An Etna man has an idea for a new product that will make day trips for recreational cyclists much more enjoyable.

Andrew Weckman, 26, is working to develop a self-cooling water bottle to keep water cool and refreshing on a long summer bike ride.

Working under the business name Creatotech, Weckman's self-chilling bottle will use a thermoelectric cooler and rechargeable batteries and fit neatly into the bottle cage on a bike. Weckman developed the idea a year and a half ago after taking a bike ride with his wife.

“Every time we'd go out, we'd pack our water bottles with ice, and by the time we were ready to drink it, it was warm and disgusting,” he said.

His cooled water bottle will keep water at 55 degrees for up to eight hours.

To further develop his plan, Weckman applied for and was accepted into Thrill Mill's eight-week entrepreneurship course after making it through the weeklong boot camp held in January. Thrill Mill is an entry-stage business incubator based in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood.

The incubator sifted through more than 170 applicants in the fall to find 50 start-ups to participate in the boot camp, said Thrill Mill CEO and President Bobby Zappala. At the end of the boot camp, people from 23 start-ups received and accepted invitations to the entrepreneurship course, which began Jan. 29.

“The way I kind of frame it is there's really no way to fake your commitment to building your company,” he said. “You will show you're ready to put in the time and do the work, or you're not ready to do the work.

“It's a pretty good self-selection process.”

Zappala said about 60 percent of the start-ups will make it to the end of the eight-week course, which is held for two hours two nights a week. Entreprenaurs with the surviving start-ups will do a business pitch at the end of the course, and those who move on will receive $5,000 in initial funding and be accepted into the incubator's one-year program.

They also will receive permanent space at Thrill Mill's offices to develop their businesses, Zappala said. The goal is to debut their businesses at the Thrival festival in September, he said.

Weckman, who has a business degree and background in science and engineering, has proven himself to be motivated, capable and coachable, all things Thrill Mill looks for in individuals and teams before investing in the start-up, Zappala said.

“Andrew really wants the opportunity, has the aptitude to do it and just needs some direction,” he said. “That's a very good fit for us. I got very positive feedback from others about his drive and motivation.”

Weckman, a 2006 North Catholic High School graduate, is hoping to find a way to get a working prototype of his water bottle completed by the end of the entrepreneurship course to show its production capabilities. He's being helped by a team that includes engineers and consultants Adam Warner, Mihai Hogea, Ryan McCarty, Geno Bonetti and Scott Mashuda.

The plastic bottle will be 3.5 inches in diameter and about 5.5 inches tall. It will hold about 17 ounces of liquid and have an aluminum plate that the base attaches to, Weckman said.

He hopes to market it to the recreational bicycling crowd in local bike shops and eventually larger sporting-goods chain stores.

The water bottle will retail for approximately $45, he said.

Weckman's wife, Michelle, 24, said she's fully behind her husband's idea, although not all of her husband's business proposals have been winners.

“It's definitely one of his ideas that really worked for me. There have been other ideas that didn't work so well.” she said. “But who doesn't want cold water to drink?”

In the long run, Weckman hopes to get a $500,000 investment to launch small-scale production, focus groups, beta and pilot testing, website development, packaging and inventory. He plans to launch a Kickstarter.com campaign to help raise some of those funds.

For more information on Creatotech, contact Andrew Weckman at creatotech.net.

Rachel Farkas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-772-6364 or rfarkas@tribweb.com.

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