Launching a business can be a leap that’s hard to take, but for Ideoli’s Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Chris Hartswick, starting a company always felt natural. From his days studying architecture as an undergraduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York, Chris began to appreciate the vast ways that light can interact with architecture and transform how one sees and experiences spaces. Soon after, lighting went from an interest to an obsession of his, and he went on to receive his master’s in lighting from RPI.

After college, Chris built up his knowledge by working in the lighting industry, which included serving as the VP of Design and Development at an LED lighting startup, working directly under one of the most revered experts in the lighting world. There, he gained key experience in design and manufacturing in this sector, and he’s able to apply this background to help create innovative, custom products for Ideoli’s clients at unrivaled speed.

When he’s not designing products and improving our manufacturing processes, Chris likes to unwind with his family in Long Island by playing outside with his two young daughters or working on his moves during one of their killer dance parties. He also likes to bring his girls to the office, where they’ve been known to bring lots of smiles around.

Chris comes from a small farming town around 85 miles north of Midtown Manhattan, and now he travels all over the world from cities to small villages for both work and fun. His favorite trip involved spending two weeks in an oceanside, open-air hut in a Costa Rican jungle. With no electricity or cell service, he was able to truly disconnect and refresh, something that’s important in what can otherwise be a high-intensity lifestyle as an entrepreneur.