The Arrowhead Innovation Fund has announced an investment in Trail-9 Outdoors, a startup launching a revolutionary hydration system dryer designed to completely dry out the system’s water bladder, drinking tube and mouthpiece in 15 minutes or less.
Founder and CEO Steven Alderete, an alumnus of New Mexico State University, participated in the 2021 Aggie Shark Tank, a pitch event sponsored by the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship at Arrowhead Center, where he featured the H2OBO system to investors and received an offer from AIF.
Alderete retired last year after 31 years of federal service. He describes himself as an avid outdoors person with hobbies that include hiking, mountain biking and fishing.
“The last thing that I or anybody wants to do, once we’re done biking or hiking, is to clean a hydration system,” said Alderete. “It would be so much easier to attach your hydration system to the H2OBO, turn it on and later return to it completely dry.”
Backpack hydration systems are a convenient way of storing and transporting drinking water during outdoor activities where a potable water supply is not available. Backpack hydration systems consist of a bladder, hose and mouthpiece. Once the activity is done, the user of the hydration system is faced with cleaning and drying it to keep it free of mold and ready for the next use.
Beto Pallares, AIF fund manager, said Trail-9 Outdoors’ innovation is a more efficient solution to a well-known problem.
“There are many approaches to keeping the water bladder clean but they can be time-consuming and don’t guarantee an optimal outcome. The H2OBO system has the potential to become the go-to brand for hydration systems,” Pallares said.
Alderete said that the AIF funding will allow Trail-9 Outdoors to complete the launching of the product in the market.
“AIF has been incredibly supportive to me on getting ready for the launch of the H2OBO system. We were issued a patent and are ready to put the product in the hands of our first clients,” Alderete said
For more information on Trail-9 Outdoors and the H2OBO System, call 505-312-8040, email steven.alderete@trail9outdoors.com or visit https://trail9outdoors.com/.
AIF is a pre-seed and seed fund of $2 million, with investments of $800,000 from New Mexico’s Catalyst Fund, a $20 million “fund of funds” to support New Mexico companies, $500,000 from the NMSU Foundation, as well as a $300,000 grant through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Innovation Strategies program.
AIF is looking for companies with entrepreneurs fully committed to growing and scaling their company and who are seeking between $25,000 and $200,000 in investment toward their total seed round fundraising target.
For more information about AIF, visit www.aifvc.com, or contact Carlos Murguia at carlos@aifvc.com or 575-405-1042.
Editors Notes
The H2OBO system name is trademarked.