Future Optimist

Today we get a bit silly on the podcast, showcasing a product that made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Collin White is the co-founder of Tootles, flatulence suppressing underwear made from activated carbon fiber. You might think this is just a gag gift (a number of people have already discreetly given me pairs, apparently trying to drop a hint), but actually it’s based on the field medical work of Collin and his father, Dr. Robert White. They co-created Stitches Medical, a line of science-backed garments for hospitals, to suit the many awkward and unusual clothing needs of patients.

David Cutler is the founder of Fortuna Cools, an innovative start-up that’s going to completely change the way you think about coolers. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Ok, you might not be thinking about coolers on a daily basis, per se, but if you want to head out and bring some drinks with you on a hot summer day, odds are good that you’re putting your drinks into a plastic cooler. But what if there was a better way of both keeping things cool and, you know, not creating throwaway products that will never decompose, forever polluting our oceans and land such that future generations will likely only know us as the “plastic era” people? Too far? You love plastic that much huh? Ok, well, I’m deeply inspired by David’s Story. His optimism and determination led him to found a company that will have a profound impact on how foods are kept cool around the world, on an industrial and consumer scale.

Jay Giraud is the CEO & Founder of Damon, and he’s an award-winning mobility entrepreneur, speaker, and inventor. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://damon.com You might not know this about me, but I got roped into motorcycles by a good friend who convinced me to watch MotoGP. I’ve always enjoyed watching the sport, and the future of electric motorcycles is just so exciting. Damon builds all-electric motorcycles that feel like they come straight from the future. They’ve raised tens of millions in funding and won numerous awards from Popular Science, CES, and more. But most importantly? Learn how he found a life and career of meaning for himself, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Gustavo Rubacha is the CEO and Founder of LutiBand and LutiKey, two life-saving devices that he invented after having a heart attack at 37 that changed everything. ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://lutiband.com LutiBand is the world’s First smartest emergency Wearable. of its kind that helps you stay active, connected, safe, and healthy.  It is a state-of-the-art medical alert device that uses the most advanced technologies to keep people connected and aware of one another's safety at all times.

Ross Blum is the president and COO of Skyline Robotics, makers of Ozmo, the world’s first high-rise window cleaning robot.  ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com All those windows you see downtown? Someone’s gotta clean ‘em. And apparently it’s a $40B industry. Skyline Robotics have already received millions in funding, and Ross has had a meteoric rise to the top that I find fascinating. He’s innovated his way to success in an unlikely category, so there’s lots of gold to be found in this episode. 

Today my guest is Mick Ebeling, a man who’s been named one of Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders, and his organization is the only one ever honored twice by TIME Magazine for top invention of the year. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com His incubator is called Not Impossible, and through it he tackles enormous problems that affect us all, like food insecurity. 50 million people are food insecure in the US, and through Mick’s work, he’s been able to distribute hundreds of thousands of meals with his innovative technology-based solutions. We’ll learn how Mick transformed his career from film and film production into making a meaningful impact around the world. 

Praveen Penmetsa is the CEO of Monarch Tractor, all electric, driverless tractors that are going to revolutionize the way all commercial farming takes place. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com The importance of Praveen’s work cannot be overstated, the very future of humanity depends on developing smarter solutions to manage our farmland. Praveen has gotten over 80 million dollars in funding for his company, and his personal story is so inspiring. Learn how he left India to come to the US, where his talent for engineering led to him building a number of exciting products, ultimately creating his game-changing new company that will change how farming takes place around the world. When you learn what these tractors can do, you’ll be as blown away as I was.

Andrea Demichelis is the founder of Elliot for Water, a mission-driven enterprise to give access to water to millions of people. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com How does it work? Simple. Instead of setting your search engine to Google, set it to elliotforwater.com, and search as you normally would. The ad revenue and search revenue is diverted to organizations providing drinking water and building solar and other renewable energy sources. In 2020, Elliot for Water hit the goal of donating 1 million liters of fresh water. It’s an approach to doing good I’d never considered, and that’s why I know you’ll be fascinated by Andrea Demichelis. 

Gary Oppenheimer is the founder of AmpleHarvest.org, an organization that links millions of amateur gardeners to local pantries. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Have you ever had a few too many tomatoes in your garden? Know someone with an extra basket of zucchini? AmpleHarvest.org makes it incredibly easy to make sure that your excess food doesn’t go to waste. Food waste is one of THE defining problems of our era, and Gary Oppenheimer has made it his life’s work to solve it. His efforts have landed him on CNN, in the White House with 2 sitting presidents, on TEDx, and more. I support everything about this man’s journey.

William Santana Li is quite the remarkable individual. Through incredible grit and determination, he rose through the ranks of the Ford Motor Company to become the youngest senior executive at the company at the age of 28. Watch this episode on YouTube Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com He was given a $250 million budget to build a Ford subsidiary called Greenleaf, which led to him getting bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. He was recruited by SoftBank Venture Capital, made famous recently by WeWork & the show WeCrashed, and funded or worked on a series of startups before landing on his current start-up, Knightscope. Knightscope is a publicly traded company that’s raised millions and millions in funding and makes autonomous security robots in silicon valley, to assist with security and law enforcement around the country. Needless to say, in this episode, I’m about to get schooled.