Okay sure, you realize that it's better for the environment to bring-your-own-bottle when it comes to quenching your thirst, but it's often not that easy. As much love as we've got for Mother Earth, sometimes we just don't feel like lugging around our eco-friendly agua in our bags; certainly no one wants to be the person with a Nalgene dangling dorkily from their belt loops.
Not to mention that, when in need of a refill, tap water can sometimes upset our refined sensibilities if we think too long about what's been thrown into the harbor. There are also times, like touring around town or an impromptu picnic in the Commons, when purchasing plastic just makes more sense — but still, the idea of contributing to avoidable plastic waste is cringeworthy.
This Somerville startup, however, is working hard to relieve you of that guilt. Based out of cleantech accelerator Greentown Labs, Refresh wants to collapse the plastic water bottle industry by cutting out the processes' inefficiencies and passing on 20 percent in savings to vending operators. Each water bottle vended from Refresh's kiosks is collapsible and reusable.
"We're cutting carbon emissions by over 80 percent," Refresh CEO and Co-founder Eliza Becton told BostInno. "It's a sneaky way for us to make a behavioral change without [customers] knowing they're helping change the environment."
Becton first had the idea for the now three-person company while working on her thesis at the Rhode Island School of Design on bottled water waste. After completing her degree, she headed to Boston to immerse herself in the innovation ecosystem. Attempting to learn as much as possible, she served stints in a number of area startups as a designer and marketer before branching out on her own to pursue Refresh in September 2012.
For Becton, her decision to commit to her own venture came at the perfect time. The nearby town of Concord, Mass. had just banned bottled waters from being sold in the area, and universities were pledging to push a green initiative and were installing filtered "hydration stations" on campuses around the country.
"People were asking for change," explained Becton. "It's just such a wasteful process, and people know that and they want something better."
Becton soon joined forces with fellow founder Sean Grundy, who holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a passion for sustainability that rivals Becton's own.
"Taking on the water bottle industry is a huge feat and behavioral change is really difficult," acknowledged Becton. "When [Grundy and I] met, we hit it off and we knew we wanted to work together."
Grundy has a background rich in environmentally-friendly innovation and business. Prior to Refresh, he led the development of water conservation and agricultural projects in Southwest China, as well as worked in corporate finance at a major plastics recycling company.
Soon after, Grundy brought his good friend Frank Lee, who is also a Sloan grad, onto the project. With Lee came his wealth of experience in manufacturing, business development, marketing and chemical engineering – keys areas of interest for the up-and-coming company.
While Becton had managed to secure two stellar co-founders, Refresh still stood to tackle some big challenges, one of the most imposing being how to make their project understandable to others.
"It's tough to keep perspective on your project," Betcon said. "You're so deeply entrenched in what you're working on, it's hard to step back to say, 'How will this appear to others?' But she also noted the potentially detrimental side of asking for people's opinions. "When you start to notice patterns and understand perspectives and ask their advice, it's really important to think of that component and filter out what is the good stuff and what is maybe just a random idea they have."
With Refresh's move to Greentown Labs in August, however, Becton said that the crew has been reveling in the exposure to other like-minded entrepreneurs. "It's so valuable to be next to other startups who have suffered through the same things, like how to hire contractors and the intricacies of writing a contract," gushed the female co-founder. "It's really helpful to be able to sit down with people right next door to you."
The incubator's workshop has been instrumental in the creation of Refresh's prototype water bottle delivery kiosks. Come spring 2014, the company will roll out two pilots of the second version of their kiosks in Concord. Refresh also plans on doing market research with the most basic "cardboard" version at MIT and a Somerville gym, said Becton.
"We've had a lot of funding outreach, but we're holding off," she added. As a result of winning the Cleantech Open Northeast a few weeks ago, Refresh will head out to California to compete in the Open's national competition, where the team's project is sure to garner even more attention.
Becton's piece of advice to the entrepreneur: "Drink a lot of coffee," jokes the CEO. Even a hydration company can see past the harm in developing a bad coffee habit.
