The graduating class of the 2014 LaunchHouse Accelerator includes 10 startup teams; and one more from the NASA Glenn Research Center.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- There's nothing resembling showcase night at the NASA Glenn Research Center, where Matthew Moran manages the energy and materials sector.
The veteran engineer strolled the LaunchHouse Accelerator Expo on Wednesday night with an explorer's zeal.
"We come from a formal, structured environment," he said, standing outside of a room where a young entrepreneur was pitching his company to business enthusiasts. Nearby, venture capitalists sipped free beer and mixed with inventors and college students. "They've kind of exposed us to a different crowd."
Moran attended the Expo not as an observer but as a graduate of the LaunchHouse Accelerator. A NASA team joined the 16-week business boot camp to learn entrepreneurial skills and to share NASA expertise with a new audience.
It marked the first time the space agency had teamed with a startup accelerator. The results emerged both subtle and striking on graduation night, when 10 teams pitched their new companies and presented their products and services.
In a former service garage, NASA scientists staffed a booth that exhibited a water purification system designed for Star Trek-like missions. After four months at LaunchHouse, they sounded ready to pivot.
"Initially, we focused on space and missions that go farther and farther," Moran said. "For different reasons, there's an equivalent need here on Earth."
Remote parts of the planet could maybe benefit from a purification system that leverages emerging plasma technologies, Moran said. LaunchHouse connected him with some water treatment companies in the area, he added.
Nearby, Felipe Gomez del Campo, a Case Western Reserve University engineering student, displayed a fuel nozzle he designed to bring new power to jet engines. His NASA classmates are arranging for him to use their testing facilities, he said.
They also introduced him to their friends at Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.
"Some great contacts with some major engine manufacturers," he said.
Across the exhibit hall, the Phazon team displayed one of the quieter impacts of a business accelerator -- its ability to attract talent.
Thomas Hayes and his fellow engineers arrived from Montreal to launch Phazon, a maker of wireless ear buds. NASA helped them with testing the antenna at various frequencies.
Hayes has also discovered local companies, such as SmartShape, that can help with design challenges.
He's feeling at home.
"The seed has been planted here," Hayes said. "I'm going to stay. Your tourism people need to get the word out. Cleveland is a cool city. I'm having a blast."
