At Rebound, we recently had the honor of presenting at ATMOsphere America, the largest natural refrigerant conference in the United States. This was a great opportunity to introduce ourselves to some of the biggest names in refrigeration: Danfoss, Hillpheonix, Emerson, and Zero Zone were just a few of the companies we talked to about IcePoint™. Overall, it was a great experience!

One aspect of the conference really caught our attention: the lack of young people. To illustrate this point, I want to take a slight detour. About a month ago Kevin and I were on the phone with a Director from one of the aforementioned large refrigeration companies. That company had recently visited our lab and this individual wanted to know more about what we were doing. One comment he made really stood out: “What is surprising to me is that you all are doing this and your are not even 50!” What he was getting at was not something neither Kevin nor I had given a lot of thought to, as we tend to surround ourselves with startup entrepreneurs working in other industries: Refrigeration is an industry dominated by engineers with 30+ years in the sector. 

Phase I of the National Science Foundation project wrapped up in January. Phase II is still an idea in a document, patiently awaiting the NSF’s green light. What’s a startup to do for six months without funding to build newer and better freeze point suppression cycles? Build an MVP of course. Don't know what an MVP is or wondering how on earth a physical tech company developing a brand new refrigeration system did it? Read on!