{"id":5672,"date":"2026-06-27T19:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T19:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5672"},"modified":"2026-06-27T19:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T19:06:15","slug":"former-usf-beach-volleyball-player-fights-drink-spiking-with-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5672","title":{"rendered":"Former USF beach volleyball player fights drink spiking with startup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TAMPA \u2014 For young adults, a night on the town requires a rulebook.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t leave your drink unattended. Cover your glass. Watch every pour. Trust your gut \u2014 and hope it\u2019s right.<\/p>\n

Read more Cape Verde\u2019s dream run continues, becoming smallest country into World Cup knockout round<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Alcohol.org, 56% of women report having unknowingly consumed a drink or food that was spiked with a mind-altering drug. A joint study by LADbible and Stamp Out Spiking found that 70% of young adults have experienced or witnessed drink spiking firsthand.<\/p>\n

A USF graduate student is joining forces with an old Division I beach volleyball teammate to help zero the stats.<\/p>\n

Addison Bounds, 22, and Kiara Robichaud, 25, played together at Cal Poly and are the co-founders of Elora. Bounds is from Jupiter in South Florida and played at the Benjamin School in north Palm Beach County.<\/p>\n

Their startup is developing a chemical sensor embedded in jewelry that can discreetly detect date rape drugs in drinks.<\/p>\n

Using a straw or finger, the consumer transfers a drop of their beverage onto the jewelry\u2019s detection zone. Within seconds, an alert is sent to their phone indicating whether the drink is safe. If it isn\u2019t, their live location will be sent to the users\u2019 designated network of contacts.<\/p>\n

Since Elora\u2019s start in September 2024, the pair is still in the thick of development. Over the past year, Bounds has been in Tampa, playing in USF\u2019s inaugural beach volleyball season while pursuing her MBA. Robichaud has stayed in California, completing her master\u2019s degree in biomedical engineering.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Despite the distance, they say their friendship drives the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did get a lot of concerns from our advisers, both of us being so far apart from each other,\u201d Robichaud said. \u201cBut it really helps that Addie and I have grown so close as friends in the years prior to even starting this business.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two remain in constant contact \u2014 even across a three-hour time difference \u2014 blending bonding and business into the same phone calls. It\u2019s no different from the early days of their friendship. Robichaud had agreed to tutor Bounds, then a sophomore, in math. More often than not, conversations drifted away from the numbers.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Bounds, now a USF graduate student and Elora\u2019s CEO, first pitched the startup. After hearing friends\u2019 experiences and recognizing her own lingering fear, Bounds began envisioning a prevention product with herself \u2014 and women like her \u2014 in mind.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cKiara and I are living the experience that we are trying to prevent,\u201d Bounds said. \u201c(Elora) is also, selfishly, for myself, my friends, my future kids. I want them to feel comfortable and empowered using a product that keeps them safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robichaud leads the technical development of Elora\u2019s detection sensor. Bounds draws on her entrepreneurial mindset to steer fundraising and investor relations. For the team, student-athlete-entrepreneur all fall into the same breath.<\/p>\n

When the USF beach volleyball team traveled to North Carolina for a match, Bounds\u2019 day stretched from the sandy courts to a hotel conference room. While her teammates got ready for bed, she filmed her application for the Hult Prize competition \u2014 a global contest that draws more than 18,000 startups from more than 130 countries. Bounds announced in June that Elora made it to the top 90 and entered the Digital Incubator phase.<\/p>\n

Elora has secured $65,000 through grants and competitions, Bounds said. The company has raised a total of $125,000 in its pre-seed round.<\/p>\n

Read more Former UCF guards Riley Kugel, Themus Fulks sign with L.A. Clippers<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFor collegiate athletics, there is no quit option. It teaches you insane mental toughness,\u201d Bounds said. \u201cThere is no amount of defeat that is going to outweigh the conviction that we have around this issue. I think that\u2019s the superpower for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just the difficulty and commitment that we had to make as D-I athletes really prepared us to make a similar commitment and endure those storms that you face as an entrepreneur,\u201d Robichaud said.<\/p>\n

Elora is in what Bounds describes as \u201cPhase Zero,\u201d focusing on lab testing. The technology has detected diphenhydramine \u2014 the active ingredient in Benadryl \u2014 in spirits and soda water with 100% accuracy. Now, they\u2019re expanding to benzodiazepines, one of the most common classes of date rape drugs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re developing an entirely innovative, commercial use of this technology,\u201d Bounds said. \u201cThat comes with so many roadblocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the work centers on miniaturizing the detection zone. For the co-founders, integrating the technology into wearable jewelry is essential. They have seen other products on the market \u2014 like test strips and cup covers \u2014 go unused in real-world settings. They hope the aesthetics of their design will empower women with a safety tool that feels natural, not restrictive.<\/p>\n

Elora is targeting an early winter 2028 launch. Buyers can expect two pilot products: a bracelet and a pendant. The company\u2019s website lists the bracelet to retail for $220.<\/p>\n

As the vision moves toward commercialization, the co-founders emphasize that profitability comes second to purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, our primary concern is keeping these women safe through a prevention product, because that\u2019s what we can deliver,\u201d Bounds said.<\/p>\n

\u201dBut (what) we really want to develop is the primary prevention environment and a foundation that actually stops drinks spiking from happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Bounds, that means challenging a long-accepted belief: that avoiding drink spiking is the responsibility of the person holding the glass. She envisions Elora as the company that can shift that mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entire purpose of what we\u2019re doing is not to just create another tool for young women,\u201d Bounds said, \u201cbut to stop the issue in and of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

And if that happens, she says, the company will have done its job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would be head over heels with joy if we went out of business because people stopped spiking drinks. That would be a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Check the $6M Windermere digs for Orlando\u2019s newest soccer star<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Addison Bounds of Jupiter played beach volleyball for USF. 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