enjoyed, such as walking to the library or her local coffee shop. Once she lost confidence in simply walking, her whole life shrank—not just in terms of physical activity but also in social interaction with her community, which became the biggest struggle. My initial motivation for starting Skip was not only to help my granny maintain her independence but also to ensure she remained an active and vibrant member of her community.
Of course, once you start thinking about something, you see it everywhere. Over time, I realized that a huge number of people struggle with moving around their environment. In fact, one in four adults over the age of 45 face serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. That’s when we started Skip. Since then, it’s become a universal question: “How do we get people walking more, being more active, and experiencing the joyful moments that come as part of that?”
You have just been included on the list of TIME's Best Inventions for 2024. What does that mean to you?
It’s a real honor, and a sign of how much organic excitement there is for a product like this to exist. That said, I’m less motivated by the awards, and more by the responses of individuals who try our products. This is the only job I’ve had where our customers will sometimes start tearing up, being so overwhelmed by doing something they never thought they’d do again.
Can you describe what these products look like and how people use them?
Our initial goal was to create a product that people would love using every day. We spent a year interviewing people about the details that were important to them regarding mobility aids. Often, people emphasized the importance of having something "hands-free," so they could still carry groceries or play with their kids, and something that actively assists the movements they struggle with (versus a sensing-only or passive product).
This feedback led us toward on-body solutions that addressed mobility issues while also focusing on comfort, ease of use, wearability, and even style. We started thinking of these products like clothing – they should be comfortable, breathable, and something you could wear all day. Our first product, MO/GO, focused on helping people with inclined stairs and knee pain. Based on our research, we found that these were the types of movements people often struggled with. We ultimately created a pair of pants with an integrated support system and a motor/battery that provides about 40% of a healthy person’s biological forces, which is often enough for someone who is starting to lose capability to return to their favorite activities.
This is our first product, but we already have others in development, and we imagine a world where Skip provides a platform or operating system to enable us to eventually assist the huge variety of movement challenges that people have.
Given your background in both theoretical physics and your experience at McKinsey, how do you integrate your scientific knowledge and expertise into what you are doing now?
My career has been a blast, and I am extremely happy with where I have ended up. However, it was much more random and unplanned than most people would expect. When I was young, I would get really wrapped up in needing a long-term career plan. But I didn’t pick physics as a major with a grand vision in mind; I picked it because I enjoyed it.
Our work as Skip is incredibly interdisciplinary. We have robotics, AI, soft-goods, mechanical, and electrical engineering. Having a background in mathematics and physics means I can be a generalist; I understand and follow most engineering topics, even if it’s not my specialty. McKinsey also helped develop some of the variety of skills I now use as a founder: financial and business literacy to raise money, communication of the product, and navigation of the healthcare system and grants. I think it’s a valuable part of what’s allowed me to lead a high-tech company and handle both business and technical aspects.
You worked on a diabetes care project while you were at McKinsey. What valuable insights did you gain from that and how have they shaped your current work?
The project was my first introduction to healthcare systems, and I learnt to consider not only the technical aspects of managing care but also the human side. I learnt about how to gently encourage people to adopt healthier habits. This insight significantly influenced the development of Skip, aiming to make systems easier for people to navigate.
Our competition isn’t the next best exoskeleton; our competition is the person who decides to stay at home and watch television instead of using our product. At the end of the day, we are focused on making things easier for our clients and delivering tangible results. It doesn’t matter what the inputs are if you can't improve the outcomes.
Finally, I learnt that I really enjoyed working in healthcare and having a mission to help people live healthier and more active lives.
What is your biggest goal for Skip?
I would love to contribute to decreasing the number of falls people experience by half, as this is a significant cause of mortality, especially among the elderly population. Ten years from now, I believe we will be saving lives through preventing falls. For instance, transitioning from a hardwood surface to carpet often causes people to trip. These kinds of falls are highly preventable with the products we are developing.
The larger goal for the one in four adults struggling with limited mobility is to help them be more active. Whether that means doubling the number of steps they take, allowing them to live at home longer, staying out of a wheelchair, or avoiding a nursing home, our aim is to enhance their quality of life.
To wrap up our interview on a lighter note, is there a particular book, film, or piece of art that has been on your mind lately? Could you share what it is and why it has captured your attention?
Oh, this is a great question, and I have a variety of answers. I read a lot of books for work, and there are many excellent reads on longevity that help people understand, or at least think about, living healthier lives. “Outlive,” by Peter Attia, in particular has inspired many of my friends to improve their diet and exercise habits! I also have a soft spot in my heart for sci-fi novels which help us imagine a totally different world; “Ancillary Justice,” by Ann Leckie, is a favorite.
I watched a film on a plane last week called “The Duke,” about an older British man who steals a painting. I love films that showcase a lead who isn't expected to have much agency but ultimately demonstrates their true capability. It reminds me of the work I am trying to do.
