Super excited to share this with you. We've got someone who went to the same high school where Steve Jobs and Woz did back in the day. He then worked at Square on international expansion, went on to work with VC Legend Mike Maples, and eventually ended up as the Chief of Staff at Chris Sacca's, Lowercarbon Capital. We are talking about Shawn Xu. Shawn talked us through his journey to climate, what it takes to be a good VC, what they look for, the areas he's bullish on, and what he's working on now. I quite enjoyed this conversation (I say that a lot but I do mean it). Enjoy today's episode! Topics: 4:29 Intro to Shawn, his career journey, going to high school where Steve Jobs went and getting into VC11:37 Creating access and equity to the Silicon Valley mentality15:59 His climate journey24:38 The inside scoop on VCs - what skills do you need to developFinding 26:44Picking 27:54Winning 28:58Supporting 29:3131:54 Lowercarbon's Thesis34:29 The founders they look for36:49 Advice to Founders42:20 Areas he's bullish on44:42  His role at Lowercarbon Links: Connect with Shawn: The Lowercarbon Capital Website: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel:  Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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!)

If you are a bit of a shipping nerd like me, this is going to be a great episode. We are joined by James Malley the co-founder of Paccurate where they are helping product shippers use smaller boxes so less air is shipped, resulting in fewer trucks to get the same products to your destination. This is a juggernaut of a business as they are able to service ginormous companies with a very light staff and it all came out of just being experts in solving annoying problems in the shipping space. This conversation talks all about...The shipping industry as a whole including packaging materials and incentivesHow the government is bringing regulation surrounding scope 3 emissionsAnd how they built their companyIf you are at all interested in shipping products, this should be a really fun episode for you. If not, then maybe skip to the second half where we start to talk about building the company. Peace out! 🌎Topics: 6:14 about the packaging space10:26 Innovation in packaging14:26 some novel tech, but not much, at scale16:02 How shippers can incentivize better packaging practicesTOPIC CLIP: 12 ish to about 20 ish where the discussion surrounds incentives (It's in he clips)25:11 positive impacts of fewer packages27:34 Starting the company31:22 getting shippers & Mfgs to work together35:27 Challenges and advice to other founders37:!7 The raising process & advice to founders on that process41:!2 Partnerships44:04 Hiring & Talent46:16 Outlook on the future Links: Connect with James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmalley/Paccurate Website: https://paccurate.io/Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/Join the Slack Channel:  https://cleantechies.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-pd2drz6d-N~9nURU5JlyMXv2ZiO5bAQ#/shared-invite/emailFollow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/ HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learSupport 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 spoke with Joe Bushnell. I had met Joe before he launched Azollo so it is a pretty cool guest to have on since I got to hear where he was at prior to launch. From Australia, he developed a certain attachment to the issue of climate change at a young age when wildfires destroyed his town and burned his school growing up. He went on to study sustainability in Uni. He then went into consulting and finance winding his way back to sustainable finance. Eventually, desiring to pursue a deeper connection directly to the space, he started his own company. In today's conversation, we talk about this journey and how he ended up founding Azollo to help corporates transition and up-skill their workforces. This is vital for corporates to achieve the sustainability targets they have set. It's a really interesting challenge. We also talked about his advice to other aspiring founders thinking of jumping ship. And then ended on the topic of mentoring and how much tech will be able to revolutionize the talent space. We also discussed where we think the boundaries of tech are. Overall, a great episode so let's get into it! Topics: 4:00 Intro8:14 ROI12:56 Why he started the company16:23 Advice to others jumping ship21:54 Winding journey to climate24:34 Industries struggling to find talent28:53  How tech can enable change31:16 Biggest objections33:06 The Jobs are not clear34:39 Foundations of educating workforce - the basics36:02  Diagnostics & workforce engagement37:43  AI & Changing employee workforce41:23 Mentorship & the workforce47:06  Raising Money51:16 Two Trends54:44 His "Obvious Predictions" Links: Connect with Joe: Azollo Website: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel:  Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 topic is how to raise money for your ClimateTech Startup with Tommy Leep. He is the founder of Jetstream. A ClimateTech VC focused on investing in pre-seed ClimateTech companies. Today's conversation focuses on three things. First, some of his background, how he got interested in ClimateTech, how he got into VC, and some of the challenges in his career. Second, we spoke about his advice to climate tech founders who are fundraising. He has a lot of incredible tips in this section. If you want to skip to that, it's around the 12 min mark. Third, he walked us through his thought process for investing. So, if you're trying to get a check from Tommy, definitely check that part out too. It starts at around the 30 min mark. Really fun conversation, wish we had more time, will have to bring him back on again in the future. Topics: 3:40 Intro8:27 Keeping head down versus plotting next move9:59 A very challenging time in his career11:32 How he became interested in ClimateTech13:13 5 Tips for fundraising14:58 Stay lean18:46 Find a strong lead investor21:25 His sequence for raising/pitching24:42 Optimize for the investment partner, not the price27:36 Bring deal to many great investors29:20 Build relationships for the next round, this round31:27 How he decides on investing32:23 Market: Predicting the Market39:34 Product: PMF40:18 Founders: It's a 10-year relationship41:10 Fit: Does he feel right about it42:36 Advice to potential foundersLinks: Follow Tommy on Twitter:Checkout his website, Jetstream.ioCheck out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel: Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn:HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 have a dual guest episode with Husband & Wife duo, Steve & Beth McDaniel. They have a background in the paint and coatings industry where they have been finding ways to make paints and coatings do something other than just decorate and protect their surface. Their latest innovation is a way to create surfaces that act as carbon capture the same way Blue Algae does. The surfaces can be mass deployed to capture gigatons of carbon to remove carbon from the air permanently at scale. Their company is called Reactive solutions, they are the recent winners of a CarbonX Prize to help Bulgaria test out their solution. The conversation has two parts. First, we talk about the science - the tech it self - how they came across it and the R&D process Second, we go into the more commercial side of things. We talk about their business model, their tips for winning  pilot projects, some of their advice on focusing on the MVP, and the importance of leveraging existing network to get the intros you need. If you're an entrepreneur in the hardware or IP side of thing, this second half is going to be pretty valuable so you can go there if you're strapped for time. Overall, really fascinating conversation. We hope you enjoy! Topics: 4:46 Intro to them, their backgrounds, and how they got into CarbonTech17:29 The R&D Process19:22 - The ideal use case for their tech27:43 Their cost per ton of capture and how many don't count the sequestration costs33:24 How carbon capture projects make money37:00 The IP & Licensing Model44:39 Why pilots are required to secure further investment51:20 Tips to winning pilot projects57:00 Gov. grants, should you get them, & how toLinks: Beth on LinkedIn: Steve on LinkedIn: Reactive Surfaces Website: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel:  Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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!)

Interested in how we will have enough lithium over the next decades to support the energy and EV transition? Well, you can learn about a company solving this problem. Enter EnergyX founded and run by Teague Egan. Teague had no previous experience in mining or chemistry but after seeing a huge gap in the market and one particular problem faced by a lithium reserve in Bolivia, he set out to see how he could solve this problem. In this conversation we cover...His journey to finding this problem and how he built the company What their technology does and how it's an artificial intersecting of several proven technologiesThe detailed process of how he funded the company at the start and the milestones to achieve each subsequent fundraise And finally how they spent effort up-front building a world-class team in order to help them attract talent more broadly down the road It is really an amazing conversation especially because of how candid he was about the experience and the raising process. I think both existing and aspiring climate tech entrepreneurs will find this valuable. Topics: 00:40 Intro to Teague5:30 How, as a non-technical person he founded a highly technical ClimateTech company15:50 What their technology is and how it works20:22 Borrowing existing proven tech and applying it to new problems29:45 Who are their customers33:10 The detailed breakdown of their fundraising process and the key milestones to advance to the next stage successfully42:00 Importance of IP44:50 Mining & Recycling46:30 Building a talent attraction machine and moat through hard work up-frontLinks: Teague on LinkedIn: Teague on Twitter: EnergyX Website: Invest in EnergyX: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel:  Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn:HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 Olivia Pedersen the founder of Sustaio. Olivia has a really incredible journey to building Sustaio. We were able to speak today about their technology, which is essentially a rewards platform for choosing sustainable products. This is a method for consumers to signal to corporates their interest in sustainable products. One thing we also touched on was the difficulty many women or financially less fortunate have to take ClimateTech jobs. Often, at an early-stage startup, the pay is low making it difficult to provide for a family. Founding a company is also difficult when providing for a family given the need to often work for an extended period of time without pay. Many really great topics in today's episode so as always, enjoy! Topics: 2:28 Her and how she got here8:18 how to test an idea9:10 # ppl have12:17 what they do22:51 Starting biz39:44 ish Gender pay gap Links: Connect with Olivia:  Sustaio Website: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/Join the Slack Channel:  https://cleantechies.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-pd2drz6d-N~9nURU5JlyMXv2ZiO5bAQ#/shared-invite/emailFollow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/ HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 DR Richardson the Co-Founder and CEO of Elephant Energy. DR started his career in a ClimateTech Fund for about 8 years. Then eventually left to scratch his entrepreneurial itch and build a ClimateTech startup. After about 2 years of testing ideas, he and his Co-founder Josh Lake landed on Elephant Energy where they are removing the friction of electrifying homes. A few of the things we talked about today are...their product & the benefits - an interesting one was the health benefits of ithow they got startedthe challenges of being a ClimateTech founderhis experience fundraising for the companythe talent challenges how important blue-collar work is and the challenges of making it attractive and his outlook on the future how you don't need to be a technical person to found a climate tech startup It's a really fun episode and hopefully an inspiration to those without a technical background who are motivated to build a business and want to help reverse climate change in the meantime.Topics: 3:19 How he started15:02 Benefits of electrifying a home (Financial, Climate, Comfort, Health)21:54 Finding good contractors and working with them25:06 Insurance COs & cleaner homes26:30  Launching and advice to other founders28:48 How PE exp informed his decision making process31:32 His experience fundraising (How wide, Luck, Just need one yes)35:10 Loyal to a fault37:23 Behind the scenes - the hard things39:38 The mental gymnastics of being a founder41:47 Talent and making Blue Collar work sexy49:13 Outlook on the future Links: Connect with DR on LinkedIn:Elephant Energy Website: Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: Join the Slack Channel: Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn:HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 were joined by John Shegerian the Co-Founder of ERI. Where they are recycling electronic devices and ensuring safe data destruction to comply with Cybersecurity concerns. They have been around for over 20 years. They wouldn't have been called this when they started, but being one of the oldest "CliamteTech" or "Circular Economy" companies out there, John had a lot of really great things to share with current ClimateTech founders. Perhaps most importantly he commented on fundraising from aligned individuals as well as how to attract and retain talent. John is also the author of The Insecurity of Everything and has offered to send a book for free to anyone who emails me or him at john@ERIdirect.com - If you do reach out to him please let him know you heard this discussion on the CleanTechies Podcast and he'll send you a free copy of the book so you can learn about cyber security - he'll even pay for shipping. Topics: 3:43 About John and how he got into ERI7:27 - What led him to go back to school later in his career9:17 - How cybersecurity and ClimateTech intersect15:06 - What ERI are doing and the process of recycling electronics for companies18:07- ESG forcing recycling behavior19:58 - Costs of recycling20:51 - Costs of not recycling25:03 - Key advice to CT Founders31:31 - Raising funds and strategic, value-aligned investors35:51 - Talent acquisition and retention44:55 - Why he's bullish on the future46:58 - About his book and how to get it for free (john@eridirect.com) Links: John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnshegerian/ERI Website: https://eridirect.com/Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/Join the Slack Channel: Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn:HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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 Matt Ward the founder and CEO of the 4 Ward VC Accelerator. Today we covered a lot of things and it was a super fun conversation coming from yet another incredible individual who had no true background in Climate but decided to make it his life. Key topics are...How a mechanical engineer can build a ClimateTech AcceleratorWhy he chose to be part of the ClimateTech space / how everything will be re-engineered to be carbon neutral or low carbonIn his words what it takes to be a ClimateTech entrepreneur Why he's bullish on Ag & Food, Alt Materials, & Up-cycling & Recycling modelsReally free-flowing conversation so dive in - if you're looking for specific topics you can find the topic markers in the show notes.Topics: 4:30 Changing from engineering -7:05 Journey to ESG9:12 ClimateTech Space14:25 Bottle Necks23:04 How they vet members26:02 Tech Breakthroughs - is it necessary?29:52 Process working with them37:32 future / what he's interested in (Ag & Food, Alt Materials, Up-cycling or recycling Models)44:29 Decarbonization as the DefaultLinks: Matt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattwardio/4Ward VC Website: https://4ward.vc/The Startup Tank: https://4ward.vc/the-startup-tank-climate-investor-pitch-show/Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/Join the Slack Channel:  Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner__________We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.comSupport 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!)