GRIT

GRIT is an engineer-founded mobility device company whose flagship product is the GRIT Freedom Chair, a manual all-terrain wheelchair designed by MIT mechanical engineers. The chair uses lever-driven propulsion and rugged mountain-bike wheels to let riders travel over rocky trails, sand, grass and snow that standard wheelchairs cannot handle, while also serving as a form of daily upper-body exercise. It disassembles in under a minute to fit in a car trunk and can be checked as a wheelchair on flights at no extra charge; GRIT supports riders through airline damage-claim processes and supplies replacement parts and repairs, invoicing the airline or its third-party repair contractor.

The product line spans several chair models — the Freedom Chair 3.0, Spartan and Pro, plus the GRIT Junior for children — alongside accessories such as utility clamps, trail handles, steering pegs, side guards, slim-fit lever couplings, wedge cushions and a trunk support band. The company positions itself as a design and customer-experience organization rather than a conventional wheelchair manufacturer, emphasizing user-centered design developed in partnership with riders, whose feedback informs product iteration.

Founding story

The founders' work began at MIT, where they became interested in applying engineering skills to social impact. GRIT launched after years of user-centered design, prototyping and testing, and the product line was expanded with additional models and accessories soon after the Freedom Chair's introduction. Tish and Ben are identified as GRIT co-founders.

Business model

GRIT develops and sells mobility hardware directly to consumers through its own online store, offering chairs at list prices and a range of paid add-on accessories and replacement parts. Customer-facing commitments include the "GRIT Guarantee" home trial, direct customer service, and a two-year product warranty; the company also invoices airlines or their repair contractors for parts and repairs when chairs are damaged in transit.

Revenue comes from sales of wheelchairs (GRIT Freedom Chair 3.0, Spartan, Pro and GRIT Junior, priced from $2,995 to $4,995) and accessories and parts priced from roughly $49 to $399, sold via the company's e-commerce site.

Traction

The company states that thousands of riders around the world use GRIT Freedom Chairs, and publishes rider testimonials and case-study references, including from Sinclair & Rush and GripWorks.