Chase Mitchell and Brian Bloch never missed an episode of Shark Tank. The college friends were aspiring entrepreneurs and bounced around countless startup ideas while cheering on the lucky people who appeared on the show. But their “eureka” moment happened at a bluegrass festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The park was muddy from recent downpours, and people carrying or dragging heavy coolers struggled through the muck. There had to be a better way! And Chase and Brian found it: the first compact, portable chiller that doesn’t use ice or gel packs to cool your drinks. Chill Systems saves time by eliminating those last-minute trips to get ice; saves the money spent on ice; saves the space taken up by a bulky cooler; and saves the environment by reducing the need for single-use plastics and clean water resources.
They spent two years designing, trying and failing, building prototypes while still at their full-time jobs: Chase at Google and Brian at Apple. They saved part of every paycheck to tide them over when they left their jobs and to invest in their new company, because they were absolutely sure that was where they were headed.
Chill Systems Founders
Chase, CEO, a native of Southern California, reveled in being outdoors. While still a student at the University of Southern California with a major in Business Administration, a minor in Web Technologies, he was recruited by Google to be a Campus Ambassador. After graduation, he became a small business sales intern at Google and soon moved on to Account Manager, working on marketing campaigns in Consumer Electronics, specifically on Apple Inc. He loved his job, but it was definitely cutting into his outdoor time.
Brian, CFO, was born in Georgia and moved to Los Angeles to go to the University of Southern California, He graduated with two B.S. degrees, one in Business Administration, concentration on finance and entrepreneurship, and one in Accounting, and was grabbed right up by Apple. He began by working in a rotational program, eventually landing in Media Platforms, where he developed marketing campaigns and original content for Apple Music, the App Store, and the iTunes store.
Brian was blessed with wanderlust. He had traveled the world (32 states, 25 countries and 6 continents), both on his own and during his “Semester at Sea” at the University of Virginia where he studied International Finance and Sustainable Business before transferring to USC. He also loved his job, but had begun chafing at his loss of freedom.
In 2018, Chase and Brian left the stability of their jobs to focus completely on Chill Systems. They thrived in exploring their untapped skills and creative talents and having full responsibility for their decisions.
The Chiller
The Chiller is a lightweight, durable beverage cooler made from recycled materials with freezing gel inside its walls and an insulating exterior wrap that creates an icy chamber for your beverages: beer, wine, spirits, soda, coffee, sports drinks, kombucha, etc. Simply freeze the chiller overnight, load it up with your beverages, and off you go to the beach, pool, barbecue, sports arena, road trip, boat or maybe just as far as your sofa when you want to binge on Game of Thrones.
The Chiller is comparable to the size of a football. It will chill three 12-16 ounce cans or bottles at a time or one 750-ml wine bottle in the larger side opening. The temperature of the beverage will drop up to 20 degrees in the first hour, and the Chiller will keep chilling drinks for up to six hours. So during those six hours, you can chill round after round of beverages, for example, a 24-pack of beer or 6 bottles of wine.
Chill Systems Adventure Pack and Picnic Tote
The Chiller stays cold up to 24 hours when used with the insulated Adventure Pack or Picnic Tote, your portable beverage cooling systems.
- The Adventure Pack is a daypack (a smaller, lighter backpack) that measures 6.5” x 8” x 16.5”and can carry six 12-ounce cans or two 750-ml wine bottles plus the Chiller.
- The Picnic Tote measures 7.5” x 15” x 15.25” and can carry twelve 12-ounce cans or four 750-ml wine bottles plus the Chiller. The Tote also has sections for food, wine cups, a picnic blanket and your tablet.
Chill Systems Supports Water.org
Water.org is a nonprofit organization that resulted from the merger of H2O Africa founded by Matt Damon and Water Partners International. It has provided access to safe water and sanitation to millions around the world, giving families hope and health to help break the cycle of poverty.
Chase and Brian donate 3% of their profits and encourage their fellow chillers to contribute to the elimination of the global water crisis.
UPDATE: Chill Systems is no longer in business.
