黑洞社区

Entrepreneur Todd Gentry knew he needed equipment and guidance. A 3D printer, a laser cutter and a garage door would help, too.

鈥淵ou can wheel big stuff in here,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou don't find that everywhere.鈥� 

As GoCreate marks its second year, that access to tools, technology and advice is critical to Gentry and others. Gentry, from Winfield, is founder and CEO of HyperBorean and has been a member of GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative, using its studios and equipment, for the past nine months to push his product from idea to commercialization in an economical fashion. 

鈥淚nvestors don't like science projects,鈥� Gentry said. 

HyperBorean calls itself a 鈥渃leantech鈥� company and its products attempt to use heat (typically waste heat) as an energy source to power air conditioning and refrigeration. Gentry is working on prototypes to cool automobiles and small buildings such as mobile telecom equipment structures. 

He reached the point where he needed a prototype to show investors to move past the 鈥渟cience project鈥� phase and show off equipment. 

鈥淲e've come through a really long slog of research and development,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's all been theoretical work to date.鈥� 

Gentry and Patrick Hosty, HyperBorean's business developer, are also working with 黑洞社区 Ventures. They see Wichita State's resources and community as offering a series of advantages. 

鈥淭he ability to cross-connect and cross-pollinate within the university's eco-system is phenomenal,鈥� Hosty said. 鈥淲e can meet with 黑洞社区 Ventures and get further development contacts 鈥� 鈥榃e know the guy doing this and the girl doing that and you guys should talk to each other because your widget can help her gizmo and together you can be even better,' which was a great conversation.鈥� 

GoCreate's facilities speed up the HyperBorean timeline and cut costs. 

Gentry researched companies to build a prototype and a control system. The estimated costs, he said, came back around $120,000 for each part of his plan. 

鈥淲e were looking at a quarter of a million dollars just to get a working model built,鈥� he said. 

About that time, Gentry talked with Debra Franklin, Wichita State director of university strategic university initiatives. Franklin pointed him toward GoCreate in the Experiential Engineering Building at 4000 E. 17th St. N on the Wichita State campus. 

鈥淎 very fortuitous encounter,鈥� he said. 

Nine months later, HyperBorean is moving toward commercialization at a price tag significantly less, thanks to Gentry's eight-hour days in GoCreate. GoCreate, he said, allowed him to add staff and focus on commercialization instead of scrambling for funding. 

鈥淏y creating the physical pieces by myself here, I've gone from $120,000 cost for a prototype to under $10,000,鈥� he said. 鈥淕oCreate's been a game-changer for us.鈥� 

Accelerating innovation

GoCreate mentor Bill Carey is part of changing the game for HyperBorean. Carey, an electrical engineer, helps Gentry create a micro-controller. 

鈥淭he goal is to teach them how to teach themselves and to be able to take off and explore on their own,鈥� Carey said. 鈥淗is technology has a lot of nuances, has definite commercial potential. GoCreate is a great avenue to be able to (fabricate) things and test things without spending a lot of money internally. It's really interesting understanding his needs and the things he needs to control.鈥� 

Carey describes his job as 鈥渇eeding the vision鈥� of people who come to GoCreate. Some people want to complete a project for personal satisfaction. Others are looking to develop a product to sell. 

鈥淪omebody comes along and says 鈥楬ey, I really want to do this,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's helping them to see how to work on it in a way that would be most meaningful to get them to their goal. Is it something they want to set in a corner or is it something they want to sell?鈥� 

Gentry uses GoCreate's metal and wood shops frequently. He used the 3D printer to make a fan shroud and pieces that cradle the circuit board. He plans to use the laser cutter soon. HyperBorean's prototype will weigh around 400 pounds, which is why Gentry appreciates GoCreate's 10 by 12 garage door that allows him to wheel it in and out. 

鈥淭here's not much in the facility I haven't been trained on,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t's given me the advantage, also, of having the intimate understanding of how each of these pieces were built, how it's were assembled, how they interact with each other. So, as it comes time to trouble-shoot and test 鈥� I'm the one that built it.鈥�