When you socialize regularly in college, you tend to develop
deep and lasting relationships. Even if some of the connections are
shorter-term, they can support you in different ways. For example, maybe a
college friend in your major is interested in starting a business with you.
According to American Addictions Centers, around 50 percent
of women and men surveyed have had their drinks or food spiked at least once.
This is a major issue facing Americans. It is also not an act that always
involves street drugs being discreetly slipped into a victim’s drink. Most
often, alcohol is used to facilitate the crime of drug-assisted sexual assault.
What also complicates spiking may be a lack of confidence in reporting the
issue or even recognizing the symptoms.
Shirah Benarde is the CEO and Co-Founder at NightCap, an
innovative company addressing drink spiking prevention. NightCap was invented
by Shirah Benarde from West Palm Beach, Florida when she was 16 years old. The
idea came to her in a dream after hearing about the horrors of drink spiking
from friends who experienced it after going off to college. Fortunately, her
friends were okay, but Shirah was determined to come up with a pragmatic
solution to this problem that could protect her and her friends when they went
off to college.
Shirah, a 21-year-old Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and
co-founder of NightCap, transformed a personal tragedy into a mission to
safeguard nightlife after a friend fell victim to drink spiking. At just 17,
she appeared on Shark Tank, securing one of the fastest deals in the show's
history. NightCap has since sold over 500,000 units across 40+ countries and
partnered with over 170 major universities.
She also wanted to make sure that the product would be
something that girls would feel comfortable using. The next morning, she went
to her mother’s closet, grabbed a pair of pantyhose, cut them up, and attached
them to a scrunchie to create the first prototype.
For more information: https://nightcapit.com/
Follow: @nightcapit
