CU Grow Alumni Spotlight: WATT+FLUX Pivots Focus in Response to COVID-19
In light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, K.A Stacie Alexiou, CEO of WATT+FLUX and graduate of the CU Grow Program’s third cohort, has pivoted the focus of her energy efficiency LED company to include a third technology division, Pathogen BioTech, a powerful decontamination service.
Spending the last five years creating WATT+FLUX, an energy efficiency business to help clients reduce greenhouse gases, Stacie joined the CU Grow program in 2019 to further grow her business.
As a vendor participant in the CU Grow program, Stacie was paired up with Olivia Freeland, a senior project manager at Columbia University, as her CU Grow Coach engaged with following the program’s curriculum, including the creation of a SWOT analysis and development of a three-year growth plan. While Stacie joined the CU Grow Program to formulate a three-year strategic growth plan and create sustainability for WATT + FLUX, through her coaching sessions, she felt encouraged to explore and formulate an innovative approach to her business model to better serve and reach new clients, including the development of a separate division within her current company.
“Before CU Grow, I’ve never been a part of a program that was actively involved in seeing you grow. With the help of the CU Grow administrative team and my CU Grow Coach, I had the accountability needed to continue growing my business as well as thinking of new ways to serve my clients based on current events.”
Believing that priorities must evolve as the world does, Stacie used the tools and knowledge she gained as a vendor participant in CU Grow to pivot her business’s focus when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The result of her innovative pivot was the creation of Pathogen BioTech, a certified woman-owned business enterprise that offers clients a proven bio-technology space fogging service to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The company was founded with science and technology in mind and inspired by Stacie’s mother, an immunosuppressed cancer survivor.
Pathogen BioTech is has been awarded its fifth contract since launching in March 2020, teaming up with environmental specialists, scientists, biologists, and bio-tech patent holders to research and train on BioTech equipment that could safely and effectively protect the community and the environment. The BioTech project management team and technicians are 95 percent women and minority. The operation has also involved four other MWBE's in their Pathogen BioTech projects, including fellow CU Grow alums, Diane Moore from CleanWork Solutions, and Nadine Cino from TygaBox Inc. These strategic partnerships encompassed the CU Grow Vendor Development program's core values.
Just recently, Pathogen BioTech completed their 150th enclosure disinfected through their machine biotech system. They are currently performing a 3 phased contract through November 2020 on the first State University pilot program to result in zero disease transmission. To learn more about Pathogen BioTech, watch this video on Stacie’s pandemic pivot and/or visit the Pathogen BioTech page here.