A devoted tinkerer, Palmer had been experimenting with felt he made out of recycled fleece and molded into sleeves for tech gadgets. Convinced that these eco-friendly covers could sell, he raised startup capital by refinancing his home and applying for a home-equity loan.
So when the solar firm (which was indeed on its way to Chapter 7) laid him off in late 2010, Palmer was ready. “It was a kick in the pants to get going,” he says.
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Palmer took his prototypes to a previous employer, clothing giant Patagonia. Executives there connected him with their coat-recycling initiative, which began supplying him with fleece. With raw materials in hand, Palmer found a manufacturer to press and form the fleece and ship orders to a fulfillment center.
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