#189 Co-Founder Watershed, Taylor Francis: Worthy Missions
May 6, 2024
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Taylor Francis, co-founder of Watershed, discusses the urgent need to combat climate change, the founding of Watershed to help companies reduce emissions, challenges in hiring, the importance of shared context in a co-founder trio, and the evolving landscape of sustainability reporting in business.
Having a magnetic mission can drive a company forward with energy and motivation.
Attracting top talent is facilitated by aligning recruitment with the company's impactful mission.
Challenging company objectives can attract exceptional talent due to the allure of tackling complex problems.
Deep dives
Importance of Three Co-Founders
Running a company with three co-founders is seen as an advantage due to the varied levels of energy each person brings. With three co-founders, there is always someone in an energetic state to drive the company forward. The emotional and motivational support among three co-founders helps in navigating the complexities of entrepreneurship.
Mission-Driven Recruitment Strategy
Watershed's recruitment strategy focused on attracting top talent by aligning them with the company's mission to solve climate change. Candidates like Dan Miller Smith were drawn to Watershed not only for the professional opportunity but also due to the company's commitment to making a significant environmental impact. Emphasizing the mission helped in attracting passionate and competent individuals to the team.
Building an Ambitious Company
Creating a challenging and ambitious company can attract exceptional talent due to the allure of tackling complex problems. The harder the company's objectives, the more compelling it becomes for talented individuals to join the team. Watershed's mission to accelerate the climate economy by reducing CO2 emissions aligns with attracting top-notch talent driven by a common goal.
Day-to-Day Operations and Climate Impact
The day-to-day operations at Watershed involve typical tasks of a software company, such as coding, customer interactions, and team management. However, the added layer of making a significant impact on reducing carbon emissions adds a deeper sense of purpose to the routine tasks. Employees find motivation in knowing that their work contributes to solving critical environmental issues.
Nurturing Intense yet Caring Culture
Watershed aims to cultivate a culture that thrives at the intersection of intensity and care. While intensity drives outcomes and competitive spirit, care ensures empathy, integrity, and kindness within the team. Striking this balance fosters a unique environment where employees are driven by passion and results while maintaining a supportive and collaborative work atmosphere.
One day when he was 13, Taylor Francis walked out of the movie theater, and he was pissed off. He had just seen Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth and internalized a “generational call to arms, that my parents had screwed our generation” by causing the climate crisis, he says. 14 years later, he was working at Stripe and felt another call to arms: The 2020s would be a crucial decade for slashing carbon emissions and combating global warming. So, he and his co-founders Avi Itskovich and Christian Anderson all left Stripe to start Watershed, which helps companies measure and reduce their emissions.
In this episode, Taylor and Joubin discuss Patrick Collison, Dan Miller-Smith, hiring challenges, Jonathan Neman, “golden age syndrome,” John Doerr and Mike Moritz, the Climate Reality Project, steady partnerships, DRI cultures, shared context, social distancing, information sprawl, and the founders’ “woe is me” narrative.
