In July of 2021, I had Dr. Elias Willemse, a co-Founder and the CTO of Waste Labs on my DataDriven show to talk specifically about how Waste Labs was using data and technology to help waste management companies make better decisions.  I was waiting for the right time to have the other co-Founder on the show and an announced capital raise did the trick.

I was joined by Vladimir Chuchkin, the CEO and co-Founder of Waste Labs to dig deeper into the progress Waste Labs has made on the business side and to learn more about its recently announced funding.

Some of the topics Vladimir discussed included:

• His early experiences in the power generation business
• Dealing with all manner of energy from nuclear to renewables to waste to energy
• How renewable and green energy has caught up to traditional energy sources in terms of profitability
• Developing the artificial intelligence platform for waste management companies and sustainable supply chains
• How Waste Labs' platform is differentiated
• The sheer complexity around waste collection and its optimization
• Waste collection companies are becoming more digital, particularly in commercially competitive markets
• The idea that consumers are willing to pay a premium for sustainable products
• Supply chains and how their role is changing in the circular economy
• The potential for vertical integration
• How the co-Founders prioritized revenue to determine if they were on the right track
• ESG and Sustainability was not top-of-mind for VCs in Asia