This is part 1 in our coverage of Blossom, a St. Louis energy startup, cofounded by Washington University alumni Joe Gardner and Chris Mertens, two tinkerers who want to rethink the current energy business model. They also want to restore power and control back to the consumer while preparing society for a renewable energy future.

They talk us through:

-how not getting the college internships led them to experiment and build smart gadget solutions for businesses and customers.

-their fateful meeting with ex-Boeing engineers on an encryption that had broader implications for the exchange of data between sensors, between people, and bartering of services.

-how they got into the Ameren Accelerator, sponsored by a powerful utility player in the mid-west.

-how the current energy model, dominated by conglomerates that trade energy in large blocks, are ill-equipped to deal with energy generation from households, an increasing factor as renewable energy becomes popular.

-their meeting with big industry whigs at

happy hours only to be branded as the guys who didn’t look old enough to drink.

-the frustration and rewarding aspects of working with a utility behemoth.

-why they chose St. Louis as home based as opposed to other tech hub cities.

-the perks of having St. Louis as their startup home based, including better access to industry leaders and low expenses. but also the challenges of being “too cutting edge” with new tech.

Links:

https://www.blossom-iot.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/blossom-llc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephogardner

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mertens

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