Starting with One Tank and a Mission
In 2015, a small team in Southern California started moving cryogenic tanks.
Not furniture. Not food. Just tanks.
These tanks carried the most fragile cargo imaginable—human reproductive cells. Sperm. Eggs. Embryos. It was niche. It was risky. But it was needed.
“We picked up our first tank from a fertility clinic in Pasadena,” said founder Jeremy Clarke. “It was nerve-wracking. That tank held a family’s future.”
No big shipping company would touch this kind of delivery. The cargo needs to stay frozen at -196°C using liquid nitrogen. One mistake, and years of IVF treatment could go to waste. IVF CRYO was born to solve that.
Figuring Out a System That Worked
The first challenge was consistency. Liquid nitrogen evaporates fast. A delay of even two hours could raise the tank’s temperature and damage the contents.
In the early days, they tested everything. Jeremy and his team drove the routes themselves. They logged nitrogen loss. They timed hospital pickups. They learned the hard way.
“Once, a tank lid popped mid-trip,” Jeremy recalled. “It turned the back of the van into a foggy freezer. Scared the guy at the gas station.”
So they started sealing every tank twice. Then they added temp tracking. Then they started offering same-day routes.
Moving from Manual to Nationwide
By 2018, IVF CRYO had outgrown local runs. Clinics in Arizona and Nevada called. So did some in Texas.
But growth wasn’t easy. Cryogenic shipping is a niche. Planes won’t fly nitrogen tanks without special clearance. Overnight carriers won’t guarantee temps. Standard shipping insurance doesn’t cover bio samples.
To grow, IVF CRYO had to do everything themselves—tracking, packing, paperwork, and driving. They built their own shipping software to log temp, route, and tank refills. They even trained drivers how to refill tanks mid-trip.
“We had to make our own playbook,” Jeremy said. “There wasn’t a FedEx for embryos.”
Scaling Smart: Opening in Indiana
The biggest jump came in 2022. IVF CRYO opened a second hub in Indiana. The Midwest location meant faster access to more clinics.
They didn’t pick Indiana by accident.
60% of U.S. fertility clinics are east of the Mississippi. IVF CRYO needed to cut down the time it took to get from coast to coast. Opening a hub in the middle was the fastest way to do it.
Since launching the Indiana hub:
- Transit times dropped 40% on East Coast routes.
- Same-day delivery options increased by 50%.
- Lost cargo? Zero reported since 2022.
That Midwest hub helped the company reach 43 states by 2024.
How IVF CRYO Handles the Heat (and Cold)
Each tank has a “hold time.” That’s how long it stays cold without a refill. Most hold between 10–20 days.
But IVF CRYO plans for 5.
Every delivery is tracked with GPS and a temperature tag. Drivers have emergency refill kits. Dispatchers monitor every mile.
If something goes wrong, they don’t call customer service. They just fix it.
One time, a tank headed to Illinois hit a snowstorm and stalled on the highway. The driver called dispatch. A second van met him halfway with a full refill tank and swapped it roadside. The shipment made it in time.
What Makes Their System Work
Most of IVF CRYO’s process is built on four key steps:
1. Redundancy
They always have backup tanks, backup drivers, and backup refill plans.
2. Temperature Control
Every tank has a sensor. Drivers are trained to react if the temperature starts rising.
3. Direct to Clinic
No warehouse. No third-party stops. Every trip is a straight shot.
4. Staff Who Know the Stakes
Every driver understands they’re not moving boxes—they’re moving potential life.
One IVF nurse said, “Our patients often ask, ‘Are my embryos safe?’ I just tell them, ‘IVF CRYO has it.’ And they breathe easier.”
Recommendations for Other Niche Logistics Startups
Niche markets need focus. IVF CRYO didn’t try to be a general delivery company. They picked one thing and became the best at it.
Here’s what others can learn:
1. Own the Process
If your cargo is sensitive, control every step. Don’t outsource mission-critical steps like packaging or tracking.
2. Train Like It Matters
You can’t afford rookie mistakes. Create training that sticks. Role-play problems. Use checklists. Test for readiness.
3. Start Manual, Then Automate
They didn’t build fancy systems first. They drove the routes. Hand-wrote logs. Only later did they create software.
4. Listen to the End User
IVF CRYO asked clinics what they feared. The biggest answer? Lost or late tanks. That shaped their entire workflow.
5. Pick Smart Expansion Points
Indiana wasn’t trendy. It was strategic. Base new hubs where demand is high and access is wide.
Looking Ahead
By 2025, IVF CRYO wants to open another hub in the Northeast. Clinics in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia are growing fast. Speed matters more than ever.
They also plan to offer overnight emergency service for weekend embryo shipments. Most couriers stop Friday. IVF CRYO sees that as an opportunity.
The fertility field is expected to grow 10.5% per year through 2032, according to Grand View Research. IVF CRYO wants to grow with it—without ever forgetting how personal each tank is.
Final Thoughts
Scaling a niche logistics company isn’t about flashy tech or endless funding. It’s about solving one very specific problem, better than anyone else.
IVF CRYO scaled because they picked a hard job and refused to mess it up. They didn’t cut corners. They made their own rules. And they kept the tanks cold.
For any startup founder wondering how to grow in a weird, tight market—start with trust, stay obsessed with quality, and make the next delivery count.
Literally.
