The following was provided while participating in the 2023 Destination Startup® Showcase.
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What We Do
Curable Composites is a company that produces revolutionary materials at the cutting edge of the composites industry, from 3D printing carbon fiber in mid-air to new breakthroughs in foam manufacturing, all possible by applying over a decade of research conducted by professor Mostafa Yourdkhani, PhD.
Affiliated Institution: Colorado State University
Have we formed a company? Yes
Funding: Grant Funding, Direct/Indirect University Support, Other
Our Company and the Problem We Are Trying To Solve
Composites are important to many types of manufacturing; unfortunately, composite parts are expensive and time-intensive to procure, manufacture and modify. For parts that require strength and heat tolerance, carbon fiber composites are a widely-used solution, but are made using expensive tooling or molds. In addition to tooling and molds, autoclaves are used to cure the carbon fiber composite parts, which can be cumbersome and expensive. Batches of parts can take months to build, hours to cure, can cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and can only produce specific sized products. Currently, competitors that can print continuous fiber parts use a resin that is either significantly less heat tolerant and not strong enough to meet industry needs (utilized just for R&D) or they use a resin and process that still requires autoclave curing. Curable is the only technology that can produce both the required strength and do so in the time it takes to print the product. The technology developed by Curable Composites not only manufactures parts with continuous fibers, but it also has over 50% carbon fiber by volume and can be cured instantly without the need for UV light - which is unique to the industry today. This will save time and money while also producing a stronger product. The technology has been developed and tested and we are currently identifying proof-of-concept partners for our first customer-requested parts. The technology has three patents pending.
Our Go-to-Market Strategy
Target markets include the composite industry, which is a 96-billion-dollar industry. The market segment which will serve as Curable's beachhead market is molds and parts for aerospace, wind power, and medical. This makes up about 8% of the composites industry which still amounts to roughly an 8 Billion dollar industry. 80% of the cost to manufacture a carbon fiber composite part stem from the mold. Curable Composites has a solution that provides a mold more quickly and at a lower cost, or can simply 3-D print the parts, removing the mold altogether. Three-phase go-to-market plan: Year 1: Print molds for aerospace, wind power, and medical industries. Year 2: Make parts - as we obtain required certifications for these industries, we can provide printed parts without the need for a mold. Year 3: Rent manufacturing lines as manufacturing needs grow with our customers, we can provide the system directly for dedicated manufacturing.
How We Will Generate Revenue
Revenue will be generated by contracting and selling molds, parts and lines, with estimated revenue ranges per unit, below. Year 1: Print molds - at a cost of $20k - $200k per mold. Year 2: Make parts - at a cost of $5k-20k per part. Year 3: Rent manufacturing lines - at a cost of $50k-$100k per month
How We Will Benefit From Destination Startup®
This showcase will display Curable Composites to industry leaders which may fall within the segments that we are targeting. It will also present the technology to other industries which have an interest in Curable Composites technology and the potential to reduce cost, time and labor spent in the manufacturing process. Curable will be actively raising a seed round in 2023.
Our Team
Currently, Curable Composites is composed of Dr. Mostafa Yourdkhani and his research team. Beyond this, CSU STRATA, formerly known as the CSU Research Foundation, has been utilizing their resources to aid the company with licensing, marketing, production and ultimately product distribution through the Lab to Life program. CSU Strata has put together a team of experienced entrepreneurs and top business school students to aid in the business logistical aspects of the company. The research team is composed of: Mostafa Yourdkhani - PHD. with over a decade of research experience in composites and materials. The Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) team is composed of: Jim Poss - Serial Entrepreneur and managing director of Venture Creation; Sidnee Peck - Experienced C-Level Entrepreneur with over $100M in capital raised; Tom Teynor - Serial Entrepreneur and logistics expert with multiple exits. The Entrepreneur in Training (EIT) team is composed of: Kyndle Lee - Project Manager and point of contact for Curable Composites. Focus on materials, customer discovery, research and data. Has experience in the DoD-Airforce. Ali Hamid - Organizer and facilitator with a focus on grants and regular operations with a background in operations management. Nick Chastain - Focused on economics, sales, and customer discovery. Nolan Dulich - Focus on outbound sales, customer discovery and research. Jamie Ittershagen - Marketing specialist with a background corporate social media.