Coflux Purification

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Industry: Manufacturing, Climate Tech

MBA Founding Student Name(s): Dana Vazquez (Rice MBA ’24). My co-founders are Rice PhD’s – Dr. Alec Ajnsztajn (Rice PhD ’23) and Jeremy Daum (Rice PhD ’25)

Brief Description of Solution: Everyone has forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, in their body. These have harmful impacts like cancer and heart disease, and right now there’s no way to destroy these chemicals. Manufacturers who produce PFAS increase the presence of forever chemicals in the environment in their waste disposal processes. At Coflux, we’ve developed a new technology to reduce the effects of forever chemicals through environmental decontamination. The Coflux reactor will enable large manufacturers who produce PFAS to clean their wastewater — resulting in cleaner, decontaminated water in surrounding communities.

Funding Dollars: $500k in non-dilutive funding, currently raising a pre-seed.

What led you to launch this venture? My entire career has revolved around climate and sustainability – I have always had a passion for helping large organizations solve ESG related issues, ranging from optimizing their governance and ethics programming to remediation support for environmental projects and everything in between. I met Jeremy at a Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) event and heard he was researching a solution to address PFAS. I was immediately hooked on the social, environmental and real-life health impact this potential technology could have. Water is a climate issue and has a deep impact on climate change, biodiversity and human health.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Our team has been working together for just over a year now, and the fact that we have been awarded over $500k in non-dilutive funding is incredible. It shows the momentum, dedication, and enthusiasm our founding team has for this technology and demonstrates what happens when you’re solving a really big problem in a space that hasn’t had a lot of innovation historically.

What has been the most significant challenge you’ve faced in creating your company and how did you solve it? Being a hard tech startup, we have continued to face challenges in scaling the technology and moving past technology challenges in the lab. All the credit to my co-founders, who continue to be creative in their problem solving, because it’s exhausting to manage the ups-and-downs of building a technical project. One challenging day in the lab can delay or accelerate your timeline, but you have to be flexible and willing to trust your teammates in order to move at the pace that makes sense.

How has your MBA program helped you further this startup venture? First, the MBA community has been such an incredible source of support, camaraderie, and problem-solving. Some of my favorite moments in the program were participating in pitch competitions and seeing my MBA peers cheer me on from the crowd — many of whom continue to support me in my entrepreneurship journey. Second, the classes provided me with a strong foundation in practical skills, such as building out financial models, storytelling and story building, building systems for operational excellence, leadership, and team building – all of which have been invaluable in developing Coflux.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? My classmate, Karen Verboski, was honestly the first entrepreneur I met that looked like me! She was one of my first friends at Rice, and she acted as the CFO for her family business. Although my journey at Rice didn’t start with entrepreneurship, she kept me fully engaged and intrigued at the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur and developing that skill set. Seeing a Latina so fully supported by her community and thriving as an entrepreneur gave me confidence as I began on this path. I still text her frequently for advice, to share updates and gain a confidence boost when I need one. Others critical to my journey include my friend and mentor Taylor Anne Adams, who works at Lilie Lab, and my Summer Venture Studios peer Becky Jackson. I continue to rely on them for technical and leadership feedback and encouragement as we grow Coflux.

Which MBA class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? I took quite a few energy investing classes at Rice – including Duncan Dickerson’s Capital Themes in Climate Tech and David Pruner’s Energy Transition Investing. These courses taught me about the investment landscape when it comes to hard technologies, climate tech and the energy transition. In both of these courses, we regularly learned from experts who coached us and taught us from their own experiences. I still reference materials from these classes as we continue to build Coflux, and I appreciate how immediately applicable they both were to my career. Two valuable lessons I’ve learned:

1) Simplify your message and impact so anyone can understand your goal.

2) Have strong storytelling and a clear rationale for the assumptions and decisions you make when building materials.

Investors know financial projections involve skilled guesswork, but supporting that guesswork with your performance is how you stand out.

What professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Two professors come to mind. Kyle Judah, executive director of the Lilie Lab and entrepreneurship lecturer, has continued to be a mentor, coach and meaningful contributor for Coflux. I took Kyle’s E-Lab course for a full year, where we discussed important skills for becoming a successful founder — including mental health, understanding your customer, focusing on the problem, and building quickly. He continually motivates me and our team to think critically and aggressively about what we can accomplish, even if it seems too ambitious. When you’re trying to make a big impact, you need someone who can help you discover your hidden potential and inspire you to go all in — Kyle has done that for us.

Professor Janet Moore, director of the communication program and senior lecturer in management, has also dedicated such an incredible amount of time toward helping me perfect my pitch and storytelling. She exemplifies the importance of dedicating time to storytelling and communication. Throughout the past year, she met with my co-founders to help them build practical skills. She also helped me tailor my pitch for my audience, build confidence, and shift my mindset about the communication aspect of pitching. Many people focus on quantitative classes, which are important in their own way, but Janet has helped me realize the importance of communications and storytelling on a startup’s success.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? We’ve had access to the team at Lilie Lab, the center for entrepreneurship at Rice, which has changed the trajectory of our business. Their team is full of passionate, talented and motivated entrepreneurs and coaches who know how to jump-start success. The Lilie team has been a part of my entrepreneurship journey every step of the way, helping me believe in myself even in times of doubt. As a female, first-generation college student working in hard tech, having this support system was a pillar of my success at Rice. Our Coflux team has participated in nearly every event offered by the Lilie Lab. My co-founder Jeremy is an Innovation Fellow. I was part of the Summer Venture Studios cohort. We also won second place in the Napier Rice Launch Challenge,and I attended many classes and programs through the center.

We’re also supported by Activate Global, Inc., where my co-founder Alec is in the inaugural Houston cohort. Activate has given us the resources and network to learn from the best in the industry, helping us navigate the steep learning curve in building a hard tech business. Additionally, the Texas Exchange for Energy and Climate Entrepreneurship (TEX-E) gave us the opportunity to pitch Coflux at CERAWeek, where we won second place and gained exposure among leaders in the energy and cleantech space.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? The Coflux team envisions a world where PFAS are eradicated from our environment and water. Our goal is to develop this technology as quickly as possible and get it into the hands of as many industrials as possible.

Looking back, what is the biggest lesson you wished you’d known before launching and scaling your venture? Be honest with yourself about what you’re building – is this something you believe you can take all the way? Are you willing to dedicate your time, regardless of the outcome? From day one, all of our co-founders were on the same page — we wanted to make a difference in climate outcomes for communities and pursue something bigger than ourselves. This has kept us grounded and bonded, even through challenges and tough conversations. Spend time with your co-founders to make sure you’re compatible, and you’ll be able to navigate any challenges down the road.

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