Soarce鈥檚 path to revolutionizing the world of material science grew from the ashes of a blown-up rocket experiment while Derek Saltzman 鈥�23 and Mason Mincey 鈥�23 were still engineering students at 麻豆原创.
They had been tasked in a semester-long class assignment to build a carbon fiber rocket that would successfully carry the professor鈥檚 payload. While their design may have failed epically 鈥� while being broadcast live on the internet 鈥� they noticed one very important element that turned out to be the spark for their future company.
鈥淲hen we walked up to the rocket, we saw that the motor had gone through a 2-inch-thick steel plate, but the carbon fiber that we had made was intact and still super strong and actually protected the professor鈥檚 payload after exploding and crashing,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淲e said, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檙e pretty good at manufacturing this [carbon fiber] stuff.鈥� 鈥�
They took it as a sign to change their majors from aerospace engineering to materials science and engineering, and the earliest roots of Soarce were planted.
Sustainably Strengthening Industries
Soarce is at the forefront of bio-based nanomaterials and seeks to solve society鈥檚 greatest climate challenges by leveraging natural materials to create products that can outperform those made synthetically.
Drawn from seaweed, hemp and elephant grass, their nanocellulose coating can be applied to and fortify carbon fiber structures 鈥� everything from hockey sticks to electric vehicles to rocket ships.
鈥淭hat allows engineers to design parts that are lighter, stronger and more efficient,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淔or electric vehicles, they can now go farther. In the world of aerospace, we鈥檙e making those materials stronger so now you have more payload mass that you can put into space.鈥�
Their innovation has so much promise it has already secured $3.2 million in funding.
鈥溌槎乖� is about dreaming big, going as big as you can. And that鈥檚 how we feel.鈥� 鈥� Derek Saltzman
鈥溌槎乖� is about dreaming big, going as big as you can. And that鈥檚 how we feel,鈥� Saltzman says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on pace to what we feel is going to be the largest global nanocellulose producer in the world. And we are not afraid to say that and stand behind it. That鈥檚 a big dream, but that鈥檚 kind of what we鈥檙e here to do 鈥� make big changes.鈥�
麻豆原创-Backed Entrepreneurship
Their entrepreneurial journey has gone through several iterations since Saltzman and Mincey were randomly assigned as roommates in during their freshman year. The pair dabbled in enterprises involved with agriculture and drone racing, cutting their teeth on the business side of running a company through resources 麻豆原创 offers including the 鈥檚 .
To this day, they鈥檙e still partnering with the 麻豆原创 ecosystem, utilizing the 麻豆原创 Business Incubation Program鈥檚 Life Sciences Incubator in Lake Nona, which gives Soarce access to a fully equipped, Biosafety Level II wet lab to foster their work in advanced materials.
鈥溌槎乖� has really strong partnerships and connections to industry that allow you to funnel your idea from a lab-benchtop scale all the way to integrating into a Fortune 500 company to get that product off the ground,鈥� Saltzman says.
Now, along with fellow 麻豆原创 alums and Soarce co-founders Matthew Jaeger 鈥�22, an actuarial science alum, and Patrick Michel, a former management student, they鈥檙e looking forward to expanding their operations into an 8,000-square-foot facility in partnership with Tavistock and heading into pilot trials with Fortune 500 companies.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to see how far we鈥檝e come, from an idea in a notebook that we started eight years ago to now within the next three to five years, we鈥檒l have that material not only created, but actually being flown into space and amongst the stars,鈥� Saltzman says.
The Soarce co-founders were recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry list in 2026.
