Renaissance Fiber, LLC
RENAISSANCE FIBER- SEED Spring 2019, NC BEC Growth Grants Fall 2021
Published February 9, 2022
Today, we introduce Daniel Yohaness, founder of Renaissance Fiber, LLC in Winston-Salem, NC. Renaissance Fiber is the only domestic clean-tech manufacturer of hemp textile fiber. Their patented, low-cost, Ecologically Invisible™, and carbon-negative process supports our sustainable supply chain.
Q: Daniel, what problem are you trying to solve and what influenced you to start your company?
A: Consumers and manufacturers struggle to find practical ways to reduce their environmental impact and contribute to halting climate change. Renaissance Fiber provides one practical solution by offering a product that directly addresses the current pain points of textile production and marketing: our product is grown on American farms, processed domestically, uses less water and foreign chemicals than cotton, and is completely natural compared to fossil-derived or synthetic fibers which are energy intensive and polluting. At scale, our company can help consumers and manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint and reverse climate change.
Once we developed this technology to cleanly soften raw hemp fiber into textile fiber, we saw a huge opportunity to support the regional Agriculture and textile industries by creating good jobs in the sectors we know best. North Carolina has a rich tradition of creating big industries from agricultural outputs, whether that be tobacco, cotton, potatoes, etc. We saw that we could continue this legacy with hemp, a crop that creates several raw materials, including fiber for the textile industry.
Q: What does the road ahead look like for your company?
A: This is the year of living dangerously! We’re trying to raise funds this year to build our own infrastructure in coastal North Carolina.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about starting your own company?
A: Building something that no one else could have built but our team.
While visiting Winston-Salem, Daniel recommends:
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- Eating at Mozelles, Sweet Potatoes, and the West End Cafe, all serving the best of Southern comfort foods
- Taking in a Winston-Salem Dash game at Truist Stadium
- Going kayaking on Salem Lake
- Checking out the wineries in the Yadkin Valley
- Catching a Wake Forest football, basketball, or soccer game
- Visiting a museum – Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) or Old Salem Museums and Gardens, or Reynolds House
Support Daniel and Renaissance Fiber by:
- Connecting them to investors. The team seeks to make their case to investors who are aligned with their company.
