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When Sam Pardue looked into fixing the 鈥渂eautiful, leaky, old windows鈥� in his 1906 Portland home, he became so frustrated by the lack of options that he began developing his own solution.

Pardue came up with a customized, acrylic insert that boosts the performance of single-pane windows to the equivalence of standard, double-pane windows at about 20 percent of the cost. The window inserts stay in place because of a patent-pending spring bulb that creates a seal similar to that of a refrigerator door.

One year ago, Pardue left his position as CEO of Portland-based photography product company Lensbaby to fully pursue starting , a business that has gained a significant amount of attention from customers, clean technology investors and utilities.

A grant from the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center helped secure Portland General Electric’s participation in the review of an Indow Windows pilot installation planned for later this summer. As a regional semifinalist in the Cleantech Open business competition, Indow Windows has been able to refine its pitch to potential investors.

鈥淭he Cleantech Open is a different type of competition or engagement than anything else out there as far as I can tell,鈥� Pardue said. 鈥淚t provides you with coaching and business plan development and resources which are designed to help companies succeed in the marketplace, regardless of whether you win the competition or not.鈥�

Some Indow Windows customers had faced the same problem that had frustrated Pardue: attractive, historic windows that were drafty but irreplaceable. Indow Windows were installed this year in a home listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and Pardue hopes others will see that the product does not detract from existing architecture.

But people also are interested in installing Indow Windows to save money on utility payments. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that windows can account for up to 25 percent of a home’s heating bill.

Noise reduction is another selling point. The company recently introduced an acoustic-grade insert that cuts outdoor sound by 70 percent, and has drawn attention from commercial customers including the Leftbank Annex in Northeast Portland and the Olympic Mills Commerce Center.

Pardue knew that for Indow Windows to continue growing, it would need a system to manage all of the information pertinent in a mass customization business. The startup conquered that milestone just a few weeks ago, he said.

The company invested in customized software that will enable technicians to measure windows with a laser tool, and then wirelessly transmit the dimensions to a web application installed on a laptop at the Indow Windows manufacturing facility in North Portland.

鈥淲ith the push of a button, any dealer anywhere can submit a purchase order to us and it’ll be received into our cloud-based database, and from there we can drive all manufacturing and order fulfillment,鈥� Pardue explained.

鈥淲e invested quite a bit of time, effort and money in order to develop a complete IT system that will allow us to do business in Salem or Seattle or St. Louis, and that’s really the key in making this a national business.鈥�

Indow Windows has drawn customers through a large referral network in the Portland area, but it plans to transition to working with wholesale dealers in the fall. Pardue said he is discussing wholesale arrangements with about a dozen dealers in Oregon and Washington, including businesses that sell curtains and blinds, home contractors, solar panel installers and window shops.

The list price for customized panes is $20 per square foot, with a nominal measurement and installation fee.