These unique solutions to building challenges can impact society at large
At the Housing Innovation Alliance’s summit, a panel of construction and housing industry judges chose MIMiC Systems’ solid-state heat pumps as the winner of its 2024 Pitchfest. RainStick Shower, a water circulating shower, was the programs’ audience favorite. Each winner received $2,500 in prize money.
The Housing Innovation Alliance, comprising more than 2,000 companies representing every aspect of the built environment, focuses on helping the housing industry create a vision for its future — and make it happen. What better way than to aid innovative startups—who are always seeking pilot opportunities and investor funding —and help them reach the right audience?
That’s where Pitchfest comes in. “Innovation is a critical part of driving the homebuilding industry forward, and the Pitchfest stage is one of very few that brings the right innovators and decision makers together to make progress,” said Jenna Louie, chief innovation and strategy officer at Ivory Innovations, and one competition judges.
After the team put out the call to hundreds of startups, 64 applied for a spot. A selection committee of judges drawn from Housing Innovation Alliance network winnowed down the field to 10 finalists — Azure printed homes; BaleBlox; ColoradoEARTH; demi; Housing Connector; HYWatts; MIMiC Systems; Onsemble; RainStick; Umorpha Systems.
The in-person Pitchfest was co-hosted by the Housing Innovation Alliance and Home Technology Ventures (HTV), an early-stage investment fund dedicated to the housing industries, and sponsored by MiTek, an offsite construction company with a design-make-build approach; and Builders First Source, a supplier of structural building products, value-added components and services for the construction market.
Each of the 10 finalists was given the opportunity to pitch for 10 minutes followed by five minutes of questions from the judges and audience. Judges selected and scored ideas based on the following criteria:
- Innovation & uniqueness: Is this technology / business truly a novel approach to solving this problem?
- Potential impact: If this company is successful in its mission, how large will the impact to housing and society be?
- Team strength: If this company is successful in its mission, how large will the impact to housing and society be?
The 2024 winners
MIMiC Systems’ Solid-State Heat Pump
Berardo Matalucci, co-founder and CEO of MIMiC Systems, defined the problem: Cooling systems’ refrigerants are being phased out. Heat pumps are the future of heating and cooling. He pointed to areas of concern for the current crop of heat pumps —comfort, climate control, energy efficiency, environmental concerns, maintenance and future upgrades.
The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based, MIMiC (Modular Indoor Micro-Climate) Systems created a solid-state heat pump to address these challenges.
“The inspiration to use solid-state technology for indoor climate control came from looking at how people deal with heating and cooling since building occupants experience comfort in unique ways,” Matalucci said.
Solid-state heat pumps do not contain liquid refrigerants and are compact systems that can be packaged in different ways. Imagine them like thin sheets, a couple of millimeters thick, that can move heat from one side of the device to the other using electricity. “We can organize these systems into tiles, modules, or different packaging that can replace existing building systems, like a radiator or vertical fan coil,” Matalucci said. “Conceptually, that’s very different from a traditional HVAC system, which leverages a compressor — typically one — to handle the comfort requirements of many different occupants.”
Matalucci showed how the system is efficiently designed and can be connected to smart technology; is easy to install; and can fit with existing building infrastructure. He pointed out that “from an end-of-life and maintenance perspective, solid-state technologies will also enable upgradability as better materials will reach market viability. Upgradability is a substantial benefit because you can reuse all other components and upgrade the ‘engine.’” Because there are no moving parts, wear and tear of critical components will be reduced and there’s no specialized workforce needed to maintain the equipment. Ultimately, the MIMiC System will reduce the total cost of ownership including installation and maintenance.
Matalucci admitted the competition was a bit intimidating “because the pitches and companies were truly outstanding.” But going through it, he said, made him “realize how much innovation is happening in the built environment and how important it can be for the betterment of humanity on a global scale. The formality and organization of the sessions were great because they gave us the opportunity to discuss complex topics and outline a path for the collective industry to move forward.”
Pitchfest judge Neal Gwin, an architect with national homebuilder D.R. Horton, felt MIMiC was “truly unique and innovative. It can really be a gamechanger in HVAC.”
Audience Choice Award Winner: RainStick Shower
RainStick Shower uses its innovative point-of-use water-treatment technology to capture fresh, potable house water then circulate and clean it in real time, allowing users to save water and money.
A typical 10-minute shower uses 26 gallons of water and accounts for 1/3 of household water and energy bills. RainStick Shower uses less than 5 gallons. Pitchfest presenters claimed product use leads to an 80% water savings, 80% energy savings and yet offers two times the standard flow rate. Consumers can save up to $1100 (U.S.) annually and conserve a swimming pool’s worth of water, according to the company, which engineers, designs and manufactures the device at its headquarters in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. In addition, the RainStick app helps users monitor savings.
Here’s how it works: Potable water is pulled up into the shower to start the process. A micron-level screen catches large debris such as hair and dirt. Some fresh hot water is added to keep each continuous water loop fresh and maintain temperature. No filter replacements are needed, and the system eliminates the need for heating elements. As the water is pulled up to the shower head, a high-intensity UV-LED eliminates 99.99% of exposed bacteria and viruses, according to company literature.
Previously, RainStick was a gold award winner for Sustainable Standout in the Best of KBIS Awards at KBIS 2024. The product also was named to TIME’s List of the Best Inventions in 2023 and featured on Cleantech’s “50 To Watch” list. RainStick Shower is available through its website in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Each company received a $2,500 prize. According to Matalucci, MIMiC Systems’ is using the funds to support a pilot installation seeking ways “to provide access to sustainable heating and cooling to people living with physical disabilities, who are vulnerable to extreme weather events.”
RainStick intends to use its funding to boost its digital presence in its primary markets — Colorado, Oregon, California — which have water restrictions and higher costs for water use.
“There’s something immensely gratifying in doing a presentation in front of an audience and having them select us for this award out of all the other innovators at the Pitchfest,” says company spokesperson Samantha Scott.
Forward momentum
Since winning Housing Innovation Alliance’s 2023 Pitchfest, Paul Cardis, CEO of On3, a mobile learning platform for construction education, has had a great year. “We’ve doubled the size of our company. We’ve signed national deals with several major public builders; we’re growing dynamically,” he told the 2024 pitchfest audience.On3 is in the midst of another fundraising round. Cardis offered this advice to those seeking capital funding:
- You’re in for a marathon. If you’re trying to be a startup in this industry, your success will be measured in years, not months. Be prepared because of the pace that this industry moves.
- Run your business tighter. Since timelines aren’t the same in the building industry as in other industries, make sure you’re running your business tighter and that may mean slower. You can’t have a big, huge burn; you don’t want to run out of cash because it’s also a cyclical business. The market may be great now, but that won’t last forever.
- Seek the right investors. Educated investors will understand this industry better than an outside investor who is expecting a short timeline until they just pop the plug on your situation. This industry is big, and it’s impactful, but it is, unfortunately, slower than others to adopt change. You’ve got to create that runway to get there.
Matalucci points to one of the most important benefits of the competition. “Like many of us who are committed to this sector, we feel like outsiders. Being part of the Pitchfest brought renewed energy and made us feel part of a community.”
Scott at RainStick says they appreciated the value of being able to “get in front of like-minded people who are open to the conversation. It’s really important to a start-up, especially one that has a new product.”
Next year’s Pitchfest will be held in conjunction with PCBC in Anaheim, CA on June 11, 2025. For more information visit https://housingpitchfest.com/.
2024 Photo Gallery
