Janet Hur

Bestie, here’s what’s good with Janet Hur, this is a total boss in the battery game. She’s a YC W17 alum, so she’s been in the startup world for a minute now, crushing it from day one. The story? It’s all about passion, hustle, and turning crazy ideas into real tech that actually makes a difference.

Started out at UCLA, studying Mechanical Engineering, nothing fancy, just solid technical chops. But what’s cool is she didn’t just stick to textbooks. She jumped into the deep end with microbatteries and fuel cells, getting her hands dirty in energy tech early on. That’s where she met her first co-founder, Leland Smith, back at UCLA, and that partnership set the stage for everything that came next.

Before Nuvola, she co-founded Millibatt, a startup making high-power rechargeable coin batteries for IoT gadgets. Basically, she was already pushing the boundaries in battery tech, trying to solve real problems for connected devices. That company even went through YC’s winter batch of 2017, so she’s been in the trenches, learning what works and what’s bullshit.

Then she jumped into HRL Laboratories, the real deal in R&D for energy tech. That’s where she leveled up her skills, blending deep science with getting products to market. It’s about more than just making cool tech, it’s about scaling it up and making it market-ready.

Fast forward, she co-founded Nuvola, and man, she’s been on fire. Nuvola’s all about revolutionizing battery manufacturing with their SafeCoat DDS separator tech, making batteries safer and more reliable. They’ve raised $6 million, moved from just an idea to a pilot-scale operation, and outperformed competitors in the space. She’s also built a killer IP portfolio with over 11 patents, showing she’s not just talk, she’s the real deal.

And get this, she’s been named a Forbes 50 Women-led Startup leader. That’s no joke. It’s proof she’s not just an engineer; she’s a leader, an innovator, someone who’s out here changing how we power the world.

So, what does her process say about her? It’s all about relentless curiosity and not settling for bullshit. She’s someone who saw a problem, jumped into the lab, and then turned that into a startup that’s actually making waves. Starting something for her isn’t just about the tech, it’s about pushing boundaries to create safer, better energy solutions. That’s why she’s so important, she’s not just building batteries, she’s building the future.