Lift Your Eyes

“We want to make sure every kid is able to experience something that’s impactful...”

Armando Flores was 15 years old when the Make-A-Wish Foundation was set to take his younger sister, who was suffering from leukemia, to Disney World. 
But when her health turned for the worst, the trip was cancelled.

Flores asked himself a question: What if there was a way to bring Disney World to his sister’s hospital room?

Fifteen years have passed, and Flores, a fourth-year linguistics major, is part of a trio of Aztecs—two students and one alumnus—on the verge of making it possible.
Flores, Karina Ornelas and Nicholas Ray comprise Lift Your Eyes, a virtual-reality company whose headset can transform any room into anything the user desires—an exotic location, a scene in their favorite movie, a fun activity—and puts the user right in the center of the action.
“We are Make-A-Wish but without the risk,” Flores said. 
“We want to make sure every kid is able to experience something that’s impactful and we are able to leave them with a lasting memory of hospital experience that isn’t terrible, because studies show that these hospital stays stick with kids throughout their lives, 10, 20 years later they still remember that time in the hospital,” Flores continued. “So why not make it an enjoyable one, if only for a few moments?” 
Flores and Ornelas, a finance major, created the company in SDSU’s own entrepreneurial incubator, the Zahn Innovation Platform Launchpad. Ornelas, who was accepted to the program for her finance background, was looking for a team to join on the first day. She and Flores struck up a conversation about his concept, and  quickly partnered up.
“I just really believed in his vision, it was a great concept and I knew I wanted to work with him,” she said. 
Ray, who graduated from SDSU in 2015 joined the team in August as its marketing and sales director. He met Flores at a virtual reality art gallery in December 2018, and when Flores told him later in the year they were looking for someone with sales experience to join the team, he quickly volunteered. 
“I loved the social aspect of it,” Ray said. “I am a big fan of VR, but I think a lot of people are using it to do extremely commercial stuff or for military applications, which is fine, but I just think that the tech could be used to enhance the way we live and communicate with each other, and the experience with this particular group of people just hit me in the heart. It’s great tech and a great application.” 
This fall, Lift Your Eyes was selected to participate in the 16-week Airport Innovation Lab at San Diego International Airport, where the team has gotten to pilot their tech with a chance to secure a foothold in the airport and investors at the end of the program in December.
They recently conducted alpha testing in the airport, and last week they pitched their product to the chief operating officer of major hospital and met with a design class to help with their branding.
“It’s amazing to think how far we’ve come in so little time,” Ornelas said. “Sometimes we forget that we’ve only been doing this since the spring.”
Flores credited SDSU and the ZIP Launchpad for providing the necessary tools to incubate and grow the concept in rapid fashion.
“I feel like I’ve always known how to help others create their ideas, but I didn’t know how to execute my own,” Flores said. “But I think this is a great place to learn how to execute ideas and grow a business, and that was the piece that was missing from me.”
The ultimate goal for Lift Your Eyes, Flores said, is the hospital setting. Launching at the airport will give the team an opportunity to raise capital to finance their hospital venture.
“The vision was always that we would bring Disney World to kids in the hospital to help improve their experience, and that evolved into this experience where we’re now in the airport trying to enhance the experience for passengers to be able to generate revenue so we can create a foundation that creates that impact in the hospital,” Flores said. 
In five years, the team hopes to see its hospital dreams becoming a reality.
Ray said he sees Lift Your Eyes being in local hospitals and a few out-of-state.
“I’d really like to see us working on custom content that is not only enjoyable, but also improves recovery, by reducing stress and promoting self -fficacy and a belief that I am going to get better,” Ray said. “I don’t think we’ll be there in five years, but I would love to be involved in the research that will show that.”
“I feel always had that, knew how to help others create their ideas, but I didn’t know how to execute, but I think this is great place learned execute ideas grow business, that was the piece that was missing.”