Issue #32: Shower Better / Hyping Hemp / Food Waste Warriors
Rainstick commercializes circular showers / Rif Care solves the waste-intensive feminine hygiene industry / GreenBytes helps restaurants save on food.
Missed our last issue with energy on the go, mining minerals in water, and regenerating roots? Check out Tespack, Olokun Minerals, and NUU Food – and request an introduction here.
Featured Companies
RainStick
RainStick is driving the future of water and energy conservation in the home. Their first product is a proprietary shower technology that saves 80% water and up to 80% energy while providing 2X the flow rate. The appliance brings in fresh grid-supplied water, except instead of going down the drain, RainStick captures, circulates and cleans the water in real-time to avoid waste. One RainStick installed means 11,400 gallons of water savings, 2,200 kWh abated, 0.6104 MT of carbon abated and $500-$800 savings to the user on an annual recurring basis. RainStick won Best of Innovation at CES 2022, and has LOI's and sales deposits equaling over $600,000 in anticipated revenues.
Co-Founder & CEO: Alisha McFetridge
HQ: Kelowna, BC, Canada
Stage: Seed
Company Ask: They are currently hiring for an Operations Manager position and welcome prospective candidates to apply.
Rif Care
Every year, 20 billion feminine hygiene products end up in a landfill in the U.S. alone. Rif Care addresses this problem by making biodegradable feminine hygiene products with hemp fiber instead of synthetics. By using hemp and only plant based materials in their products, Rif is carbon neutral by design, rather than by offsetting. They also avoid ingredients that are petrol based like polyester and super absorbent polymers (SAP), and their products support farming and agriculture practices that are restorative. They have raised $52,000 on kickstarter and are soon launching at a large retailer in Southern California.
Founder & CEO: Val Emanuel
Co-Founder & COO: Rebecca Caputo
HQ: Los Angeles, CA
Stage: Pre-Seed
Company Ask: Rif is in search of influencers to work, particularly those in the climate / activist space.
GreenBytes
GreenBytes is a cleantech startup that uses AI to combat food waste and help restaurants make better decisions about what to order. 14M tonnes of food goes to waste in the United States every year. Most of this food is thrown out before it even gets to the customer because figuring out how much food to order is non-trivial. With GreenBytes, restaurants can make better decisions about what to order using one simple AI powered tool that is an all-encompassing organization solution for restaurants with features such as distributor collection, automated stock tracking, organized menu breakdowns, and AI-Based order suggestions. GreenBytes was a finalist in the Nordic Startup Awards for Best Newcomer and was a finalist for the EU Startup Summit.
Co-Founder & CEO: Renata Bade Barajas
Co-Founder & CTO: Jillian Verbeurgt
HQ: Reykjavík, Iceland
Stage: Seed
Company Ask: GreenBytes is also interested in feedback on investment documents, discussions of term sheets, and advice on strategic decision-making. They are also looking for introductions to relevant stakeholders, for example, food distributors, POS operators, etc.
Bonus: LACI is Recruiting Across 3 Programs, IFundWomen Applications Are Open
Recruitment for LACI’s Innovators, Incubation & Market Access Programs is in action
LACI is looking for the next big cleantech startup stars. Applications for our Innovators, Incubation and Market Access Programs are now open!
The Incubation Program serves US-based startups (w/ a focus on the City of LA) developing tech solutions for Southern California. The program is structured around business development curriculum and a small-scale pilot. Contact Youri Bourgeois for more information.
The Market Access Program is open to US-based and international startups with ambition in the Los Angeles area and focuses on developing market traction through a large-scale pilot, network connections, and investments. Contact Leilani Vella for more information.
Apply to the IFundWomen Fund Forward Awards 2022
Through this program, the Grand prize winner will receive a $100,000 equity investment, and the six Business Category winners will each receive a $5K cash grant. The winners will receive one year of educational services & resources. Applications are open through June 30, 2022, and more details about the application can be found here (PDF).