GoSun's Solar Oven Evolution In Fives

GoSun's Solar Oven Evolution In Fives

5 Years of Solar Ovens

Here at GoSun, we are celebrating our 5th birthday week! With that comes a lot of excitement of where we've been and where we are going. A big part of where we have been has been built around sets of fives. Sometimes, things work out perfectly like that, you know? So buckle up and enjoy some of the fives that got us where we are today!


FIVE key people who built GoSun

  • Gary Starr
    • Our Business Development wizard, Patrick's mentor and advocate over the years. We don't know where we'd be without him. Certainly not here.
  • Nick Dardugno
    • The numbers guy. Nick is the watchkeeper who makes sure we make wise moves with our funds and that we keep growing strategically.
  • Peter Harten
    • Our Operations guru. Peter rallies the whole team and has his hand in coordinating almost every effort at GoSun. He's taking us big and exciting places.
  • Nate Maggard
    • Nate is our industrial design lead. He can take any idea, make it look marvelous and then build it to specification. Nate's creative ability to make ideas into reality is nothing short of astounding.
  • Davey Jones
    • If you've ever met Davey you'll know that he’s a complete powerhouse. He's our sales genius and there is little that he’s afraid to tackle. We treasure the excitement he has brought to the team.

And two other individuals who we couldn't have made it without

  • Emily Zaebst
    • Our Editor-in-Chief and ever-present supporter through the entire evolution of GoSun. From product testing in the jungle to trade shows in suits, she's been through and can do it all.
  • Matt Gillespie
    • The first to join the GoSun team straight out of college, Matt is to thank for the creative genius behind our Kickstarter campaigns. His passion for sustainable living has pushed our company in an incredible way.

FIVE Solar Ovens that got us here

  • GoSun Sport
    • Our fastest, first and biggest selling unit so far over the years! We love the portability, usability, and fun that the Sport offers to the solar cooking world. It is the linchpin to our breakthrough in solar ovens.
  • GoSun Grill
    • Our biggest, family-scale solar cooker that brings together elegant design with solid utility. This Grill has been sought after by BBQ fanatics, backyard chefs and off-gridders alike.
  • GoSun Go
    • Our smallest solar oven and the most portable solar cooking has ever been. This zipped up Go does as its name states! It goes with you wherever you travel. Only 2lbs? Crazy!
  • GoSun Fusion
    • The GoSun Fusion just finished it's lap around the Kickstarter track and is about to join our suite of stoves in Spring, 2019. We are confident it will be a remarkable addition to your outdoor life.
  • GoSun Station
    • The solar cooker that rivals a commercial kitchen; with four tubes and a maneuverable rack, this baby cooks fast and delicious meals for up to 40 people at once.

FIVE Awards that validated our efforts

  • CTA Small Business of the Year 2017
    • CTA's Innovation Entrepreneur Awards program recognizes executives and leading businesses in the consumer technology industry that demonstrate innovation, dedication to the industry, community outreach and the tenacity to persevere through business and economic challenges.
  • CES Innovation Honoree 2016 - GoSun Grill
    • Products were judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, independent engineers and members of the trade media to honor outstanding design and engineering in cutting-edge consumer electronics products across 27 product categories and the Gosun Grill was chosen as an honoree!
  • Awarded UN Grant from the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC)  
    • GoSun is the first solar oven ever grant supported by the GACC. Through a six-month pilot study and user-centered design process, GoSun developed a ton of key insights on expansion into developing world markets.  Serving both urban and rural populations, we saw first-hand how our stoves can help break a cycle of poverty around cooking with solid fuels.
  • Fast Company Social Innovation Award
    • They sifted through more than 1,000 truly impressive entries to find the ones their panel of judges thought were the best combination of creative problem solving and potential to change our world for the better. And we were one of the finalists!
  • Central Garden Best in Show
    • A smaller award to many, but this award was incredibly meaningful to us. Out of a large trade show, the GoSun came first as best product at the show. We try our best to be humble, but these awards make us proud, not of the work we did as individuals, but of the work a team came together to produce.

FIVE Great Memories that won’t be easily forgotten

  • SXSL (South By Southlawn) at The Whitehouse -LINK
    • The ability to present our technology on the White House grounds was terrific! We met incredible people and shared the experience of solar cooking with the world from the Capital of our great nation.
  • TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield People’s Choice Awards Pitch
    • You voted us to take the stage and despite the tradeshow hacking cough, Patrick gave a pretty solid pitch summarizing our business and future direction.
  • Tech.co Start-Up of the Year Finalist 2017
    • Out of over 1,000 applications, 100 were selected to pitch at Innovate/Celebrate, and of those, GoSun was chosen as one of the Top 5 Finalists to then pitch on the main stage in front of the entire audience.
  • 40 Days of Sunshine - https://www.gosun.co/pages/follow-the-journey-40-days-of-sunshine
    • To commemorate his 40th trip around the Sun, GoSun’s founder, Patrick Sherwin, traveled the USA, eating only solar cooked food for 40 days. This record-breaking trip revolved around GoSun’s users, technology and adventure. You can see the whole experience here.
  • Solar Cook-Off in Washington Park, Cinci
    • Inspired by our debut on Top Chef, GoSun brought together executive chefs to put our ovens through the paces in front of a live audience.  Teams had to create two dishes, one main course and one dessert, within an hour and were then judged by Cincinnati’s premier Chef Jean Roberte.  

FIVE Fails that nearly crushed us

  • Toilet Scrubby Cleaning Brushes in Guatemala -
    • During our first pilot study, we implemented eight different designs and over 50 stoves throughout Guatemala.  In our hurry to develop solutions, we included a toilet scrubby (brand new of course) to use when cleaning the large tube oven.  Everyone knows what a toilet scrubby is used for, so don’t try to repurpose them.
  • GoSun Grill Thermal Battery
    • This was a big part of our GoSun Grill’s Kickstarter, but sadly we weren’t able to make it work. To recognize this failure, we refunded that portion of proceeds to those backers who ordered that accessory. We’ve learned from being on the bleeding edge and are now creating the Hybrid Solar + Electric GoSun Fusion.
  • GoSun Mini Kit
    • One of our very first products was homemade in our garage workshop since it launched along with the GoSun Sport in our first Kickstarter.  It was a very cool product but we couldn’t keep up with demand; which is to say we couldn’t get our act together to create a production line at home.
  • GoSun Dogger
    • Building off the Mini Kit’s discontinuation, we strived to make the best solar powered tubular meat cooker of all time. The campaign was more fun to build than it was to deliver, so we pivoted and sent all our backers a GoSun Go instead.
  • There is no fifth mistake
    • We've only made four mistakes....ever :)

FIVE TV Debuts that got us into your living room

  • Top Chef
  • All American Makers  
    • Season 2, Episode 8 - World’s Greatest Grill.  This great reality TV show crosses between the Shark Tank and Survivor.  Matt and Patrick got thrown in front of the cameras and Angel Investors; a real-life, reality TV experience.
  • Today Show
    • It’s not everyday that your invention shows up on America’s number one morning show but this made for a few nice sips of coffee.
  • Price is Right
    • We love being featured on different TV shows across the globe, and the Price is Right is no exception. A pair of GoSun’s were included in an elaborate camping package and the lucky contestant walked away with a huge grin.
  • Henry Ford's Innovation Nation
    • Capturing stories about inventors and innovation, The Henry Ford, came to our little slice of heaven in Cincinnati. We were able to cook for the production team and show the nation how outdoor cooking is being disrupted at GoSun.

FIVE Media Splashes that validated our hard work

These 5 media companies gave us such a boost in terms of PR and pushed our company further in the world of solar innovation.

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