More Galleries
5 startups that are reimagining the world Bricks that grow from microorganisms, household garbage turned into art, three-wheeled bike-cars -- these startups are redefining urban living. More
Blue collar entrepreneurs These five entrepreneurs took their blue collar experience and used it to launch innovative businesses. More
7 lifehacks to eliminate your holiday hassle Whether curating the perfect gift or finding a pet-sitter, these startups offer time-saving services that might just seem like holiday magic. More
Special Offer

And the grant goes to...

Meet 8 extraordinary startups that nabbed innovation awards from the federal government.

1 of 8
BACK NEXT
Freund Farms
Freund Farms
Technology: Cow pots
Location:
East Canaan, Conn.
Grant:
$317,525 (September 2007)
From:
Department of Agriculture
Employees:
4

Freund Farms has found a way to make the most out of its mounds of poop: cow pots. The company mixes composting bovine waste with other materials and then molds it into earthy-smelling biodegradable planting containers. The product can survive for weeks in a greenhouse and then dissolves when planted into the ground, making it a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic containers.

Brothers Ben and Matt Freund run a 250-cow diary farm, which their father started in 1949. The cow pots idea emerged nine years ago from a desire to find a revenue stream in all of the excess cow dung. There was little money for development, however. "We felt we had a good idea but couldn't afford to get there," says Matt Freund. Then they got a Small Business Innovation Research award through the Department of Agriculture, which had previously given them a rural development grant. "It really allowed us to move forward before someone grabbed it from us," he adds.

The latest SBIR funds will allow them to hire three or four new workers and pay for additional research to refine the manufacturing of the products. "If this thing can take off, it's going to make what comes out of the back of the cows as important as what comes out beneath the cows," Ben Freund explains. - Herman Wong



NEXT: Affinergy Inc.
Last updated April 11 2008: 4:34 PM ET

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.