One billion tons of phosphogypsum is stacked in 24 stacks in Florida and about 30 million tons a year. Gypsums are huge, acidic, and radioactive lagoons containing hundreds of millions of gallons of wastewater. The phosphate mining industry poses a serious threat to the environment by polluting the air, contaminating the water and destroying wildlife habitats.
In order to tackle the problem, Dylan Weitzman and Brandon Carpenter created a prototype filter that can extract the rare earth elements and the radioactive elements from the phosphate mining/fertilizer production industry. The company was able to take a $12,000 check and more than $50,000 in business services.
Thor ORE, desired to clean up the environmental issues here in Central Florida from the phosphate mining/fertilizer production industry.
Competing in dozens of entrepreneurship competitions and applying for three years to the UCF Joust New Venture Competition, it was Weitzman and Carpenter’s persistence and experience that earned them the victory in 2018. The company was able to take a $12,000 check and more than $25,000 in-kind services.
“At the time of the Joust we were still developing our product and business model and we had two paying customers at the time. We were able to show the viability of our product and a business model around the product we were developing,” Weitzman said. “I had to practice the pitch hundreds of times in front of many different audiences and continuously get feedback before I was able to present at the Joust. No matter what your startup is, you need to be able to communicate clearly.”
Now known as Precision Periodic, the company deployed two demo pilot systems last June for the G7 conference in Cornwall, England for Cornish Lithium. They are currently working in partnership with a large, multi-national wastewater treatment company and have several pilots in the planning stages for deployment this year ranging from gold mining to uranium, said Weitzman.
Since the competition, Precision Periodic has created a product that can address serious environmental issues that prior to Nano Beads™ could not be done, said Weitzman.
“We can remove selenium down to less than 2 parts per billion which is the evolving standard. Selenium entering lakes and streams causes deformities in fish and respectively harms humans,” Waitzman said. “We can also remove nitrates which is also very harmful and an issue worldwide however there is no easy way to remove it. Honestly, the list is very long for environmental improvements from treating wastewaters to improving the initial chemical mining process to not generate the environmental issues to begin with.”
Being the lucky few that has been a coach at Blackstone Launchpad for four years. Weitzman had also coached student founders at the Launchpad. He said that the biggest lessons he learned from the Launchpad is how to manage risk taking and customer discovery.
“Blackstone Launchpad is a very valuable asset to have on any campus and getting involved with the community will only ever be a positive experience,” Weitzman said. “Even if you don’t want to start a business one day you are surely going to be working for one so why not get the chance to understand how to build and operate a business.”
He said that you need to understand the risk it takes to start your own business. That you need to be smart about the risks you are taking and make sure you don’t overextend your comfort zone. Weitzman encourages future entrepreneurs to seek an outside perspective, in which Blackstone Launchpad provides. Along with a support system, Weitzman emphasizes the importance to continue learning and to have goals for who you want to be.
“Set realistic goals in your life that align with who you are. If you just want to be a successful entrepreneur and that’s your goal, you’re probably not going to reach it. Focus on what you believe in and what makes you happy, don’t go chasing the money,” Weitzman said.
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