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DetraPel: The Revolutionary Liquid Repellent

DetraPel

Babson undergraduate student, David Zamarin ’20, is the founder of DetraPel, a water based, 100% non-toxic, super hydrophobic liquid repellent spray.  DetraPel provides a clear, protective and durable coating to any solid material so liquid just slides off without any staining. It is portable, biodegradable, non-flammable and non-corrosive.  If applied correctly, it will last anywhere up to a year. The full team consists of fellow Babson student Geoffrey Greenhouse ’20, Stephen McKinney, Tom Leary, and Michael Zhang.

Watch DetraPel in action here>>

Zamarin founded DetraPel in 2013 and launched to market in 2014.

The Idea

Growing up with immigrant parents, Zamarin was always shown the power of hard work.  “I watched my mother work 17-hour shifts to provide for me while I lived with my grandparents. My never-ending hustle and drive led me to entrepreneurship and many ventures,” says Zamarin.

When he was a freshman in high school he was accepted to the youth entrepreneurship program at First Round Capital.  He sold his first business LickYourSole—a shoe detailing business focused on local university sports teams—and with the money attempted to launch a product similar to DetraPel, but it flopped.

“As I searched for other repellents I found that the market only offered products that were carcinogenic, can potentially lead to birth defects, and only worked on a few specific materials,” says Zamarin. With a want to set his business apart and create a safer, better and more versatile repellent Zamarin started his research.  He discovered the Lotus Leaf Effect.  From there, he decomposed a lotus leaf with a microscope and came up with the formula that is now known as DetraPel.

“We are the only repellent on the market that is ecofriendly, nontoxic, water based, and that lasts for up to a year,” says Zamarin. “As well our product does not ruin fabrics nor does it dry off white – realistically, it is the only product that actually works and lasts more than a few days without ruining your stuff.”

The Future

Currently, DetraPel’s customers are mainly B2B, working with hotels and large businesses to protect carpeting and other materials.  In the future they are looking to grow both B2B and B2C.  They are opening up their own fulfillment facility and offices in Massachusetts and expanding in the region.

The Babson Connection

“Babson has exposed me to a large network of business minded students, professionals, faculty, and mentor that allowed me to work with, learn from, and help grow the already existing,” says Zamarin.  With his network at Babson, Zamarin is looking to continue to grow and scale DetraPel.

The DetraPel team was also the winner of the B.E.T.A Challenge 2017, becoming the youngest winners Babson has ever had.