Page 14 October 14, 2021 EL SEGUNDO HERALD
Featured Pets of the Week
adoptable/pet/?ss=LACA-A-1510
Stanley is a handsome male 6 month old
domestic medium dark grey Tabby looking
for a Friend for Life. He’s still a young cat -
under a year old, so he is playful, curious and
adventurous. If you’ve got an empty spot on
your couch, Stanley is ready to fill it. https://
spcala.com/adoptable/pet/?ss=LACA-A-663
This happy gal is Cici, a 5 year old Pit Bull
mix. She came to spcaLA when her owner
could no longer care for her. She is working on
her basic obedience skills while she waits for
her second home. Inquire about Cici! https://
spcala.com/adoptable/pet/?ss=LACA-A-1382 •
Provided by Hannah Collett, spcaLA
Lokahi is Hawaiian for unity. That’s a big
word for a little male domestic short hair kitten,
but suffice to say, this beautiful 5 month old
male grey cat will bring peace and harmony to
your household. Adopt Lokahi today! https://
spcala.com/adoptable/pet/?ss=LACA-A-469
Welcome to adoptions, Ledger! Ledger is a
nice looking male 4 year old German Shepherd
mix dog who’s confidence is growing every
day. He enjoys full body pets and may even
try to crawl into your lap. He’s a social guy
and is working on basic obedience while he
waits for his forever home. https://spcala.com/
Stanley
Ledger Lokahi
Cici
Ed Jaeger from front page
applications, they decided to explore other
applications for their technology.
“My mission,” Jaeger said, “is to progress
our products from motorsports to human sports
and beyond,” Jaeger said that his company
has been awarded a contract with the United
States Air Force to meet hydration challenges
for boots-on-the-ground warriors, as well as
those tasked to pilot transport vehicles.
Rainmaker has also created a medical division
of the company, labeled MedLock, which
leverages the technology associated with their
MagLock brand, an offshoot product that develops
magnetic couplings for air and fluid delivery.
The MedLock product helps the users of bedtime
sleeping machines, think CPAP, providing
a “quick and secure connection” for those who
use the CPAP machine on a nightly basis.
So how did Jaeger go from college drop-out
to become the president and CEO of Rainmaker
Solutions, Inc? And how did a traffic violation
lead to him becoming an El Segundo resident?
Jaeger and wife Kari Jean bought their home
in El Segundo twenty years ago. And Jaeger
credits an El Segundo police officer, who cited
Ed for a speeding violation, as being the person
responsible for Jaeger and his wife and family
calling El Segundo home.
Jaeger said that he was hurrying to work one
day when he was flagged for speeding on Vista
Del Mar. He turned right on Grand Avenue to
park and so that the officer could write him
the ticket. Because Jaeger was eager to get to
work, the officer said that Jaeger, to save some
time, could make an “illegal” U-turn. Jaeger
was suspicious of the officer’s motives, thinking
that if he did make the illegal U-turn, he would
garner another ticket. So, the officer mapped
out a quick scenario that would, legally, get
Jaeger where he needed to go.
Jaeger followed the officer’s instructions, and
lo-and-behold ended up on Pine and Concord
Streets, where the owner of the corner house,
which is now Jaeger’s house, was putting out
the “for sale by owner” sign.
Jaeger said that he and his wife were looking
to buy a home in Westchester, which was
closer to his at-the-time office in Santa Monica.
But he was awestruck by the house on Pine
and Concord and immediately made an offer.
Jaeger said that, to this day, he is still friends
with the ESPD officer who not only wrote him
up for speeding but provided the circuitous route
to work that landed him in his new home and
began his El Segundo residency. Now Jaeger
does not have to navigate the speed-trap that is
Vista Del Mar as he heads to work, a commute
that takes him “about four minutes.”
Jaeger attended Birmingham High School
and Pierce College, but soon decided that his
college pathway, which lasted about a year,
was not for him. “I thought that I was smarter
and more creative than my teachers,” he said,
“and had something to prove…I thought that
I knew more, which I didn’t.” He convinced
his parents to let him drop out of school and
to start his business venture. “My parents
were OK with me being slightly different,” he
said. noting that his siblings had all gone on
to matriculate to college. “That is when I got
the bug to start working for myself.”
Growing up in Encino, which at the time
featured a fair amount of open land, Jaeger
said that he was always interested in riding
motorcycles, which was the only sport he
favored. “I did not grow up as a stick-andball
guy,” he said, noting that the motorcycle
culture flourished back in the day in Encino.
So, when Jaeger decided to exit Ironclad, he
knew it was “time for me to leave.” He said
that his love for the duties of being the company’s
founder, CEO/President, and director,
had “diminished.” Jaeger said it was time to
stop being identified as “Ed from Ironclad” and
return to being Ed Jaeger. “How do I get back
to being me?” he remembered asking himself
Jaeger said he “completely re-invented myself,
which was a really difficult transition for
me.” During this timeframe, Jaeger accepted an
offer to compete in the Baja 500 motorcycle
race, which he won. And then later, he won
the Baja 1000 race.
It was during his competition in these grueling
races that the idea for FluidLogic was born.
“This is where the lightbulb hit me, where
the (genesis) of FluidLogic came in to play.
“I thought that I would be OK hydration-wise
and nutrition-wise,” he said of his experiences
racing in Baja, “but I could not maintain my
hydration.” He said that he was constantly
thirsty and hot and losing focus on the task at
hand. He was not sure when to hydrate and how
much to drink, citing what he termed “mental
gymnastics” that lessened his concentration
and mental acuity.
After his Baja victories, Jaeger found that
he was too dehydrated to celebrate with his
teammates and crew. So, he recuperated in
Mexico, and during his long trip back to the
Los Angeles area by car, he wrote in his jour-
nal about his south-of-the-border experiences,
specifically the need to develop a product that
would help motorsport drivers know when
to seek hydration, how much to drink, and
repeat the process seamlessly throughout the
competition.
And that was the genesis of the FluidLogic
hydration system.
Racer Ricky Johnson has known Jaeger for
four decades. They bonded over their passion
for motorcycle racing. “He is a crazy (son of
a gun),” Williams, who was in on the ground
floor of the early prototypes of FluidLogic, said
of Jaeger. “Ed is not afraid to try something
new, to be innovative,” Johnson said, noting
how Jaeger can be tenacious in his product
development pursuits and will not be deterred
by skeptics. “Turning a (product) dream into
reality can be difficult.”
Robert Haro remembers meeting Jaeger when
both were young entrepreneurs in the early
’80s. He labeled his friend “a fighter.” What
makes Jaeger unique, Haro was asked? “His
outgoing personality, quick wit, and ability to
make new friends,” Haro said, adding that “he is
a natural-born salesperson and can convince most
that his ideas and vision and valid and doable.”
Racer car driver Jim Slavik has been friends
with Jaeger for a half-dozen years. He also
participated in the Beta testing phase of both
the MagLock and FluidLogic systems and is
an investor in Rainmaker. He said that “Ed
has a ton of drive and energy. He has done an
excellent job in documenting that a scientific
approach to hydration really helps performance.”
Slavik noted that while FluidLogic was initially
developed for motorsports applications, “Ed is
smart enough to acknowledge that there are
bigger markets that he can address.”
Conquering new markets is always at the
forefront of Jaeger’s thinking.
“How do we take this (product) from motorsports
to human sports?” he said. “If we can
keep a driver fully hydrated while he is driving
240 miles per hour at the Indianapolis 500, can
we do this for a soldier? For someone who is
peddling on their Peloton, for someone who
is pushing a stroller? Or riding their bike on
the Strand?” His mission is “how do we get
hydration to the masses?”
He said that a couple of years ago, the
selling door was opened for FluidLogic and
the United States military. Jaeger noted the
similarities between the “uniform” that a race
car driver wears and the gear that a military
man or woman sports, including protective
headgear, body protection, with many in the
military working in confined quarters, just
like race car drivers, if their job is to pilot
a tank or Hummer. Or fly a helicopter. Or a
C-130 transport.
A grant was received from the Air Force,
and the Rainmaker folks demonstrated their
innovative product. The military decisionmakers
were impressed with the cross-over
application of the product, which allowed the
progression of the FluidLogic product from
the initial civilian use to a device that would
benefit the military.
He and his team developed a fluid delivery
system for their soldiers and their vehicles.
They have branded the military application
“MissionLogic.
And, utilizing MagLock technology, the
Rainmaker team has developed that application
for CPAP users. After testing, the MedLock
product hit the home-health market and has
proved extraordinarily successful. “We want
to proliferate the market,” Jaeger said.
Tom Davin is currently the co-CEO of the
Black Rifle Coffee Company and first met
Jaeger when Jaeger was running Ironclad. “I
loved Ed’s positive personality from day one,”
he said. “He is one hell of an entrepreneur,
fearless when it comes to trying new things.”
Davin said that not all of Jaeger’s ideas have
panned out, but that he has “a pretty high
batting average.”
When Jaeger is not scheming to develop
“the next big thing” in his chosen industry,
he likes to surf, tool up-and-down the Strand
with his wife, astride their electric bikes, and
support local restaurants. He also plays Mr.
Fixit at his 90+-year-old, Spanish-style house.
One thing that Jaeger said he is unable to
do at this time is his favored pastime, riding
motorcycles. Nine months ago, he “suffered
a bit of a wreck” while riding his motorbike,
breaking eleven bones. He is looking to get
back on his bike in January.
He does not envision ever leaving El Segundo.
“This town will give you back exactly what
you give to it,” he said. “If you are friendly to
everyone, they will be friendly to you. If you
know everybody’s names, they will (reciprocate).
We are fortunate that we live where we
live, and we work hard to preserve it. We do
not plan to move, by any means.”
That sentiment sounds very fluid and...
logical. •