Clear Path is on a mission to assist cut back meals waste and gasoline starvation aid efforts with provide chain expertise that gives visibility for perishable merchandise.
The Seattle firm makes use of Intel expertise and IoT sensors to ship real-time information on situations akin to temperature, humidity, and placement. Its predictive software program assigns a freshness rating and estimates when meals is in peril of going dangerous throughout transit.
The concept is to alert provide chain companions of failures and allow intervention. Clear Path fees a price for every cargo of meals tracked.
“Consider it as journey insurance coverage you would possibly purchase whenever you buy a airplane ticket on-line,” mentioned CEO Eric Weaver. “For an additional quantity, you will get a lot extra information than you ever had earlier than. Is it being saved cold-chain compliant just like the truck driver or warehouse swears it’s?”
Clear Path is one in every of a number of Seattle startups aiming to cut back meals waste. Others embrace Strella Biotechnology, Shelf Engine, and iFoodDS.
Weaver beforehand labored at Xerox Company as vice chairman of buyer expertise observe. In 2018, he created Clear Path as an LLC earlier than incorporating it as a social goal company two years later.
One of many firm’s clients is Feeding the Northwest, a meals distributor contributing to starvation aid efforts. In keeping with Weaver, Clear Path has saved a number of a great deal of meals from spoilage which has allowed the nonprofit to offer over 100,000 meals.
The corporate focuses on perishables with a meals security part, although Weaver mentioned perishables embrace merchandise in a number of sectors, akin to blood or plasma shipments, vaccines, and corneas.
Clear Path has raised about $700,000 by way of bootstrapping, crowdfunding, and angel funding. Enterprise funding for provide chain startups boomed in the course of the pandemic, however the surge seems to be slowing as of late amid the broader tech downturn.
The corporate has 5 staff and 4 advisors. The crew contains:
- CTO Sunil Koduri, who spent practically 20 years as a supervisor at Microsoft.
- COO Mark Kammerer who beforehand held government roles at Holland America Line.
- Director of Expertise Paulé Wooden, beforehand a senior designer at Amazon.
We caught up with Weaver for this Startup Highlight. Solutions have been edited for brevity and readability.
How we’re completely different from our rivals: We compete with corporations like Sensitech, Deltatrak and Roambee. Most of those companies concentrate on the sensors: the best way to make them cheaper, higher, and many others. Our focus is on the worth of the sensor information. We designed our software program in the course of the pandemic to handle pandemic-related points. We’re additionally working with Duke College and the College of Washington on creating biodegradable sensors that may be disposed of with out worries of environmental contamination.
The neatest transfer we’ve made: The crew I’ve put collectively. Truthfully, it’s a formidable group of sort individuals who wish to give again. I couldn’t ask for anybody higher.
The largest mistake we’ve made: As an entrepreneur, it’s important to discover and win buyers, construct a crew, construct a product, after which get it into the market. For a lot of tech buyers, it’s best and most snug to concentrate on the product. I spent quite a lot of time on that, and whereas I’m pleased with it, I ought to have been way more aggressive on the gross sales entrance — even when the product wasn’t as full-featured as it’s now. I’m now absolutely centered on gross sales, one thing that’s not in my consolation zone.
The best problem we’ve confronted: The pandemic. All the world spent 2020 making an attempt to determine what to do. All of our provide chains have been disrupted in 2021 and 2022. The summer time of 2022, everybody on this planet, it appeared, went on an extended overdue vacation. Usually talking, so many individuals have mentioned they’ve been exhausted, overwhelmed, and frightened — making an attempt to juggle all of those systemic disruptions. The final particular person they wish to hear from is a man like me making an attempt to persuade them to attempt new tech — even when it’ll be an enormous assist. Now that we’re getting into 2023, I’m hoping individuals will really feel extra agile, extra resilient, and extra decisive in addressing what we’re all feeling and going via, significantly in provide chains.