Epic Human Podcast

Matthew Blair is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of REI Capital Management, an innovative real estate company with the mission to democratize the wealth generating power of Commercial Real Estate for small balance global investors.  Their flagship fund, REI Capital Growth, delivers long-term, tax-efficient, compounding growth with a tried-and-true real estate investment strategy typically employed by the wealthiest 1% of investors. Follow them on X (twitter) @REIGrowth or LinkedIn @REI Capital Management.

Sam Austin is Founder & Board Chair of IDAC (the Investment Diversity Advisory Council), an organization dedicated to increasing diversity of all types in the finance industry. Only 1.4% of U.S. Assets Under Management (AUM) is managed by diverse or female managers, and IDAC’s audacious goal is to double that within five years while also increasing the talent pool by 10,000 investment professionals from these underrepresented groups. IDAC brings together the five unique stakeholder groups together to co-develop actionable solutions, including allocators, consultants, diverse led managers, non-diverse led managers, and industry partners, believing that each group’s perspectives must be integrated in order to address this daunting challenge. IDAC is hosting its Global Summit on September 19th & 20th in Chicago with sponsorship from Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Carlysle, NEPC, Invesco, and others. Visit www.idac.net to register for the event and learn more about this important organization.

The term “Eco Warrior” is thrown around too casually these days, but Tim Fields is the real deal. Tim is the Founder & CEO of Hardshell Labs, an innovative startup leveraging modern technology to directly address previously unsolvable biological and ecological disasters. Imagine using lasers, 3D printing, chemistry, and e-sports to save an endangered species (yes, seriously). Even better, he’s figured out a business model to get paid while doing so. Tim is a lifelong Contract Field Biologist with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, a TEDX speaker, and the star of the soon-to-be-released documentary Eco Hack. This podcast episode is unlike any you’ve heard before, so don’t miss it. Follow Tim’s work at www.hardshelllabs.com and feel free to email Tim directly at [email protected].

Evan Hynes is Co-founder & CEO of Climatebase, the world's leading platform for climate careers, having helped connect hundreds-of-thousands of jobseekers to job opportunities at more than 3,000 employers on our platform. Climatebase helps people discover opportunities at climate tech companies and environmental nonprofits — and in doing so, we help those organizations hire the mission-driven talent they need to succeed. Evan and his team are also spearheading SF Climate Week, a week-long series of self-organized events gathering thousands of organizations and individuals working at the intersection of climate action and innovation to connect, collaborate, and accelerate solutions together. Checkout climatebase.org and sfclimateweek.org, and be sure to follow Evan on Twitter @EvanDHynes.

Jacob Ruytenbeek is Founder & CEO of SailPlan, the world’s first marine emissions optimization platform. SailPlan helps ships measure, report, and reduce emissions and fuel consumption using high-resolution, real-time data. Jacob grew up in South Florida often working alongside his father, a lifelong boat builder, and developed a strong passion for the ocean and its conservation. SailPlan is a perfect example of an industry-leading startup leveraging modern technology to address a critical commercial pain point while also dramatically reducing carbon emissions and air pollution. Check out SailPlan at www.sailplan.com or follow them on LinkedIn. And feel free to email Jacob directly at [email protected].

In this episode, Jacob shares how his unique background helped prepare him to found this company, from growing up on the beaches of South Florida, to working with his father a maritime engineer from an early age, to his professional experiences as defense contractor and startup executive.

Dr. David Sun Kong is the Director of the MIT Media Lab's Community Biotechnology Initiative with the mission of empowering communities through biotechnology. David is a synthetic biologist, community organizer, musician, and photographer based in the Boston area. He pioneered the development of novel microfluidic, or “lab-on-a-chip” technologies for synthesizing DNA and engineering the living world. In 2017, he founded the Global Community Bio Summit (www.biosummit.org), a gathering convening the global network of independent, community biology labs. Follow David on twitter @davidsunkong, on Instagram @davidsunkong, or on LinkedIn.

Dr. Jordan Shlain is the Founder and Managing Partner at Private Medical, a full-service, family office for health and medicine that provides comprehensive, evidence-based care to members in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, and Silicon Valley. Dr. Shlain believes good medicine and great health come only from a deep understanding of people, data, and science. Follow him on Twitter @DrShlain or LinkedIN.

Christa Williams-Collett is a Principal Investor at Citigroup’s Impact Fund. She makes direct investments in double bottom line companies and venture capital firms. Prior to joining Citi, Christa was an investment banker at RBC Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan focused on technology transactions. She is a graduate of Columbia Business School in New York and resides in San Francisco. Follow Christa on Twitter @ChristaWCollett.

Molly Wood is a climate-tech focused Managing Director at Launch and Co-host of “This Week in Startups” podcast with Jason Calacanis. Prior to becoming a venture capital investor, Molly had an extraordinary media career as a tech & business journalist at Wired, New York Times, CBS, and CNET. Follow Molly on Twitter @mollywood.  

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Mandy Bynum Mc Laughlin is CEO of BLCK VC, whose mission is to connect, engage, empower, and advance Black venture investors. Mandy’s personal goal is to create generational wealth for the historically excluded. Follow Mandy on twitter @mandy_bynum.