Posted by Judy Christensen on Jun 06, 2018
Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg Rotary
Meeting on June 6, 2018
 
There was no note taker.
 
Cyrus Schenck who grew up and still lives in Shelburne spoke about his latest business venture - RENOUN. Cyrus started his first business - rototilling and lawn mowing - when he was about 14. By high school, he was also running a window washing business - Inside/Out which is still going. After attending college and continuing to be unsure about his future direction, Cyrus what he had gained from his business start-ups, interest in technology and aspects of physics, and love of skiing to work developing a new type of technology he calls Hyper Damping Technology™ (HDT™). The idea is to create skis which can the stability of a ski based on skiing conditions and the skier's skiing style. Cyrus put what he learned in college physics to develop a material classified as a non-Newtonian polymer. In other words, it doesn’t follow the laws defined by Sir Issac Newton because its molecular structure responds to rapid changes in vibration. The benefit is especially good for all day and more advanced skiers - the skis react to become quieter and more stable. He founded the company in 2011 with the goal of producing a very different type of ski in an industry where just about every type of material and designs have been tried and either are seen in today's successful companies or failed a long time ago. What made this goal possible was data he came across from a polymer that "cheated physics" used in the aerospace industry went on to develop HDT™. This was prototyped until the skis worked as planned and designed. In 2014, RENOUN was launched and within two months we won ISPO’s Gold Award. Cyrus shared lots of strategies for success but his main one he says is that his company has one rule: break them!