IBEX Takes the Top Launchpad Prize as S-RAD Moves Toward a Commercial Prototype
Founder Michael Bishop is turning experience from catastrophe roof inspections into a wearable steep-roof platform intended to improve footing, stability and field efficiency.
The Win
IBEX emerged as the winner of the summer 2026 THE LAUNCHPAD competition after presenting alongside IronRose Legacy Group and Northshore Bath Co. at the North Star Theatre and Cultural Center in Mandeville. Bishop received the event’s $3,000 top grant, while the two other finalists each received $1,000.
The competition was presented by OnPath Foundation and organized through STartUP Northshore, the entrepreneurial development initiative managed by St. Tammany Economic Development Corporation. Judges evaluated the finalists across concept clarity, business-model strength, market understanding, traction, execution capability and potential regional impact.
The award is modest compared with a conventional hardware funding round, but it is directed toward a very specific stage of IBEX’s development. The company is still refining an early prototype, and the grant is expected to support continued product development as S-RAD advances toward broader testing and eventual commercialization.
The Field Experience Behind S-RAD
The concept originated during Bishop’s work as an insurance claims adjuster after Hurricane Ida. The 2021 storm generated a large volume of residential and commercial property claims across Southeast Louisiana, placing adjusters on roofs with widely varying slopes, materials, damage patterns and access conditions.
Bishop has said that he climbed roofs of many different configurations while documenting storm damage and witnessed a colleague slip and fall from a two-story roof. That experience became the starting point for a device designed around the worker’s contact with the roof rather than a permanent modification to the structure.
Public descriptions characterize S-RAD as a wearable platform fitted over a user’s footwear. Its intended function is to create a more stable and level stance while the user is positioned on an inclined roof. Roofing contractors and insurance adjusters are the two customer groups identified most directly in the company’s early presentations.
That distinction could shape the eventual product category. S-RAD is not publicly described as an anchor, harness, lifeline or fall-arrest system. It is being presented as a footing and work-positioning aid that may be used alongside a complete fall protection program.
A High-Risk Customer Base
Federal workplace data place roofing among the country’s most hazardous occupations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 104 fatal work injuries among roofers during 2024, with a fatal injury rate of 48.7 per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers. That rate was substantially above the overall rate for construction and extraction occupations.
A separate industry-level dataset recorded 120 fatal occupational injuries among roofing contractors in 2024. Falls, slips and trips accounted for 96 of those fatalities. Industry and occupation datasets measure different worker populations, so the figures should be read separately rather than added together.
Fatal occupational injuries recorded for the roofer occupation in 2024.
Fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time-equivalent roofers during 2024.
Total fatal injuries recorded across the roofing-contractor industry.
Fatal roofing-contractor incidents assigned to this event category.
These numbers do not prove that a particular device would prevent a specific incident. They do establish the severity of the environment IBEX is entering and the level of evidence that contractors, insurers and safety managers are likely to require before adopting new wearable equipment.
The Safety-System Boundary
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration defines a steep roof as one with a slope greater than four inches of vertical rise for every 12 inches of horizontal run. On steep roofs with unprotected sides or edges six feet or more above a lower level, employees must be protected through guardrails with toeboards, safety nets or personal fall-arrest systems.
This boundary will be important during product development and marketing. Any future instructions, demonstrations and sales material will need to clearly explain the device’s intended function, its limitations and the fall-protection equipment that must remain in use.
Compatibility testing may also become a meaningful purchasing issue. Contractors will want to know whether S-RAD affects worker movement, ladder transitions, harness positioning, rope-grab operation, emergency recovery or the ability to move safely around valleys, hips, ridges and penetrations.
The Development Timeline
Post-Hurricane Ida claim inspections
Bishop works as a catastrophe claims adjuster and encounters repeated steep-roof access and footing challenges.
IDEAinstitute Northshore
IBEX participates in the 12-week early-stage accelerator produced with The Idea Village.
New Orleans pitch presentation
Bishop publicly presents the wearable concept and reports that he has personally tested it, while broader user testing remains ahead.
THE LAUNCHPAD finals
IBEX presents before a live audience and judges at the North Star Theatre and Cultural Center.
Prototype refinement
The company begins its next development phase with a $3,000 grant and increased visibility in Louisiana’s startup network.
From Prototype to Jobsite Product
IBEX has passed an important presentation and concept-validation milestone, but physical safety equipment faces a longer development path than many software products. A credible commercial version will need to perform consistently across users, roof pitches, roof coverings and field conditions.
Establish supported roof pitches, user weights, footwear sizes, orientations and permitted work movements.
Evaluate asphalt shingles, architectural shingles, tile, metal and other surfaces without damaging the roof covering.
Measure performance under heat, moisture, dust, granule loss, loose debris and changing surface temperatures.
Develop repeatable evidence covering static loads, repeated cycles, attachment strength, wear and component failure modes.
Place prototypes with trained roofers and adjusters while recording setup time, mobility, comfort, inspection speed and user feedback.
Finalize manufacturing, quality control, instructions, training, inspection procedures, replacement criteria, pricing and insurance.
Potential Customer Channels
Roofing contractors and insurance adjusters form the clearest initial customer groups because they have been identified in IBEX’s public product description. Other elevated-work professions could eventually be evaluated, although no broader commercial rollout has been announced.
The Northshore Startup Pipeline
THE LAUNCHPAD is structured for companies that are still early in development. Entrants must be located in St. Tammany, Tangipahoa or Washington Parish, have received less than $50,000 in investment and generated less than $250,000 in revenue. The program also requires a viable business model, an active connection to the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and a management team capable of executing the concept.
IBEX, IronRose Legacy Group and Northshore Bath Co. all participated in the Spring 2026 IDEAinstitute Northshore cohort before reaching the competition. That sequence gave the founders structured business-model work, presentation coaching, mentorship and another opportunity to place their companies before potential partners.
For IBEX, the immediate result is not a finished product launch. It is a larger platform from which the company can recruit technical advisers, testing partners, manufacturing contacts and early pilot customers.
The Next Reporting Milestones
The next meaningful IBEX updates will likely involve evidence rather than another pitch result. Product weight, supported roof pitches, surface compatibility, independent testing, patent strategy, pilot customers, manufacturing method and pricing will determine whether S-RAD can move from a compelling founder story into repeatable field equipment.
Current assessment
IBEX has a defined customer problem, firsthand founder experience, an early prototype and two recent public pitch appearances. The company has not yet released the technical specifications, third-party test results, manufacturing arrangements or pricing that contractors and insurers would need for a purchasing decision.
The Launchpad award gives Bishop additional resources to begin closing that gap while keeping development rooted in Slidell and the Northshore startup ecosystem.
