CleanTechies

In this enlightening episode, Silas and Somil delve into an engaging conversation with a visionary in the realm of carbon markets, Sudhu Arumugam, the CEO and Co-Founder of CYNK.CYNK is an early-stage company based out of Nairobi and Singapore, and they are building a block-chained tied marketplace specifically for the African voluntary carbon markets. Many debate the need for another carbon marketplace, but one thing is certain: trust in this space has been hard to find, and what CYNK is doing should help fix this.Sudhu Arumugam and his co-founder, Nils Razmilovic, bring a unique blend of Finance, Blockchain, and Sustainability expertise. Their collective experience and insight have culminated in the creation of CYNK. The driving force behind their venture is the imperative need to ensure that financial benefits reach local African communities, fostering a more inclusive and sustainable environmental impact.---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  📺 👀 Prefer to watch: Subscribe on YouTube.Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. Topics:**1:40 Intro to Sudhu**5:00 Importance of blockchain in the carbon markets and how it works**6:05 The Data Behind Carbon Credits and How That Affects the Price**7:45 Technology: Carbon → Blockchain **8:40 Who their Customers are**10:00 Growing the TAM Requires Transparency**13:00 Pricing Carbon**14:20 Attitude Towards Buying Carbon in Your Geography**17:45 Retail Investors Will Catalyze the Carbon Markets**20:30 How They Got Their First Customer**22:10 Merging Carbon and Blockchain Cultures**24:30 Interacting with Scientists **27:00 Their Next Challenges **27:50 Advice on Building in Carbon Markets Space**30:00 Closing ThoughtsLinks: Sudhu Arumugam | CYNKConnect with Somil | Connect with SilasFor all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave Partners.This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 Today Somil & Silas had the opportunity to do something slightly different today since we did an episode with Ryan Grant Little, the Creator and Host of Another Climate Tech Podcast. He has conversations that are more topical with his guests who are, in many cases, people he already knows. Ryan has a really fascinating background as a Founder, Investor, and Consultant. He found his way to climate via some of the impact work he was doing in Canada. Since all three of us are used to interviewing others, we decided to interview each other. We really enjoyed making this as it was a fun change of pace from our usual work. We hope you also enjoy it. Please also be sure to go follow Ryan’s podcast if you’re not already following.Enjoy the Episode! 🌎🔗🌍---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube.📫 Interested in written summaries and takeaways from the episode? Subscribe to the newsletter.Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5Topics:**Intro**About Our Podcast Formats**Why the Newsletter**Why Somil & Silas Decided to Collab**What Silas & Somil Do**Ryan’s Climate Journey**How to Decide What Not to Do**Human Connection + Scaling Relationships**Areas we are Bullish On **Regulation vs Market Forces Links:**Listen to Another Climate Tech Podcast on Apple Podcasts & Spotify **Connect with Ryan Grant Little on LinkedIn **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn **@Silas & @Somil_Agg on Twitter / XSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 On this episode, Somil interviews Chris Richardson, Executive Director of Uptake Alliance and Partner at ADL Ventures where he leads their energy and transportation practices. Uptake Alliance is the newest rockstar member of the NYS entrepreneurial ecosystem that connects organizations with startups solving specific problems they face to tackle “piloting to death.”We talk about the relationship between pilots and commercialization, specific opportunities in climate tech, and other pieces of guidance Chris has from his time as a founder. ---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: Subscribe on YouTube.Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. Topics: 00:00 Introduction and Background08:07 EV Button and Electrifying Existing Infrastructure17:28 Uptake Alliance and Venture Development38:34 Clean Infrastructure and the Built Environment44:48 Moonshot Technologies and Innovation49:17 Incentivizing Domestic Economic Benefits51:41 Investing in Urban vs Rural Technologies59:33 Insights59:33 IRA01:02:13 Climate x XI01:06:15 Success Story of a Hardware MVP01:10:19 Challenges in Corporate Pilots01:13:48 Starting a New Company in Climate01:16:11 Advice for ApplicantsLinks: GUEST: Chris RichardsonCOMPANY: Uptake Alliance, ADL VenturesConnect with Somil | Connect with SilasFor all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave Partners.This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 Today, Silas had the opportunity to interview Dan Katz, the Co-Founder, and CEO of Orbital Sidekick, where they are building, and launching Hyperspectral Satellites to help catch methane leaks in pipelines, and, hopefully, one day, identify geographies that have critical minerals underneath the surface.He started in the aerospace industry, building satellites for other organizations. In the wake of the frothy space exploration market, Dan and his colleague believed they could also build a company in this space. This, paired with their realization that the ocean was boiling, led them to focus on catching methane leaks.He has a pretty interesting story and method of building the company. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! 🌎---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: Subscribe on YouTube.Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5----- Topics: 2:00 Intro to Dan5:45 How to Identify Subsurface Minerals12:00 Why he Became an Entrepreneur19:00 PMF & MVP22:00 GTM & Raising26:00 Watching Their Launch31:15 Challenges35:34 Talent 39:00 Take the Leap----- Links: **Connect with Dan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katzdaniel34/ **Orbital Sidekick: https://www.orbitalsidekick.com/**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on Twitter / X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 Today, we are talking to Jamil Wyne of Climate Tech Bootcamp & Riffle Ventures.In this episode, you will find:Why direct access to customers and revenue generation are crucial for success in the climate tech spaceHow Jamil shaped Climate Tech Bootcamp with individuals with deep subject matter expertise and a builder's mindsetA walkthrough of his leading report “The Climate Tech Opportunity” published by the Oxford Climate Tech InitiativeEnjoy the Episode! 🌎---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube.📫 Interested in written summaries and takeaways from the episode? Subscribe to the newsletter. Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5-----Topics1:16 Intro10:36 Policy-oriented mindset in climate16:27 Parallels between developmental finance and climate investing29:24 Origins of CT Bootcamp36:58 Choosing Climate experts and filling in founders’ weaknesses54:12 What is Riffle Ventures59:55 How he thinks about COP 28 being in Dubai and concerns with O&G1:08:41 The Climate Tech Opportunity1:08:41 Energy1:10:00 Transportation1:11:31 Food & Ag1:12:47 Industry1:15:43 Built Environment1:17:49 GHG Capture1:20:16 Managing & Reporting1:23:01 Advice to VCs-----LinksGUEST: Jamil WyneCOMPANY: Riffle Ventures, Climate Tech BootcampConnect with Somil | Connect with SilasSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 Today we are joined by Pawel Ciesielski, the Co-Founder and CEO of MaaS Loop, a Poland-based company building reverse vending machines to help collect various recyclables. He has a background in marketing, branding, and trend projection where he specifically helped demonstrate what the world could look like in 10 or 20 years from a climate perspective. Due to the high cost of talent and the EU's regulations around bottle deposit costs, smaller businesses require a solution to help them cost-effectively collect customer deposits. Listen to the episode to learn more about their tech, journey, and Pawel's advice to others. Enjoy the Episode! 🌎---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube.📫 Interested in written summaries and takeaways from the episode? Subscribe to the newsletter. Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5----- Topics: **3:20 Intro to Paweł & MaaS Loop**4:20 What part of the waste supply chain they are working in **5:30 What reverse vending machines do**7:15 Founding MaaS Loop**10:00 How they differentiate from the rest of the circular economy **13:40 Explaining the cost savings**18:40 How the technology works**19:35 Creating their MVP**23:50 Defining traction**26:45 How they determined PMF**30:00 Advice on raising $$$**32:35 Overcoming the production scaling-up challenge ----- Links: **Connect with Pawel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pawel-ciesielski**MaaS Loop Website: https://www.maasloop.com/ **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on Twitter / X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 In this episode, Silas Mahner (@silasmahner) speaks with John Fazzolari (@fazz), the co-CEO and co-founder of Revivn, a hardware lifecycle management company that helps corporates repurpose their used electronic devices. John has a fascinating story of building this company and despite us only recording for about 30 min, we covered a lot of ground. From why they bootstrapped the company, to his Rigatoni list for hiring purposes, to using operational complexity as a moat, to ensuring your 3rd party contractors care as much as you do about customer success, it's a great episode. Let us know your favorite part by reaching out. Enjoy the Episode! 🌎---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube.📫 Interested in written summaries and takeaways from the episode? Subscribe to the newsletter. Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel. https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5----- Topics: **2:20 Intro to John**3:00 Why the un-used hardware space**4:05 Creating the Category **6:05 The Story of How They Built**7:35 How they work**9:10 Cost Savings **12:20 Logistics - Their Moat is Complex Coordination**14:45 How to scale logistics company business **16:10 How to control customer quality experience **18:45 Examples of their impact**22:00 Why they bootstrapped **23:55 Advice on Fundraising **27:10 Advice on Hiring | The Rigatoni List **30:00 How to understand if someone has potential **31:58 Advice to Young Entrepreneurs in Climate**34:38 Other Ideas ----- Links: **Connect with John **Revivn **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: **HMU on Twitter: @silasmahnerSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 NYCW was a pivotal moment for many of us current or aspiring climate professionals. It brought together large swaths of diverse talent, all working in different assets to solve the climate crisis. Many of these gatherings were headlined by some of the smartest minds in climate and climate tech. An implicit goal we’ve had at the CleanTechies Podcast since then is to have as many speakers from the week as we can.I’m excited to introduce the speaker of one of the most popular talks at NYCW and the Managing Partner of Third Sphere VC, Shaun Abrahamson. ---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨---Shaun is an early-stage investor in the climate sector with a background in engineering and over a decade of focus on early-stage climate investments. Shaun’s engineering mindset involves constructing narratives with numbers and employing simple models to assess the viability of proposed ideas but combines that with the perspectives of advertising professionals, emphasizing the importance of understanding human behavior — a facet engineers might overlook. --Topics4:10 Intro8:10 Balancing returns vs. impact11:36 Bad investment signals in climate20:59 What is Third Sphere27:47 Mistakes hardware founders make31:39 Design for Finance49:46 Which climate capital stack segments are underutilized 1:00:51 Insights1:03:45 IRA59:24 Climate x AI1:08:39 Hardware MVP1:14:15 Building a company right now1:17:47 Advice to founders1:23:25 Advice to VCs--Links**Connect with Shaun | Third Sphere VC**For all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave Partners.**This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.**Connect with Somil | Connect with SilasSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 In this episode, Silas Mahner (@silasmahner) & Somil Aggarwal (@somil_agg) speak with Diz Petit the Founder & CEO of LiquiDonate. They have an amazing solution to help manage corporate waste in a way that get's it into the hands of non-profits who need the materials. In doing this, they are also reducing their reverse supply chain costs by about ~50%. Diz was a great guest and had a lot of great insights to share. Enjoy the Episode! 🌎---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---Main Takeaways: (read the full version on Substack) Spend a lot of time talking to the marketSet the right metricsMatch Supply & DemandRealistic TAMConsider non-climate-VCsTopics:2:33 Diz & Her Story6:25 Why Entrepreneurship?8:02 How to Identify the End User16:25 Why Would Someone Use Their Software?18:25 What CSOs Think About This21:45 Metrics25:36 Things that Surprised Her28:49 Their Fundraise Experience32:54 Advice to Founders Links:Connect with Diz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/disneypetit LiquiDonate: https://liquidonate.com/For all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave Partners.Connect with Somil | Connect with SilasSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

🌎 Today's episode is the first of our new founder show format, where we are keeping it a bit shorter and focusing on what they are doing rather than too many of the broader trends. Our guinea pig is Will Wiseman, Founder & CEO of Climatize. A revolutionary platform that is empowering community solar projects to scale effectively by getting them financed where PE is not doing the deals due to smaller sizes. Main Takeaways: (read the full version on Substack) Make it easy to use.Calculate the ROI of your fundraising process for a morale boost.Hire "ready" talent early on.Co-founders SHOULD think differently.---🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---Topics:2:26 His Career Journey6:42 How He Looks at Impact Work 8:04 FInTech Founding as an Engineer13:13 Why PE Isn't Filling the Need16:40 How they "Pitch" to Consumers20:12 Hiring & Talent 26:08 Building the Product28:26 Advice to Founders32:29 Future Challenges34:59 On Making it "Real" to Climate Deniers Links:Connect with Will Climatize.Earth For all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave Partners. This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast. Connect with Somil | Connect with SilasSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)