The Capitalist Hippie

Wildfires don't sleep, so why should our firefighting technology? In this episode, host Marco Pimentel sits down with aerospace engineer and FireSwarm co-founder Alex Deslauriers, whose personal experience during Canada's worst wildfire season inspired a bold new idea: deploying AI-powered drone swarms to fight fires 24/7. With heavy-lift drones carrying 350kg payloads and flying when helicopters can't, FireSwarm's technology could transform wildfire response and reshape a $200B disaster market.

A third of all food produced never reaches our plates. Apeel set out to change that—with an idea and a $10,000 prize from a university venture competition that turned into a $2B food-tech disruptor. In this episode, Jenny Du reveals how a plant-based "second skin" is reshaping the global supply chain and keeping produce fresh without plastic, chemicals, or cold storage.

What if the key to fixing food security and boosting property value was hiding in plain sight, right above our heads? MicroHabitat co-founder Orlane Panet is turning unused rooftops into thriving urban farms across 14 cities, with over 400 farms and 3x year-over-year growth. In just 250 sq ft, she's proving you can grow more than vegetables; you can grow community, resilience, and profit. From climate adaptation to corporate engagement, this is the blueprint for building a purpose-driven business that scales.

This isn't just another swimwear startup - it's a $15K, single-SKU experiment that exploded into 300% annual growth. In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Londre Bodywear, a brand redefining fashion by embracing the philosophy of doing less, but doing it better. Here's how Ainsley Rose, co-founder and CEO of Londre Bodywear, turned plastic waste into cult classics and bootstrapped a climate-first brand consumers can't stop talking about.

This isn't planting trees—it's a return to the wisdom we clear-cut away. This episode delves into how Chestnut Carbon has raised $160 million to transform degraded land into climate-positive assets, reimagining carbon credits from the ground up. By buying land outright, restoring native forests, and building trust with enterprise buyers like Microsoft, Chestnut Carbon is proving that nature-based solutions can be credible, scalable, and wildly effective.

Success is designing for impact, not interruption. EcoCart built a carbon offset tool that meets consumers exactly where they are: at checkout. In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie, Marco Pimentel sits down with Dane Baker, founder of EcoCart, to explore what happens when climate impact becomes a default, not a disruption. You'll learn how brands like Walmart Canada, Cotopaxi, and Chamberlain Coffee are using this frictionless plugin to build loyalty, drive repeat purchases, and make impact scalable, without slowing down conversions.

Most food waste solutions focus on consumers. Freshr took a different path—embedding antimicrobial technology directly into packaging film to extend salmon shelf life by days without touching the food. In this episode, CEO Mina Mekhail shares how they pivoted from produce to proteins, turned customer objections into product breakthroughs, and built a biotech startup that's scaling faster than you'd expect—all from inside a Montreal condo lab.

Price. Convenience. Taste. Can your brand deliver?

Annalea Krebs, founder of Social Nature, joins the show to unpack the brutal balancing act every sustainable CPG founder faces. In a world where consumers demand it all — low prices, easy access, great taste, and environmental impact — building a brand that scales isn't just hard, it's war. With insights from over 3 million product reviews and a decade leading shopper-driven marketing, Annalea shares data-backed strategies for thriving in a high-cost, low-margin, impact-driven industry. A must-listen for founders breaking the old retail rules to build something better.

For Earth Month, we're spotlighting a browser turning everyday internet use into climate action.

Marco sits down with Neil Henderson and Mahum Azeem from Shift to explore how they're reimagining the web browser as a tool for reducing digital emissions. From email and streaming to Slack and beyond, Shift is tackling the hidden climate cost of our online lives—without compromising performance. A must-listen for product builders, climate tech founders, and anyone curious about weaving sustainability into software at scale.

The Capitalist Hippie (Formerly Someone Like You)

Photon is building electric propulsion systems for commercial boats—and unlocking a $16B market in the process.

In this episode, founders Marcelino Alvarez and Alana Kambury share how a focused go-to-market strategy, real-world use cases, and deep hardware-software integration are driving adoption in one of the most overlooked sectors in electrification.

If you're building climate tech, rethinking product-market fit, or exploring niche markets with massive upside—this conversation delivers insight, clarity, and momentum.