What do you get when you put Chris Rock, Timothée Chalamet, Greta Thunberg, & Marc Andreessen together? -- You get Tom Ferguson! The King of Water VC!

(Warning! Tom is hilarious, so cancel your comedy cellar tickets because you won't need them)

Today, we had the chance to speak with Tom, the founding partner of Burnt Island Ventures. They are the leading VC investor in all things water.

They became this by compounding their network for years with some of the best water networks, including Imagine H2O.

One notable thing he pointed out is, the IRA didn't include any investment into water infrastructure. 🤯

Tune in to get the whole thing today! 🌱🌎

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-----
Topics:
**5:00 Introduction
**8:10 Why Sustainability
**10:34 Time with Imagine H2O
**16:13 Other Considerations for BIV
**19:27 Story behind the Name BIV
**20:55 MBA and Business School
**27:22 Focus on Building Team
**31:32 Pricing in Velocity of Sales Process
**38:35 Compounding Network as a VC’s Moat
**47:24 Biggest Problems in Water
**56:17 Companies that BIV work with
**1:00:42 Startup Opportunity; Water Testing Market
**1:04:19 Takeaway

-----
Links:
**Tom Ferguson | Burnt Island Ventures
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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Allison Wolff | Vibrant Planet

Vibrant Planet is basically bringing the tech knowledge from the early FAANG days and applying that to land tender and wildfire resistance. Their platform is a prioritization system for land management restoration by providing real-time scenario planning, monitoring, and reporting. These assessments can help with qualifying projects for conservation finance.

Allison brings a rolodex of experience working with top companies on sustainability, including Google, Meta, Netflix, eBay, Project Drawdown, & more and is now applying that knowledge with other star-studded experts to solve the wildfire risk problem.

----
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Links:
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**Somil & Silas on LinkedIn

Support the show

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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]

Recently, the MCJ Podcast experienced huge backlash for having Big Oil players on the show. This prompted us to bring back a past guest, Shaun Abrahamson from Third Sphere.
----
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Shaun last joined us on episode 136 to talk about Navigating the Climate Capital Stack and how to Design for Finance (especially in the context of hardware).

Today we dive into two macro topics.
#1 Partnering with Big Oil --AND-- #2 Repricing Climate Risk

There are several subtopics under these big umbrellas (check topic timestamps). All of these were highly interesting to me, and I think they will be to you as well.

Tune in to get the whole thing today! 🌱🌎

---
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Links:
**Shaun Abrahamson | Third Sphere
**Episode 136 - Hardware as an AI Moat, Design For Finance with the Climate Capital Stack, & More w/ Shaun Abrahamson (Third Sphere)
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**Somil & Silas 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
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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]

Somil chats with Chinmay Malaviya and Charlie Depman, CEO and CTO of Ridepanda, expanding access and usage of e-bikes, e-scooters, and micro mobility through employer sponsored subscriptions.

Chinmay and Charlie bring a lot of startup and industry experience and were able to speak not only about their growth but ALSO breakdown the technical designs that help them be successful in micromobility.

We talked about:

• How Ridepanda offers benefits platform for employers to subsidize employee transportation
• Why micromobility faces business model and reputation challenges like Byrd’s bankruptcy despite rising demand for micromobility
• How they balance optionality and user choice will still focusing on scaling their inventory 
• Analyzing historical data to project future growth and consider seasonality 
• Accepting seasonality and overcoming challenges is crucial in the micro-mobility industry
• How they design software for micro-mobility
• & much more

As always, thanks so much for listening and enjoy the episode!

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
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-----
Topics:
**03:23 Micromobility and its Reputation
**12:10 Employer Business Model
**20:43 Balancing Bike Production and Consumer Choice
**23:42 Accepting Seasonality
**28:55 Lessons from Foodpanda
**32:40 Transitioning to Lime and the Transportation Space
**35:21 Designing Software for Micro-Mobility
**46:23 Advice for Founders

-----
Links:
**Ridepanda | Chinmay Malaviya | Charlie Depman
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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]

What if Investors Only Made Money if they *actually* helped save the planet?

Welp... folks, we have the show for you because that's exactly what Planet A is doing.

Somil and Silas speak with Jessica Burley, a Berlin-based investor at the fund.

On top of learning how they are *actually* walking the talk, we found out how they use Carbon Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) in their investing due diligence process.

Tune in to get the whole thing today! 🌱🌎

---
🌎 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:
**01:29 Introduction and Background
**02:22 The Role of Life Cycle Assessments in Investing
**8:44 Article 9 and the European Regulatory Landscape
**10:27 Interest in Climate Tech Investing Outside of Europe
**12:54 The Increasing Pace of Climate Tech Innovation
**13:33 Jess's Journey to Climate Tech Investing
**17:35 Transitioning from a Small Fund to a Larger Fund21:43 The Role of Brand and **Value in Climate Tech Investing
**24:44 Sector Expertise and Operational Support in Investing
**26:23 Geothermal Drilling for Renewable Heating
**28:46 Investment Opportunities in Climate Tech
**30:45 The Hardware Playbook: Investing in Hardware Startups
**42:53 The German Climate Tech Ecosystem
**49:18 Building Genuine Relationships in the Climate Tech Ecosystem
**51:34 Takeaways
--- Evaluating Life Cycle Assessment in Investment Decisions
--- The Importance of the Hardware Playbook in the Investment Ecosystem
--- De-risking Talent in Startups

-----
Links:
**Jessica Burley | Planet A
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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)
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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]

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) is a generational government program deploying $27B into clean energy projects across the US. But what is the bill really?

Franz Hochstrasser is an expert in financing projects in low-income areas and has a wealth of experience working on climate for the government - both of which are KEY for GGRF. 

Franz started his career “giving his 20s” to the government, and with that doing some amazing work as the Special Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change, Deputy Associate Director at the Council of Environmental Quality, and at the USDA.

Since then, Franz founded Raise Green where he democratizes the ability to invest in climate solution projects. Through this, he is an expert in sustainable finance for inclusive growth and financing projects for low-income residents. 

He joined S2 Strategies to navigate GGRF and other landmark legislative movements. And it was an absolute blast to have him on.

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]

Somil chats with Vivas Kumar, CEO of Mitra Chem,  the first lithium-ion battery materials manufacturer focused on shortening the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%, addressing the largest barrier to innovation: R&D and scale-up speed.

Vivas was a phenomenal orator and if you take a second to learn about Mitra Chem, it’s easy to see why. By combining their knowledge of iron-based cathodes with an AI and data enhanced production capacity, they are able to manufacture quicker and more reliably than many of their competitors. 

As always, thanks so much for listening and enjoy the episode!

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
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-----
Topics:
**04:18 Starting as an Entrepreneur
**06:41 Near-Shoring
**10:18 Transitioning to Iron-Based Materials
**11:00 Trends and Challenges with Nickel, Cobalt, and Lithium
**14:49 Working at Benchmark's Mineral Intelligence Group
**24:50 Financing and Business Models in Climate Solutions
**27:32 Adapting Technology for Local Context
**31:31 Shifting from Innovation to Supply Chain
**35:13 Integration of AI and Automation in Production
**41:41 Longevity and Outlasting Competition
**44:08 Reducing Organizational Costs
**43:21 Finding the Right People
**45:23 The Importance of Curiosity and Motivation
**47:54 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Vivas Kumar | Mitra Chem
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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 this episode, Somil chats with Josh Knauer, CEO of ReSeed, bringing carbon credits directly from farmers to the market.

They focus on the oldest form of carbon capture – vegetation. They support farmers in taking their protective and restorative farming practices, validating them, and then creating the mechanisms to sell those credits to interested parties. 

We talked about:

• His strategy to differentiate these credits compared to the rest of the market, 
• What works for them, 
• How he’s building an entire protocol around these methods, 
• What he’s learned from engaging with smallholder farmers,
• Why ag may make the best nature-based solution to carbon capture, 

As always, thanks so much for listening and enjoy the episode!

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🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
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-----
Topics:
**03:12 ReSeed
**06:35 Engaging with Farmers through Local NGOs
**08:03 Process of Onboarding Farmers and Issuing Credits
**11:23 Stabilizing Farmers on the Land
**30:07 Partnering with Farmers as Business Partners
**33:40 Photosynthesis as Carbon Capture
**35:42 The Trading Desk and Receipt Marketplace
**40:53 Maintaining the Highest Integrity Carbon Credits
**48:25 Announcing Partnership at COP28
**51:43 Investing in Nature-Based Solutions
**56:35 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Josh Knauer | ReSeed
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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]

Each year, about 1 billion pounds of chemicals are sprayed on crops in the US alone - globally, that number is around 5.6 billion.

Our guest today is AgTechLogic, and they are solving this problem.

They do this by helping Farmers retrofit their existing machinery with precision sprayers that use computer vision to identify weeds and spray only on the weeds in a concentrated way that kills the weeds and won't overlap with the crops.

Today, nearly all farmers use broadcast spraying, or spraying everything. By implementing this tech, farmers can save a lot of money and produce healthier produce.

Let's get into it. 🌱🌎

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🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
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-----
Topics:
**1:13 Introduction and Overview
**1:43 Reducing Chemical Overuse in Agriculture
**7:36 Validation and Early Discoveries
**11:11 Market Research and Initial Trials
**15:37 Concerns about Herbicide Usage
**20:34Case Studies and Cost Savings
**24:04 Objections and Early Adoption
**24:57 Reducing Water Usage and Regrowth
**26:09 Building Trust and Landing the First Pilot
**28:54 Entrepreneurship Later in Career
**32:07 Collecting New Data
**35:40 IP and Moat
**37:38 Funding Journey
**41:03 Responsible Growth
**42:55 Future Plans and Getting the Message Out
**45:48 Reaching Out and Educating Farmers
**47:54 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Tom Gauthier | AgTechLogic
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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]

Are you curious about what happens to solar panels when they are no longer usable? Maybe your crazy uncle's statements from last Thanksgiving about how solar doesn't work are still echoing.

Well, look no further. Today, we are speaking with Adam Saghei, Founder of WeRecycleSolar, and we are discussing the end of life for solar panels.

How circular can we make the supply chain? What can OEMs learn about their products' end-of-life? What is the REAL lifespan of a solar panel? How is this reality affecting investor returns? How are solar panels being refurbished and resold? And how are investors getting early upgrades to make a higher return despite the additional capex?

Let's get into it. 🌱🌎

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
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-----
Topics:
**01:34 Intro and Background
**03:15 The Problem of End-of-Life Solar Panels
**08:52 Financial Implications of Shorter Lifespan
**13:33 Recycling and Refurbishing Panels
**16:21 Reusing Materials in the Supply Chain
**21:06 Origins of We Recycle Solar
**23:29 Introduction to Returns Management Programs
**24:28 Starting the Refurbishing and Recycling Process
**25:32 Pivoting to a New Business Model
**26:44 Entrepreneurial Mindset and Taking Risks
**28:14 Scaling the Business and Future Growth
**30:51 Technology and Innovation in Recycling Processes
**31:38 Intellectual Property and Strategic Components
**32:34 Business Model and Potential Partnerships
**35:54 Current Scale and Future Goals
**38:24 Roadblocks and Challenges
**39:15 Funding and Bootstrapping the Business
**40:54 Acquiring Talent and Building Culture
**43:38 Supporting the Future of the Industry
**49:29 Takeaways

-----
Links:
**Adam Saghei | WeRecycleSolar
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

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]