A Safer Wall Outlet

Chirag Goel ’21 remembers the day in fifth grade when a classmate jammed a pair of scissors into an electrical outlet. Fortunately, the student was OK, but Goel never forgot the incident.  

In the U.S., roughly 2,400 children — nearly seven a day — are injured by electric shocks from wall outlets each year, and on average, six to 12 die because of those injuries. Tripping over electrical cords is another hazard that not only contributes to morbidity and mortality but also comes at a significant cost for older adults.     

Goel’s team at Tego, a venture-backed company, aims to eliminate these risks. They created a magnetic wall outlet that can help prevent electric shock injuries and tripping hazards while enabling accessible use.      

With support from The Garage, Northwestern’s student entrepreneurship hub, Goel started Tego in 2021 before graduating with a degree in neuroscience and data science. Goel, who was named to Chicago Inno’s Under 25 list in 2024, is now a founder in residence at The Garage and a venture capital investor. Keith Weissman ’25 MD, an incoming resident physician in emergency medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern, is Tego’s chief operating officer.      

Tego’s patent-pending product is undergoing safety testing at UL Solutions, and Goel expects it to hit the market this year, “with the ultimate goal of having Tego devices in the hands of every parent and grandparent alike.” 

Thus far, Tego’s operations have been financed by prominent and strategic angel investors, including executives in health care, finance and electrical distribution, as well as hard-tech engineers, growth-stage founders and practicing physicians. The Tego team even closed investments from their prototyping product development firm and successful Shark Tank alums.    

A POWERFUL CONCEPT 

The Tego safety outlet cover fits over a standard wall outlet. “The device does not transmit electricity on its own,” Goel says, “so a child could touch, poke or even lick it if they wanted to, and they wouldn’t get shocked.” Power only flows through the safety outlet when a user plugs an electrical cord into a Tego adapter and magnetically connects the adapter to the outlet plate.      

MAGNETIC SAFETY LOCK 

Inside the safety outlet cover, a spring-loaded guard closes the connector holes when the device is not in use. A rotating disc covers the holes until the magnetic Tego adapter is brought close enough to shift the disc into the open position, connecting the metal contacts. As soon as the magnetic adapter is removed, the spring-loaded guard closes the device again, preventing the flow of electricity. 

CONVENIENT AND ACCESSIBLE DESIGN 

Not only does Tego greatly reduce the risk of electric shock for children, but it also makes outlets more accessible, especially for people with functional limitations, such as mobility, visual or dexterity impairments. Rather than needing to precisely fit a plug into a standard outlet, a user can hold the Tego adapter close to the safety outlet, and the magnetic pull will connect it. “It can be very difficult for some people to plug and unplug items,” Goel says. “Someone with a visual impairment may not be able to easily locate a wall outlet. How convenient would it be for them to have a Tego adapter that they can snap onto a magnetic plate that’s nearby?” Tego’s design also reduces tripping hazards via its magnetic breakaway feature.