Recently, we had the opportunity of interviewing Sebastian Sajoux, the founder and CEO of Arqlite. Arqlite's mission is to take construction to a new level by producing artificial gravel from recycled products. The ESG company is currently seeking investors through a crowdfunding campaign.
 

   
     Q.  Can you tell us a bit about yourself and Arqlite?
      A.  Arqlite is a spin-off from B-Green, a consultancy agency I operated in Argentina,. B-Green brings environmental solutions to companies like Coca-Cola (KO) and Unilever. In 2015 Arqlite was selected by Fledge in Seattle for an incubation program and that's where we started building our bridges to the US market. After launching and validating our pilot in Argentina, in 2019, we opened the first commercial scale facility in Orange County, CA.

    Q. How did you come up with the idea for Arqlite?
    A. Working with massive consumer brands I became aware of the big impact unrecyclable plastics were creating in the environment. One of every two plastics products in the packaging industry can't be recycled under standard technologies and ends up in a landfill. Arqlite is the first company currently solving this problem on a large scale (1 ton per hour!). We are also paid by big plastic-waste generators to process their waste, which is our raw material. So we generate revenue by taking the waste and then generate more revenue for the recycled gravel we produce with that gravel.
 

     Q. Was it always your goal to have your own company?
     A. I've always been an entrepreneur and loved the concept of building new things. Sometimes that's hard to achieve when working for someone else, so my work life has always been very independent.

      Q. What are the main benefits of Arqlite gravel?
      A. Arqlite takes the best of plastic polymers, like being light, durable, low cost and inert when in contact with other materials. All these benefits are appreciated in very different industries, from the hydroponics markets to the vast construction industry. 

     Q. What are some of the differences between Arqlite gravel and mineral gravel?
     A. Besides it's benefits, this is the first commodity ever made 100% from mixed plastics, with the potential of solving the plastic crisis.  
 

       Q. What has been the greatest award or achievement that your company has attained so far?
       A. We've been selected by Plug & Play, Techstars, Fledge, Cemex Ventures, Startup Chile, 1000 Sustainable Solutions and many more. This works as a great validation for the positive impact we want to create and the scalability of the solution. And our product is already available across the USA from major retailers such as Amazon (AMZN), Walmart (WMT), and Home Depot (HD).

       Q. Where do you see the company in 5 years and how do you plan to get there?
       A. Arqlite is a recycling technology company developing solutions to tackle plastic pollution. We'll keep developing new tech and at this point we are launching a franchise model to replicate the technology globally. 

      Q. Are you looking for additional funding or have a crowdfunding campaign? If so, what are you looking for in a potential investor, and how can interested readers get in touch/learn more?
      A. We are currently running a Wefunder crowdfunding campaign, having raised $1.8M from a $3M goal. At this point we've built a community of over 2,000 investors, not only financing our growth, but also adding value by being an active part of the solution... It's a great opportunity to join the company at a great valuation, before we move into our Series B. 
 

      Q. How has creating Arqlite changed your life?
      A. Arqlite was only a dream 7 years ago, and it's great to look back and see how many people have helped me make that dream come true. We've created a family around this, which keeps growing daily, bringing us closer to our final goal which is to end the problem of plastics in the environment.

      Q. Is there any advice you'd give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
      A. Go for your dreams. Don't take a no for an answer, but do listen to what people say. Many of the things we've achieved were born from brainstorming ideas coming from the most diverse spaces.