Designing Smart Heat Pumps That Work for Every Room with Quilt

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Jan 23, 2025

Paul Lambert, Co-founder and CEO of Quilt, talks about innovative ductless heat pumps that offer intelligent room controls. He discusses the unique name 'Quilt,' symbolizing comfort and community, and their sustainable approach to heating solutions. Lambert shares insights into overcoming consumer inertia and the challenges of integrating these systems into older homes. With plans for market expansion, he highlights the importance of partnerships with HVAC contractors and the emotional impact of design in creating effective home climate solutions.

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ANECDOTE

Quilt's Name Origin

Paul Lambert's company was initially named Abre, inspired by Nest.
The name Quilt was chosen because it represents comfort, togetherness, and legacy, aligning with the company's values.

INSIGHT

Quilt's Product Stack

Quilt's product stack comprises indoor units, an outdoor unit, and a smart thermostat called the Dial.
These components form a deeply integrated HVAC system.

ANECDOTE

Cody's Home Renovation

Cody Sims had a major attic renovation to install a ducted heat pump system, including new ductwork and insulation.
He now regrets not having room-by-room control, a feature Quilt offers.

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Paul Lambert is the Co-founder and CEO of Quilt, a company designing smart ductless heat pumps for residential heating and cooling with intelligent room-by-room controls. Quilt was founded in 2022 and launched in the San Francisco Bay Area in spring 2024. Since then, they have achieved hundreds of deployments and are preparing to expand to their next market in Southern California. Earlier this year, they announced a $33 million Series A financing round co-led by Energy Impact Partners and Galvanize Climate Solutions, following a $9 million seed round in 2023 co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Gradient Ventures. MCJ is proud to have invested in both rounds through our venture funds.

Before founding Quilt, Paul led sustainability efforts at Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator for product ideas developed during employees’ 20% time. He previously held product roles at Google and Twitter and began his career by founding, running, and exiting a startup called LearnDot.

In this conversation, we wanted to understand Paul’s product mindset—how Quilt works, the assumptions he’s validated along the way, and how he’s approached the challenges of building the business.

In this episode, we cover:

[2:01] The origin of the name Quilt
[3:32] An overview of Quilt’s product stack
[5:37] Quilt’s installation process
[8:24] An overview of mini splits
[10:56] How Paul and his co-founder decided on ductless mini splits
[17:09] Paul’s path from design spec to prototype
[18:47] The company’s progress to date
[21:38] Consumer sentiment about heat pumps
[23:51] Seasonal changes that drive consumers to purchase Quilt
[27:16] Paul’s biggest learnings in building the company
[32:16] Design considerations in Quilt’s product
[34:59] Workforce development and other inertia challenges
[40:51] What’s next for Quilt
[45:52] Where Quilt is hiring, plus its newly launched merch store

Episode recorded on Dec 17, 2024 (Published on Jan 23, 2025)

*Due to the recent fires, Quilt will now launch in Los Angeles in the Spring of 2025.

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant