Jake Papazekos ’23: Molding the Textiles Industry at Simplifyber

When Jake Papazekos first began applying to colleges, he knew he wanted to study chemistry. So when he stumbled across the polymer and color chemistry program while completing his application for NC State University, he was immediately interested. Though he, like many incoming Wilson College of Textiles students, didn’t know much about the vast applications of textiles at the time, he jumped in and has been invested ever since.

During his undergraduate years, Papazekos worked as a student ambassador, tutor and research assistant within the Wilson College. In his senior year, a friend connected him with Simplifyber, a nonwoven startup with a focus on natural fibers, where he now works as a materials research and development assistant. 

“Sustainability has always been important to me, even as high schooler and younger, but I didn’t know what all I could do to help until I came to the Wilson College of Textiles,” he says.

Simplifyber uses liquid slurries containing natural cellulose-based fibers and biobased polymers which are molded into 3D products. This technology drastically reduces the need for cutting and sewing processes and is more automated, less labor intensive and has lower environmental impact than traditional soft goods manufacturing. 

“Essentially, we make a slurry material first through different chemical formulations for different fibers. We work with sustainable fibers like wood pulp and recycled fibers. Then we have this slurry material that we turn into formed molds,” he explains. 

Through a combination of pressure and heat, the startup produces solid-formed objects that can be shipped to manufacturers and used in the production process. One of their main products is shoe uppers, which is the portion attached to the sole that covers the entire foot.

Along with a passion for developing innovative change within the textiles industry, Papazekos says his favorite part of the job is the company culture.

“The thing I love most about the company is that they put so much trust in you. I make mistakes every day, and that’s just how you learn. They’re willing to help you become a better professional chemist or engineer from those mistakes,” he says.

Below, learn more about Papazekos’ time at the Wilson College and how Simplifyber is challenging the status quo in the apparel industry. 

In your own words, what is polymer and color chemistry?

I like to think of it as an applied chemistry degree. A lot of people don’t know what they really can do with a chemistry degree, but with something like polymer and color chemistry, it really can open up a lot of other doors, specifically in textiles. Especially around North Carolina, people really appreciate you having knowledge within the textile field and polymers and plastics, even dye chemistry. There’s definitely an industry demand for it.

What did you focus on in your research studies as an undergraduate student?

My first semester I worked on using enzymes to degrade cellulose products, like denim, sustainably. The byproduct was biogas that was usable, and it’s a sustainable way to cut down on textile waste using enzymes. I specifically focused on the use of a carbonate pre-treatment on durable pressed fabrics that makes them easier to degrade. 

In Dr. Ormond’s lab in the textile protection and comfort center, I worked on reading water. We would wash a set of used firefighter turn-out gear to get practice using high-tech analytical equipment and characterize what kind of molecules we can see in the water.

What does a week in the life at Simplifyber look like?

This is a very early-stage startup. Ever since I first started about a year ago, we’ve moved offices, our process has changed and our formulations have changed plenty of times. So every week is different. I’m a material scientist, but I do production, I do research and development (R&D), I do some slight engineering and I do a lot of project management. My job is whatever needs to be done. 

There are only honestly 14 employees and we are turning out product like crazy. Recently, I’ve been focusing a lot on production and R&D, so about half the day I’ll be in the lab making samples and trying to get product out. Then for the latter half of the day, I usually work on some R&D projects, trying to make our formulas better, stronger and more flexible. The goal is to improve our process, whether it’s producing less waste or making things cheaper and faster.

What drew you to working for a startup?

I kind of went all over whenever I was applying for jobs. Honestly, I really thought that I’d work for the government. This is my first professional job out of college, and I think I’ve decided the next place where I’m going to be will be another startup. It’s just been so much fun and the culture is amazing. 

My company right now is so young that we live a lot off of support from investors. However much money they’re giving us determines how long we’re going to last until we get our next injection of capital. So if you aren’t working your hardest or you’re not really putting your all into it, it’s going to affect everybody.

Everybody who’s there really cares about what they do and it really helps whenever your whole company is focused on reducing textile waste and trying to make the textile industry a cleaner place, so everybody’s really passionate about it and works really hard. I really love that about startup life. 

In your opinion, what’s the future of 3D forming?

The big importance of what we do is not the product, but it’s the process. The whole idea is the work that we can do in a day, and hopefully, the work that we can do in one day five years from now is going to totally outmatch what the traditional process for nonwovens can do.

If you’re trying to make 100 shoes in a day, you’re working in a traditional textile warehouse where they’re cutting and sewing and stitching. We don’t have to do any of that. It’s one whole piece together. The battle of that is making it cost effective and attractive to these really big companies and making them want to take that jump to become more sustainable. Our job is to figure out how to make it a more attractive choice for them. 

What are you looking forward to in your career?

I’m looking forward to developing my skills, and not only as a chemist. I love learning every day and putting my hand in every pot that I can. It’s been such a great experience that I think whenever I make the decision to maybe move on, I would go to another startup and try to help another probably sustainable practice build itself up and make the textiles industry better. 

What advice would you give to a student who wants to go into the polymer and color chemistry field?

Definitely put yourself out there because the PCC program in general is great, and you learn so much through all of the classes and labs you have to take. You really, really get to learn so much whenever you get involved, whether you are a research assistant or a tutor or if you join clubs like the American Association of Textile Colorists and Chemists, all of those sorts of things. 

It’s the practical experience that can really level up your skills. Find something you’re interested in and see if you can come in and shadow a lab and do some work.