SPIRIT LAKE — If there’s one thing Spirit Lake resident Alex Mauri wants people to take from his company’s story, it’s that the American Dream is alive and well.

Mauri and longtime friend Andrew Cole, a Blanchard resident, are the creators of Star-Batt, a portable device that powers the Starlink Mini, a compact satellite internet dish, for up to 24 hours on a single charge.

Star-Batt officially launched as an e-commerce brand in October 2024. Mauri said they anticipate shipping between 5,000 and 7,000 units of their newest model, the Star-Batt Plus, this year.

But turning what started as a prototype built by Cole in his home shop into a thriving business was not without its obstacles.

“To make a very long story a little shorter, we had pulled together pretty much all the money we had to our names — and then we were victims of wire fraud with our first manufacturer,” Mauri said.

The loss totaled more than $60,000.

What they hadn’t yet lost, however, was their momentum. They decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign with a modest fundraising goal of $40,000 over 30 days.

Neither will soon forget watching donations pour in almost immediately after the campaign went live, often in increments of thousands of dollars.

“We ended up raising our 30-day goal in the first three hours and finished the campaign at $100K,” Mauri said. “That was kind of the first time we were really able to look at each other and go, ‘there may really be something here.’”

What's more, the funds they had lost to wire fraud were eventually recovered in full. 

"Sometimes you just have to put your faith in God and if it's meant to be, it's meant to be," Mauri said. "That worked out pretty good for us."

They also discovered that interest in off-grid connectivity was more widespread than they ever would have imagined.

“Essentially every rock we look under, there’s a new market that we hadn’t thought of,” Cole said.

Although global tariffs created some challenges with their first major inventory orders, as parts for Star-Batt not made in the U.S. are sourced overseas, Mauri and Cole have successfully scaled manufacturing and expanded beyond direct-to-consumer sales.

Star-Batt has become a tool for emergency responders during natural disasters, search and rescue teams, and government agencies, including the United States Department of Defense.

While many clients use Star-Batt for off-grid adventures, demand has also grown among those who want a backup option during power outages.

“There probably isn’t a business in America today that doesn’t value the ability to have backup internet,” Mauri said. “Every industry needs to stay connected.”

Currently, there are two Star-Batt models: the Star-Batt Mini and the Star-Batt Plus. Preorders for the Plus will begin shipping in the coming week. Both are housed in durable, weatherproof cases that protect the device and the Starlink Mini.

The Star-Batt Plus sells for $1,599 and, unlike the Mini, is airline compliant with removable 96 watt-hour lithium iron phosphate batteries. These batteries are a safer alternative to lithium-ion, which Cole explained can pose a fire hazard due to their energy density.

“They’re really dangerous because they’re so energy dense,” he added.

Even as the business grows, Mauri and Cole have yet to bring on full-time employees, though they recently established a Star-Batt “home base” at 6141 W. Maine St. to move away from working out of their homes. Instead, their workforce consists of 10 full-time contractors spread across the country.

“They’ve been with us since day one,” Mauri said.

“One of the strengths of a contract workforce is that it removes some of the load on us and we can focus on other parts of the business,” Cole added.

For both founders, building Star-Batt has become a dream job.

“I knew that I didn’t want to work for other people, and I knew Alex didn’t either,” Cole said. “We created our own dream job, and we’re blown away by how well it’s going.”

“It’s the best job I’ve ever had,” Mauri said. “Even when it’s stressful.”