Koleya Karringten

Koleya Karringten is the Co-founder and President of Absolute Combustion International. Koleya has over 13 years of entrepreneurial experience, much of which has been spent developing Absolute Combustion from the ground up. Koleya was raised by a family of entrepreneurs and learned the value of being her own boss from a very young age. Her father, Darsell Karringten, was an international business consultant and began training Koleya in business starting at age seven.

Darsell’s intention was to teach her how hard work, passion, and dedication are the foundations of a successful entrepreneur. At the age of 21, Koleya and her father started Absolute Combustion, developing a revolutionary platform combustion technology company that will benefit the environment and multiple different industries. Thanks to her father Koleya was also able to benefit from the wisdom of business moguls and international consultants such as Jim Rohn, Perry Belcher, Eric Trump, Nido Qubein, Michael Eisner, Stedman Graham, and J. Abrahams.

Koleya has had the opportunity to receive mentorship and learn their keys to marketing, developing, branding, organizing and running a successful national and international company.

THE OGM: What is your goal with your career?

Koleya:
For my career goal, I would like to become a leader in the clean tech industry. I want to be able to help deliver solutions for many of the issues our environment is currently facing. We need effective solutions for reducing our plastic waste, GHG emissions, and water contamination. As I grow my company, I will be investing funds to commercialize brilliant inventions that will aid in the clean up of our environment. I eventually plan on having an international clean tech company capable of making a real positive impact on the planet. I believe it is imperative that we leave our children and future generations a healthy planet to live on.

THE OGM: What’s a day in the life of Koleya look like?

Koleya:
A typical day in my life can look a bit hectic, as a busy working mom with two boys (the youngest being six months old) every minute of the day is accounted for. After I have my oldest off to school and my youngest dressed and fed, I sit down to organize my day. I begin my work day by reviewing my priorities list; I see what needs to be accomplished first and get to it. Most days are spent managing new product development with my head of R&D, following up on business development leads, attending meetings or conferences and office administration tasks. At the end of my work day, I review my notebooks to update any new developments that occurred and reorganize my priority list for the following day. After work, I get to making dinner and spending some quality time with my family.

THE OGM: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs and young professionals?

Koleya:
The best advice I ever received from a fellow entrepreneur was to appreciate every step of the journey. Whether you are an entrepreneur with a brilliant idea or a young professional on the rise, take the time to enjoy every part of your experience. You will have wins and losses along the way; they are a natural part of your journey to success. I urge all young professionals and entrepreneurs to view your losses as teaching moments and allow your wins to amplify and renew your energy as you move towards your goal.

The person who gave me this pearl of wisdom felt that he learned this lesson too late in his life. He told me that he spent his life believing success was a destination and not a journey. When he looked back on everything he had accomplished, he realized that he never took the time to simply enjoy the process of creating his business, or appreciating all the little wins that brought him towards success. To sum it up, love what you do, keep moving forward and enjoy your journey. Do this and success will follow.

THE OGM: Where do you see the company evolving into? What are its applications?

Koleya:
I believe the evolution of Absolute Combustion, is to become an internationally recognized leader in clean combustion technology. ACI is a company that delivers safe and effective solutions for businesses wanting to increase their efficiency, safety, and production, while at the same time being able to dramatically decrease emissions, maintenance, and downtime. ACI can already do this in multiple industries and will continue to expand into different markets and applications. Currently, Absolute Combustion has developed combustion burners for line heaters, plastic densifiers and space heaters with fantastic results.

Other applications where I believe we will see incredible results are in incinerators, waste to energy, greenhouses, dehydrators, pulp and paper, boilers, mining, defense, and aerospace industries. The continued research and development of our combustion technology is a key piece to evolving the company. Not only do we want to develop new applications in various markets, but we want to design burners capable of 100% combustion as well as low emissions on gas, liquid and powders fuels. We realize the importance of a burner technology capable of completely clean combustion and will continue to dedicate our research efforts to obtaining that goal.

THE OGM: Where do you see burner technology evolving?

Koleya:
Combustion technology has the ability to evolve into a uniquely adaptable and enabling technology for any industry. I believe that future generations of combustion burners will be able to burn powdered fuels while generating high temperatures with little to no emissions. Imagine being able to burn only powdered algae at 1800 degrees F with zero Nox; this is possible with the right minds working together to develop it. The future of combustion technology is endless and is only limited by imagination and the willingness to try something new.

THE OGM: What does it take to be a leader in your field?

Koleya:
To be a leader in the clean tech industry, you must to be willing to think outside the box, try something new and disregard all the people who say it cannot be done. Even the most brilliant ideas can have a difficult time penetrating the market. Even when you can prove your invention its better, faster and more efficient, the industry will be slow in its adaptation to it. This is why I say to be a leader you must be determined, you must stay focused on your goal and you will eventually launch your innovative idea into the market.