2024 RISE Award Winner
Baleena won first place at the AquaHacking Challenge, taking home the grand seed funding prize of $20,000 from AquaAction and a $5,000 patent service-based RISE Award from Aurora. Cofounders Julia Yan and Sarah Beth Gleeson have designed microfiber-trapping filters for household washing machines, tackling microplastic pollution at its source! They are aiming to reduce microplastic pollution from synthetic clothing by empowering consumers to contribute to environmental protection with each load of laundry.
Environmental Impact. According to Baleena, over two-thirds of our clothes are made from synthetic plastic fibers, and a single load of laundry can release 700,000 plastic microfibers into our waterways!! These microplastics are then finding their way into our bodies via the water we drink and the seafood we eat.
Julia Yan and Sarah Beth Gleeson, Founders of Baleena
Our thought bubble. You want to talk about impact? How about being able to improve the water leaving every single washing machine in the world? Microplastics are destroying the environment and poisoning our food supply, and Baleena's incredibly innovative filter is a universal, practical, and low-cost approach to crowd-sourcing a big chunk of the solution. Beyond crafting a great product, Baleena also has two of the most impressive young entrepreneurs we've seen in a RISE class. Having a great product is not enough. You also have to have founders with the DNA to see it through to execution and market success. That is no doubt the case with Baleena. Winning the AquaHacking Challenge and the RISE Award are just two more notches on an increasingly impressive list of accomplishments for Julia and Sarah Beth that already includes this great invention, landing some major pilot partners, raising over $500,000 to-date in mostly non-dilutive funding, and earning their way onto the 2024 Forbes 30 Under 30 list!
Award Impact.
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We're beyond grateful for the incredible experience and amazing people we met at the AquaHacking Challenge! Winning the RISE award is a game-changer for us; the support will help us strengthen our IP strategy, enhance our defensibility, and build strong moats around our product. We are so excited to keep building and making a difference! |
The Tech.
After adding Baleena's easy-to-install, universally-compatible home filter (pictured below) to your existing washing machine, you can run your laundry as normal, sit back, and watch Baleena’s cutting-edge technology capture microfibers before they leave the machine!
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Follow Baleena and Learn More.
If you're ready to protect what you love and let your washing machine be a hero for our oceans, fish, and drinking water, then you can join Baleena's waitlist and pre-order your filter today!
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