This Startup's Genius Hack Saves Restaurants Thousands While Saving the Planet

Life is full of minor inconveniences that most see as annoyances, but entrepreneurs see as opportunities. Small frustrations can spark ideas that lead to big solutions, and many of the best companies are built by solving overlooked problems.

That's exactly what Dylan Wolff achieved with his water conservation startup, CNSRV.

A Cooler Way to Thaw

Wolff, a Southern California native, was introduced to a major issue through a bartending friend. "He told me the restaurant wasn't serving drinking water to customers unless they asked for it—a policy to conserve water. But in the back of the house, in the kitchen, they were running the faucet for 10 hours a day to defrost frozen food. That's over 4,000 gallons of water straight down the drain."

This isn't an isolated problem. Every year, billions of gallons of water are wasted in the U.S. food industry during defrosting. One turkey breast can take 5 hours of running water. It seems small, but multiplied across every restaurant in America, the environmental cost is staggering.

After this epiphany, Wolff dove into the world of food defrosting. He found restaurants use three main methods: refrigerating (which takes days and creates inventory nightmares), microwaving (which ruins food quality), or running under cold water (which wastes thousands of gallons daily).

"I spoke with as many people in commercial kitchens as I could, and kept hearing the same thing: 'It's just the nature of the business,'" Wolff says.

Undeterred, he turned words into action, meeting with health departments to understand codes and reverse-engineer a solution. With partners Brett Abrams and Tim Nugent, head of R&D, he developed an early prototype using a proprietary method combining water agitation and precise temperature control.

That prototype became the DC:02, a defrosting machine that cuts thawing time in half, uses 98% less water than traditional methods, improves food quality, and saves thousands in utility expenses.

Efficiency Meets Affordability

When Wolff started, there were hardly any players in the defrosting industry, and none with completely portable technology. "There are alternatives, but they're $35,000 blast chillers that need a dedicated 220 outlet and a lot of kitchen space," Wolff explains. "We've built something that uses existing space, plugs into a standard 120 outlet, uses little power, and completely optimizes the process."

For customers indifferent to water savings, Wolff jokes he can "Trojan horse" it in. "They'll care about the improved quality and saving time," he says.

They'll also appreciate new rebate programs from municipalities, like $800 per unit in Southern California and $1,000 in Tampa, Florida. "The Metropolitan Water District has a program that provides grants to innovations in water conservation," Wolff notes. "I received that grant, along with third-party validation of our technology."

For consumers, buying a DC:02 means getting a check back from the water district. Wolff sees this resonating with smaller restaurants and grocers, who benefit personally from savings while contributing to water conservation.

Though passionate about the environment, Wolff has no formal training in sustainability. His background is in product development and management, with an entrepreneurial drive. He bootstrapped CNSRV through early stages, raising capital from friends and family before attracting venture group Burnt Island Ventures for further funding.

"I always knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial," Wolff shares. "I just needed that spark—the problem to solve. This was a serendipitous intersection of my strengths in business and my passion for sustainability. Finding this solution is exactly where I want to focus my time and energy."