‘Imagine a better way forward’: Olivia Cramer, athlete and adaptive sports innovator

Flexing your entrepreneurship/innovation muscles

In spring 2026, I joined a class called Entrepreneurial Product Engineering with Teaching Professor Dave Sly, where students are challenged to design a product within one semester. Professor Sly’s encouragement and enthusiasm create an environment where students feel empowered to take risks and develop real ideas. Through the class, I developed an idea called RUGGD and pitched it at the College of Engineering pitch competition. My team won first place in the new idea category and advanced to the university-wide competition, where we placed second.

This entire experience has pushed me to think creatively, communicate ideas clearly, and allowed me to turn a personal problem into a potential solution for others. It was the first time I realized that innovation can start with something as small as students who see a problem in their own lives and decide to solve it.

Do you have a startup or business?

I am currently developing a startup called RUGGD. The idea came from my experience growing up with proximal femoral focal deficiency and using a prosthetic leg. I’ve always loved being active and competing in sports, and today I am pursuing sitting volleyball and beach paravolley with Team USA. However, many prosthetic users face limitations when it comes to outdoor activity because equipment isn’t designed for rugged environments.

RUGGD is a prosthetic shield designed to protect prosthetic components and allow amputees to move more confidently through activities like hiking, training, and exploring outdoors. Beyond the product itself, I envision RUGGD growing into a community that encourages amputees to stay active by hosting hikes, outdoor events, and opportunities for people with similar disabilities to connect and experience life and movement together.

Value of Iowa State’s innovation/entrepreneurial resources

Iowa State’s entrepreneurial resources have been incredibly accessible and empowering as someone beginning to explore entrepreneurship.

One of the most meaningful parts of this experience has been being approached by able bodied peers who see value in my idea and want to support it. Seeing people who do not live with disability still believe in the mission and want to be allies to the disabled community has meant a great deal to me.

The pitch competitions gave me the opportunity to present my idea publicly, receive constructive feedback, and learn how to clearly communicate the value of a product. They also connected me with other students building ideas of their own, showing me how much innovation is happening across campus. Through mentorship and feedback, I’ve learned how to develop, refine, and strengthen an idea. I also have a pool of funding that will now help me make RUGGD real and obtainable.

Taking this mindset into your career

Although entrepreneurship is a new path for me, the mindset behind it — problem solving, resilience, and creativity — is something I plan to carry throughout my career.

I want to continue identifying problems that affect real communities and developing solutions that improve accessibility and opportunity. Whether that means launching new products, building community-driven initiatives, or collaborating with others who share similar goals, I want my work to focus on making the world more inclusive. I’m especially interested in ideas that empower people with disabilities to live fully and participate in spaces that weren’t always designed for them. My dream is to one day extend my work to developing countries that lack access to the technology that makes disabilities easier to navigate.

Entrepreneurship has shown me that my dreams are attainable and that meaningful change often starts with someone willing to question the status quo and imagine a better way forward.

How do you hope to change the world?

I hope to change the world by helping shift how people view disability. Growing up in a small town in Michigan, I didn’t always see many examples of disabled athletes or communities that celebrated adaptive sports and active lifestyles. Because of that, I want to create opportunities that show disability does not mean limitation.

Through products like RUGGD and the community I hope to build around it, I want amputees and others with disabilities to feel empowered to explore, compete, and experience the outdoors without hesitation. My goal is not just to create a product, but to help create a culture where accessibility and activity are normal and encouraged. My community deserves to do more than just survive. We deserve to live the lives we dream of. The world is meant for everyone, and my work aims to help make it more accessible for those whose bodies simply move through it differently.

When you first saw yourself as an innovator/entrepreneur

The moment I began to think of myself as an entrepreneur was after winning my first pitch competition. Until then, I had viewed my idea as simply a personal solution to a problem I experienced. When the judges and audience responded positively and saw real potential in the concept, it shifted my perspective. I realized that something developed from my own life experience could actually help other people facing the same challenges.

Thinking about that possibility is incredibly emotional for me, because it means the struggles I’ve faced growing up with a disability could help create solutions and opportunities for others. That moment gave me the confidence to believe my ideas were worth pursuing and that I was capable of building something meaningful. It was the first time I truly saw my experiences not just as obstacles, but as the foundation for something that could help others, which, to me, is the true spirit of entrepreneurship.