Today we’d like to introduce you to Rahel Abraham.
Rahel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
There were many years that I barely avoided damaging flooding and then Hurricane Harvey’s floodwaters totaled my car in the middle of the night. After that night, my community and I faced an immense number of challenges to recover and rebuild what we once had. For example, being placed on a waitlist for a rental car for weeks with no public transportation available, or being forced to tow your and sell for parts because your insurance plan did not cover flood damage. Additionally, my downstairs neighbor made her living off her beautiful canvas paintings and could not save them all while her condo was filled with floodwaters. The experience inspired me to design a solution to guard against the economic and emotional costs of flooding. Coincidently, it was my final week at my job, and so I decided to dedicate my engineering expertise, time, and savings to create the Temporary Protective Enclosure to protect valuable possessions and vehicles from flood damage. Learning about other well-known bootstrapping entrepreneurs like Sara Blakely led me to seek out partnerships with an international testing firm and large volume manufacture despite my “limited” resources.
After a year in development, I prepared my first shipment to Houston so that I could debut ClimaGuard in my city. However, shortly after Chinese New Year, many exports were halted due to COVID-19 and because my products were not deemed essential, I had to wait for the port to allow my shipment to leave. During this time, my original fulfillment company in Houston decided to close their business in Texas and only operate in California. Despite these challenges, I had faith that all would work out and it did. I contracted with a local fulfillment company In Sugarland who believed in our vision and eventually received half of my shipment at the end of June. Even though this is only the beginning, I must say the journey was well worth it knowing that we now offer a solution for our to protect communities all across the country this hurricane season.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I truly believe that no entrepreneur’s journey is a smooth road. They are all filled with bumps and mishaps you could not expect initially. As a formally educated and experienced engineer, I had to learn the essentials in business and do so quickly so that I could provide a service that my community (and many others) desperately needed. Thankfully, I was accepted to an accelerator specifically for underrepresented (female and people of color) founders, DivInc, based in Austin, TX. With DivInc’s guidance, I built the foundation of my business as it is today. COVID had an immense impact on my business due to the delay of my shipment from China, the closure of my original fulfillment company, and finally only receiving half of the units that I had hoped to sell this hurricane season. In a short amount of time, ClimaGuard has dealt with its fair share of bumps in the road, but I know that the team I have built will be able to withstand any of the storms that may blow our way in order to serve communities all across the country.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We specialize in providing extreme weather protection goods specifically to guard against flood damage. We are proud to offer a product that is durable, reusable, portable, and simple to use at an affordable price point to make it an option for as many families as possible. There is not a product on the market that offers the level of quality of ClimaGuard. That was embedded in the mission because we exist to protect and educate local communities to prepare for the unexpected.
What were you like growing up?
If you ask me, I remember as a kid I always got in trouble for climbing too high in trees, sneaking away in public, and always having scrapes and bruises. However, asked my mother how she remembered me and she said, “Rahel was constantly looking for ways to help anyone struggling- the homeless and anyone less fortunate. It started when she was only 18 months old and her sister was born, Rahel was always the biggest helper and protector of her little sister. As Rahel got older, she found larger ways to give back to all of those around her. Growing up, she always found time to help the teachers, the students who struggled with classes, or the kids who had no one to play with. She arranged soccer games for children and to this day, she still buys school supplies and other things to help those in need.”
Pricing:
- $399 – Small/ Compact
- $449 – Medium/ Sedan
- $479 – Large/ Mid-Size SUV
Contact Info:
- Address: 3695 HWY 6, Suite 226, Sugarland, TX 77478
- Website: climaguard.co
- Email: Hello@climaguard.co / rahel@climaguard.co
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climaguard_llc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClimaGuardLLC
- Twitter: https://www.linkedin.com/company/14060727
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq2g1uMMEZHdpwCRQlR53tA
Image Credit:
Kobe Nana Adjapong (Headshot) William Beale (Product Shots)
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