Jennifer
Lo☻ong

Portfolio under construction 🚧

Mello

I was (an still am) an anxious child, and struggled to communicate that to my parents. So I created Mello to address this common but critical caregiving problem, where most young children ages 4-10 spend over half their waking hours away from caregivers while at school, and struggle to seek support for difficult emotions like anxiety and stress through words.

Mello Mates are small friends for big feelings, designed to build emotional connection in the absence of physical presence between caregivers and children.

Note: work-in-progress, please reach out for project details

Programs
Time
Affiliation

Arduino \ Figma
2025
Roux Institute @ Northeastern University

Deliverables

1. Toy design
2. App prototype
3. Business model (not shown)

Berry the Bear (named after my own stuffed animal) responds to a child’s emotional needs when its heart is pressed through gentle rhythmic vibrations to calm breathing and comforting contractions that simulate hugs.

In providing immediate, tangible comfort when children need it the most, Mello also keeps caregivers in the loop through real-time notifications.

Mello’s mobile app allows caregivers to:

1. Customize Berry’s comfort methods
2. Set alerts for certain stress signal detections or levels
3. Plan next steps to best provide care for their child.

Through the accelerator program, I joined 30+ inspired founders in bringing ideas to life. Beyond developing Mellomates, I documented the journey through a socials takeover and received invaluable mentorship from my mentors Keri Lyle and Whitney Hess.

It’s this highly motivated community of young founders and mentors that empowered me to take the leap from concept to execution.

I couldn't have asked for a more lovely community.

Jennifer Lo☻ong

Mello

Jennifer
Lo☻ong