As a 2016 spinout from the laboratories of the UW, Membrion uses inexpensive materials – silica gel – to make robust membranes that filter molecules under any conditions. These low-cost and high-performance molecular filters can contribute to solving some of the world’s most challenging problems: clean water, global electrification, and human health. Dr. Greg Newbloom founded Membrion in 2016 as a University of Washington postdoc, and he is now the CEO of the company. “It’s important to understand that real commercialization opportunities require more than just research for technology,” Greg said. “You have to understand how your ideas fit within a bigger market picture and begin to build a commercial structure.” When asked about the monthly meetings with mentors and other teams, Greg said, “Running a business is a lot more than just developing the technology. So talking with them helped us make sure that we, as engineers, are not just focusing on technical issues, but keeping our perspective rounded for all the things that are important for commercialization.”

During its time in the Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program, Membrion was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant which allowed them to collect data and get external funding for the company. CoMotion invited the team to attend CoMotion DubPitch, an event which helped them gain exposure, build relationships, and open up opportunities for potential investment. Membrion also won the Dempsey Startup Competition in May 2017. Toward the end of the program, Membrion successfully spun off as a company. The team now has 10 pending/awarded patents and products in development for water and battery applications.

“The ecosystem CoMotion has developed helps companies get the resources and expertise to spin off,” Greg said. “One of the most important things for entrepreneurs to figure out is that if a technology doesn’t have a chance of working, it’s better to learn that in a year in the Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program than to spend five or ten years working on something that is not promising. You could’ve easily moved on to the next great idea in that time frame.”