Innovator Stories
What’s the secret to Zeptive’s innovative approach to air monitoring technology? Turns out, it’s chemistry.
Zeptive’s founders—Cindy Bistany, Will Hargett, and Steve Milt—are old friends who have more than 50 years of combined experience working in detection technology. They’ve all developed tech for clients like the U.S. Department of Defense. Now, Zeptive is developing work on cost-effective, wireless air monitoring systems for schools.
“There’s a trust factor,” said Hargett, Zeptive’s CEO. “We have a strong, mutual respect for each other. We can have healthy debates, and at the end of the day, we all know our hearts are in the right place.”
Innovator Stories
Meet The Zeptive Team
What’s the secret to Zeptive’s innovative approach to air monitoring technology? Turns out, it’s chemistry.
Zeptive’s founders—Cindy Bistany, Will Hargett, and Steve Milt—are old friends who have more than 50 years of combined experience working in detection technology. They’ve all developed tech for clients like the U.S. Department of Defense. Now, Zeptive is developing work on cost-effective, wireless air monitoring systems for schools.
“There’s a trust factor,” said Hargett, Zeptive’s CEO. “We have a strong, mutual respect for each other. We can have healthy debates, and at the end of the day, we all know our hearts are in the right place.”
Hargett originally met Milt, Zeptive’s chief growth officer, when they were students at Cornell. Bistany and Hargett go way back, too; they worked together at Bruker Detection Corporation, where Hargett was president. Years before that, the three worked together at a recently acquired rapidly growing company that sold safety and security sensors post-911. “We kept crossing paths,” said Milt. “We’ve been working together for 15-plus years, but never on the same project until now.”
Each founder brings something different to the table. Milt has built and sold multiple tech startups, so he knows what it takes to grow a company. Hargett is a veteran detection industry executive, including roles at Bruker, GE, and Safran Morpho. Bistany is an analytical chemist who also has a doctoral degree in public health. “It’s a great intersection for both backgrounds,” Bistany said of her role at Zeptive. “We have a public health focus—put sensors in locations that weren’t previously monitored, and give actionable data.”
Originally created to address the teen vaping epidemic, Zeptive’s wireless vape detectors and air monitors are portable and easy to install and move. They send alerts to school administrators via an app, allowing schools to respond immediately to air quality concerns. “Our idea was, wouldn’t it be great if sensor technology improved to a point where you could continuously monitor close to the source of the threat and give access to real-time data?’” said Hargett.
These monitors cost around $1,000—affordable for districts facing budgetary concerns and much cheaper than the systems Zeptive’s team developed for clients like the Department of Homeland Security, which usually cost $20,000 or more.
Founded in 2018, Zeptive found a whole new application for its air monitoring technology in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s now common knowledge that poor ventilation is a powderkeg for spreading COVID-19 and other airborne viruses. Having an easy way to detect ventilation issues makes a huge difference as schools reopen, helping students, parents, and teachers feel safer and more confident about in-person learning.
Zeptive grew rapidly with customers like Melrose High School in Melrose, Mass., which installed bathroom vape detectors before the pandemic as part of a multi-pronged approach to curtail students’ vaping. The technology has attracted the attention of New England’s innovation community—Zeptive was a finalist in two of Lever’s Innovation Challenges, winning the runner-up prize at the Berkshire Manufacturing Innovation Challenge in February. The company is also a finalist in the 2021 Eddie Awards, presented by the Massachusetts Innovation Network.
Working with Lever has helped Zeptive’s founders tap into a wider network of innovators, startups, vendors, and subject matter experts. “They’re so well connected, and not just in Western Massachusetts,” said Hargett. “They do such a great job of making those connections and improving that network.”
Hargett originally met Milt, Zeptive’s chief growth officer, when they were students at Cornell. Bistany and Hargett go way back, too; they worked together at Bruker Detection Corporation, where Hargett was president. Years before that, the three worked together at a recently acquired rapidly growing company that sold safety and security sensors post-911. “We kept crossing paths,” said Milt. “We’ve been working together for 15-plus years, but never on the same project until now.”
Each founder brings something different to the table. Milt has built and sold multiple tech startups, so he knows what it takes to grow a company. Hargett is a veteran detection industry executive, including roles at Bruker, GE, and Safran Morpho. Bistany is an analytical chemist who also has a doctoral degree in public health. “It’s a great intersection for both backgrounds,” Bistany said of her role at Zeptive. “We have a public health focus—put sensors in locations that weren’t previously monitored, and give actionable data.”
Originally created to address the teen vaping epidemic, Zeptive’s wireless vape detectors and air monitors are portable and easy to install and move. They send alerts to school administrators via an app, allowing schools to respond immediately to air quality concerns. “Our idea was, wouldn’t it be great if sensor technology improved to a point where you could continuously monitor close to the source of the threat and give access to real-time data?’” said Hargett.
These monitors cost around $1,000—affordable for districts facing budgetary concerns and much cheaper than the systems Zeptive’s team developed for clients like the Department of Homeland Security, which usually cost $20,000 or more.
Founded in 2018, Zeptive found a whole new application for its air monitoring technology in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s now common knowledge that poor ventilation is a powderkeg for spreading COVID-19 and other airborne viruses. Having an easy way to detect ventilation issues makes a huge difference as schools reopen, helping students, parents, and teachers feel safer and more confident about in-person learning.
Zeptive grew rapidly with customers like Melrose High School in Melrose, Mass., which installed bathroom vape detectors before the pandemic as part of a multi-pronged approach to curtail students’ vaping. The technology has attracted the attention of New England’s innovation community—Zeptive was a finalist in two of Lever’s Innovation Challenges, winning the runner-up prize at the Berkshire Manufacturing Innovation Challenge in February. The company is also a finalist in the 2021 Eddie Awards, presented by the Massachusetts Innovation Network.
Working with Lever has helped Zeptive’s founders tap into a wider network of innovators, startups, vendors, and subject matter experts. “They’re so well connected, and not just in Western Massachusetts,” said Hargett. “They do such a great job of making those connections and improving that network.”