Kirstie Gildemeister & Mikko Gildemeister have been best friends since 2019. Kirstie is a founding member and the CEO at Hydrolyst LLC. Prior to starting Hydrolyst, Kirstie was a metallurgical engineer with an aluminum company in Kentucky and received a Master’s degree in Materials Engineering and Science at South Dakota School of Mines in 2022. With a passion for entrepreneurship, innovation, and conscious living, Kirstie and Kelsey began working to develop Hydrolyst. Mikko is just happy his mom takes him backpacking and hiking whenever she can.

Kelsey Fitzgerald is a founding member and CTO at Hydrolyst LLC. Kelsey brings six years of industry experience and five years of research experience to the team. Kelsey received his Master’s in Materials Engineering and Science from South Dakota School of Mines in 2021. Kelsey and his wife built a tiny home in 2015 that they lived in for six years. This tiny house was Kelsey’s first major entry into off-grid technology and he’s been focused on apply and expanding this knowledge into Hydrolyst ever since.