Vivin Hegde is a visionary in the built environment space — from leading innovation efforts at Hilti to co-founding Zacua Ventures, Vivin is on a mission to redefine how we think about construction and infrastructure. 

In this episode, he dives deep into the challenges and opportunities of investing in the built environment, sharing his journey from managing corporate venture capital at Hilti to launching Zacua Ventures, where he backs early-stage startups focused on decarbonization, productivity, and infrastructure resiliency.

Vivin unpacks:

**The importance of "gentle disruption" in the construction industry 🛠️
**The strategic shift from corporate innovation to independent VC investing 💼
**How global perspectives inform better investment decisions 🌍
**The key traits he looks for in founders, especially in the construction tech space 👥

Topics:
**02:04 Intro
**03:08 Defining the Built Environment
**04:56 Automation and Robotics in Construction
**08:40 Sales and Building Relationships
**24:59 Supporting Startups at the Earliest Stages
**26:35 Investing Globally to Fund the Best Entrepreneurs
**31:55 The Importance of Sector Specialization
**42:53 The Role of Data Centers in the Digital Age
**44:27 The Potential of Mass Timber in Construction
**45:48 Addressing Challenges in the Design Space
**47:22 Impressing Investors: Deep Understanding, Knowledge, and Learning Agility

Links:
**Vivin Hedge | Zacua Ventures
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Today, we are speaking with Kieran White. Co-Founder of Curo.

At Curo they help EV Fleet owners secure reliable charging without the need to build their own infrastructure. 

This has the double benefit of allowing existing infrastructure owners to maximize their assets. 

Today’s call is super fun. We discuss:

• How he hustled his way into a job with Tesla at 18, even tho they claimed to only hire 21 and older 
• The effect this exp had on him and how it led to him launching Curo 
• How they help fleet owners find reliable charging without building infrastructure 
• And how they help existing charging owners maximize their infrastructure 

Enjoy the show!

Topics:
**01:56 Intro
**04:23 Journey to Entrepreneurship
**06:20 The Problem Kero is Solving
**08:22 Challenges and Ops in EV Charging
**17:05 Policy, Incentives, and the Future of the Industry
**19:33 Navigating Ideas / Staying Focused
**23:52 Growth Hacks
**27:07 Tracking Progress / Systematizing
**30:17 Dealing with New Ideas
**32:57 Climate Startup Ideas
**34:26 Future of EV Charging
**38:38 Fundraising Advice & Closing Thoughts

Links:
**Kieran White | Curo
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Hey everyone! 

Today’s episode is a special issue. We are unpacking Susan Su’s recent article “What a second Trump presidency would mean for climate investing”. She originally posted this on her Substack, Climate Money but we wanted to unpack it for those who prefer to learn by audio. 

The first ~20 minutes of today’s episode are public, but you’ll need to be a paid subscriber to access the remaining 17 minutes. Get the full episode and support our work while doing so by going to CleanTechies.Substack/Subscribe 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Edo is a rockstar individual — from tackling the lack of green employer incentive problem to building climate tech communities across the USA, Edo joins us to share his journey from working in sustainability at Apple to founding Elements World, making it possible for employers to hit their sustainability targets through their employees. 

He discusses the unique challenges and opportunities in addressing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by leveraging the often-overlooked potential of employee-related activities, such as business travel, commuting, and work-from-home practices.

He breaks down:

• Their shift from a B2C to a B2B model 📈
• Shares insights on fundraising challenges 💰
• The importance of gaining traction before approaching investors 💵
• The role of AI in optimizing their offerings 🤖

--
Topics:
**02:31 Introduction and Background
**05:23 Understanding the Employer Problem
**09:16 Transition from B2C to B2B
**13:13 Working at Apple and Decision to Found Elements World
**16:43 Fundraising Journey
**22:26 Using AI in Climate Tech
**27:26 Building and Scaling the Team
**33:06 Creating ClimateTech Communities
**35:44 Future Goals and Closing Thoughts

--
Links:
**Edo Perry | Elements World
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X
**This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Today we speak with Ravi Kurani, CEO and Founder of Sutro (water IoT device company -- exited to Sani Marc). Aaand the creator and host of Liquid Assets, a Podcast interviewing the leading voices in WaterTech.

Between Ravi's background as a founder in the water, his familiarity with the water ecosystem, and now his opportunity to interview the leaders in the water space, he's a great person to have on regarding all things water.

We feel that we got a hell of a deal here. We get to have one conversation that is worth thousands.

Enjoy today's conversation about all things water, tech, policy, circularity, financing, and more.

Oh, and if you are not already, go check out Liquid Assets wherever you get your podcasts (or just go to LiquidAssets.cc) 

Topics:
**2:28 Intro
**4:10 Learnings from Liquid Assets Podcast
**8:09 The Categories of Water
**11:20 Where Innovation Is
**13:27 Energy x Water (Policy)
**16:26 Upgrade to Paid Ad
**18:01 GTM in Water
**21:55 Power Dynamics and Wastewater
**24:04 Telecom Parallel
**24:52 Circularity x Water x Infrastructure
**26:33 Owning Wastewater
**28:45 Geo-Specific Challenges
**31:04 Water Isn't Priced Right
**32:20 KPIs for Success in Water
**34:13 Global Water Hubs
**35:35 Why Water is Close Knit
**36:49 Startup Ideas
**37:59 Water Needs New Financing Arm

Links:
**Connect with Ravi Kurani | https://www.linkedin.com/in/kuraniravi/
**Follow Liquid Assets | https://www.liquidassets.cc/
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Today, we are talking to Matthias Muehlbauer of OnePointFive.

We have the pleasure of covering one of our good friends, Matthias Muehlbauer at the powerhouse firm OnePointFive. Matthias is a Founding Partner at the firm, where their activities range across two operations:

**They provide diligence and climate advisory services
**They train sustainability professionals

They’re bringing a level of success and professionalism that is beating MBB (top 3 consulting firms) at the sustainability game.

From operating such a dynamic business from day 1, Matthias has picked up a lot of great knowledge about the space:

**The Future of Work in climate
**Where sustainability is headed
**The power of bootstrapping
**What you need to know to be successful in getting a job in climate

Convinced that you should know more about this? Well, you’re in luck. Tune in to todays episode to learn more…🎧💡
---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---

🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel

-----
Topics:
**03:12 About OPF
**12:22 Differentiating Ed in the Market
**13:49 From Expert Network to Education
**15:45 Workforce Transition
**18:43 Mid-Career Pivoters
**27:16 Bootstrapping & Being Nimble
**31:02 Embedded Sustainability in the Workforce
**40:14 Clean Energy and the Future of Fossil Fuels

-----
Links:
**Matthias Muehlbauer | OnePointFive
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X

This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Dimitry Gershenson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Enduring Planet. A fractional CFO and Non-Dilutive Funding service for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs. As for funding, they provide working capital for founders who have landed grants or who have government contracts. 

It's great to see more Climate-Specific service providers to help continue supporting the ecosystem. 

Today, Dimitry shares his story, and we discuss:
**The importance of and when to hire a fractional CFO
**Funding underrepresented founders
**The importance of Catalytic Capital
**The Grant Funding Gap and Solving it

And much more.

Enjoy the episode!

Resources Mentioned:
**Climate Curious
**Streamline Climate
**Pacific Northwest Climate Week

Email Dimitry: [email protected]

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---

🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel 

-----
Topics:
**2:3 Introduction and Overview of Enduring Planet's Services
**4:10 The Importance of Supporting Climate Entrepreneurs
**8:47 The Gap in the Ecosystem for Finance Expertise in Climate Tech
**10:23 The Need for Early Financial Planning and Analysis
**12:31 The Importance of Getting Finance in Order Early
**14:51 Timeline for Bringing in Fractional CFO and Hiring Full-Time Finance Talent
**17:22 Navigating Finance Challenges in Hardware Climate Tech
**18:18 Introduction and Pricing
**19:18 Lending and Transparency
**46:17 Building Local Climate Communities
**50:47 Addressing Capital Gaps in the Climate Ecosystem

-----
Links:
**Dimitry Gershenson | https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgershenson/
**Enduring Planet | https://enduringplanet.com/
**Follow CleanTechie

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

In our third installment of sustainable building materials, we’re taking another look at lumber.

We’ve already called reclaimed lumber “the superpower building material you’ve never heard of”.

As a refresher, lumber, processed wood from trees, is a versatile and widely used building material known for its strength, durability, and workability.

So why isn’t there more of it in our buildings? Well, as great as lumber is, usable lumber from our buildings only comes from a few places — in the USA, it comes mainly from the Northwest and Southeast. For this reason, lumber is an expensive building material.

But all hope is not lost. Last week, we covered Urban Machine, a company turning waste wood reusable by removing objects from it.

This week, we’re covering Cambium - a hot 🔥 startup pioneering regenerative, local supply chains for wood by converting waste wood into reusable assets for the lumber industry. Not only do they have their own white-labeled wood called Carbon Smart Wood, but they have an innovative SaaS platform that can function as the source of truth for the entire supply chain.

Convinced that you should know more about this? Well, you’re in luck. Tune in to todays episode to learn more…🎧💡
---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our Substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---

🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel
-----

Topics:
**02:10 Introduction
**06:24 Challenges in the Lumber Supply Chain
**14:04 Deciding on the Founder Venture-Fact Operating Model
**16:26 Guaranteeing Offtake and Ensuring Supply
**19:03 The Value of Waste Wood
**29:03 Competing with Incumbents
**34:09 Scaling the Local Approach
**45:32 Advice for Founders
-----
Links:
**Ben Christensen | Cambium
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Reclaimed lumber is the superpower building material you’ve never heard of (because we’re all up to date on our Rolodex of sustainable building materials, right?).

Lumber, processed wood from trees, is a versatile and widely used building material known for its strength, durability, and workability.

So why isn’t there more of it in our buildings? Well, as great as lumber is, usable lumber from our buildings only comes from a few places — in the USA, it comes mainly from the Northwest and Southeast. That makes lumber an expensive building material.

But all hope is not lost. In comes Urban Machine. By creating reusable lumber from waste sites, they are increasing the supply of usable lumber, making it not only more available but more local.

Convinced that you should know more about this? Well, you’re in luck. Tune in to todays episode to learn more…🎧💡

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our Substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---

🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel
-----

Topics:
**03:14 Building Robots for Lumber
**08:22 Removing Metal
**18:30 Predicting Inventory
**26:27 Challenges of Building a Hardware Company
**28:47 The Economics of Construction
**36:26 The Future of Urban Machine
**40:35 Keys to Success in the Construction Tech Industry
-----

Links:
**Eric Law | Urban Machine
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X
**This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

Mycelium is an emerging decarbonized building material due to its sustainability, biodegradability, and strength. It is cultivated by growing fungal networks, also known as mushrooms. Mycelium-based products can be used for insulation, bricks, and packaging.

Today, we have a ClimateTech Entrepreneur making waves with Mycelium. Ilya is CEO & Co-Founder of COMU Labs, bridging the gap between sustainability and affordability in furniture materials. They utilize fungi to transform agricultural waste into robust, machinable and fire-retardant material that looks and behaves like plywood.

Some of what we chatted about:

**How Mycelium can be pressed into high-density boards
**Why their material is substrate agnostic (and what the heck that means 🤔)
**Challenges that still exist with market acceptance
**Building a sustainable and healthy company culture

& more. 🍄
---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---
🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel

----- 

Topics:
**01:31 Intro
**02:49 Discovering Mycelium
**09:09 Advantages of Mycelium as a Building Material
**11:43 Common Misconceptions about Mycelium
**20:31 Scouting New Talent
**24:58 Challenges Ahead for Comu Labs

-----
Links:
**Ilya Gindin | COMU Labs
**Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X
**This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]