Klymit Business Description
Klymit is a small metal canister you’ll attached to or inside of jackets, coats and very soon, other products, like boots and shoes. The small canister contains a special composition of Argon, Krypton and Xenon, three of the six Noble Gases found in section 18 of the Periodic Table of the Elements. This tri-gas composition was invented by BYU student Nate Alder and forms a lighter, more compactable insulation than traditional fabric insulation. This type of insulation helps keeps skiers, hikers, bikers and other outdoorsmen warmer for longer periods of time with less layers because it evenly distributes heat over a long period of time. The gas combination is also 100% safe for the environment, is non-toxic and odorless. The small, nearly baby carrot-sized canisters hook to special valve on the outerwear and can last for several months, or at least an entire ski season.
Industry and Market
Klymit offers insulation without the bulk and without the major cost to consumers and to manufacturers. The consumers for Klymit are sports enthusiasts looking for a competitive edge when they’re out in the elements on a cold day. But Klymit’s buying customers are the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Klymit mainly functions as a business-2-business company and is talking with some of the biggest brands in the world. Klymit is not limited to the slopes of Utah Valley and businesses in the United States. Alder and his group have been to Europe and are hoping to strike a deal with several major world brands to start production soon.
Target niche markets: Klymit is most useful to companies and groups that need comfort and agility in extremely cold weather and can’t afford to pull on and strip off several layers of clothing throughout the course of a day. Klymit has a unique canister and matching valve that will only fit each other, giving the small business a competitive monopoly over any competition for the canisters and gas-technology.
Business Challenge/Objective
Alder faced two major challenges getting Klymit off the ground. He had never taken a chemistry class in his life and he needed funding. Alder was able to overcome the initial battle of creation with the help of friends and mentors, however, the financial struggle nearly took down the company—although Klymit is now near happier endings. “Our cut-off was at the end of April [2008],” Alder said. “If we hadn’t found Funding Universe, it would have been a different story.”
FundingUniverse Strategy
Alder learned about FundingUniverse from Alan Hall, whom he met while working a summer job as venture analyst with the state in Ogden. Although the team was scared by the initial expense to do the speed pitching event, Alder knew he had to do it. “We had submitted to 12 investment groups and gotten no response.”
Results
According to Alder, funding received from the investors he and the Klymit team met at the FundingUniverse speed pitching event in October 2007 at the Davis Tech Center changed the outcome of the Klymit story. Alder said that without the funding Klymit “probably would have been shut down.”
At the speed pitching event, the Klymit team met three investors who later pulled the trigger and pushed the fledgling company off the ground. “We were able to meet the right investors and the right partners.”
Klymit Update
Since the speed pitching event, Alder and the Klymit team have been to Europe to show off their invention and are now ready to go into the second stage of gathering investments. “We were desperate before but now we can choose which investors we want to add in the second round—ones that can bring more than money to the table.” Alder said the team can take the investors they like to the original investors and they get to make the decisions.