On our sixth episode of Building a Better Future: Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Josef Bromovsky from Algoma.

0:10: Introduction

2:25: Are you able to share with us a little bit more on Algoma? What’s the problem space you’re in and exactly how is the solution that you’ve come up with, addressing that? Why is it unique in the space?

4:11: How does that come in from a cost parity perspective? How do you make it viable?

5:46: Where did this passion from climate and sustainability come from?

7:17: Did the entrepreneurial spark come in once you realised the negative affect the construction and engineering space has on climate or has that always been there?

8:25: Where did you meet your Co-Founders and when did you feel confident enough to go for it?

10:10: Did you have the idea for Algoma prior to undertaking the MBA or did the idea come to you as a result of doing the MBA?

12:30: How do they compare in terms of quality and durability in natural disaster zones?

14:12: How do they work around local planning acts and specific requirements in particular areas?

15:38: You’re 9 months into your journey now. Is that right?

16:07: What have the first 9 months looked like? Including the highs, the proud moments and the achievements? What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in that time period?

17:43: Are you focused predominantly on domestic builds or commercial? Or both sides?

19:05: Regulatory-wise, how do you think the regulatory market, policies and attitudes in general are going to work against or in your favour in the future?

20:19: What is the embodied carbon difference between a mass timber building vs a concrete building for example?

22:08: Talk me through the highlights of your journey so far. What have you got coming up that you’re excited about?

23:30: From an accelerator perspective, what are the key benefits you think you get from going through those and what do you think the key take aways are?

25:53: You mentioned about hiring already but are there any other asks that you would have? What could help you next year?

26:41: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

27:18: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

29:10: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance?

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our fifth episode of Building a Better Future: Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Chris Kluesener from Matcha Electric.

0:10: Introduction

2:27: Tell us more about Matcha. What’s the problem space you’ve identified and how is the solution you’re building addressing that?

3:50: How does it differ in terms of problem to public charging infrastructure and why do public chargers not adequately address that issue?

4:33: So taking it back to the beginning, this is the third business you’ve founded right? Talk us through the journey

7:12: How different was the space back then compared to today in terms of attitudes, acceptance, urgency compared to then?

11:53: Talk me through when the decision point came. When did you know the time was right to go for it?

14:50: What does that next step look like? How do you get started creating the physical product?

20:30: What’s the usability from and landlord and tenant perspective? Do they go through an app?

23:38: A year into this year, where are you at today?

24:55: Is it still just yourself and John at the moment or have you got a team around you?

25:58: So, 2024, what’s that all about for you?

27:23: How are you feeling about the regulatory and political environment next year and how are changes on that front are changes on that front either operating in your favour or against you at this point?

30:07: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

31:10: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

32:42: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance?

34:10: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our fourth episode of Building a Better Future: Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli from WATS.

0:10: Introduction

2:37: Talk me through the problem space you’re in, the solution you’re bringing and what you and your Co-Founder are working on

5:55: Is the platform designed as much to reduce the amount of waste that a business produces and then take the waste that it is producing and make sure that those waste streams are put in the right places to drive a circular economy?

7:10: Where did the passion for climate and sustainability come from?

9:37: Where did your passion crystalise into ‘I’m going to do something about this’?

11:05: Where did you meet Laura?

13:20: How much of what you learnt during your consulting time inspired what you do at WATS?

15:37: Are you going location by location because being able to know what could be recycled where is a huge plus?

19:17: What have been the biggest challenges that you’ve faced over the last 12-18 months?

21:43: So today, where are you at with 8 members of the team?

22:40: And you’ve finished ERA?

22:55: How many customers do you have now?

24:05: You mentioned about regulatory change. How positive are you feeling around that and it going in the right direction to incentivise customers to use a solution like yours?

29:05: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

29:20: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

29:56: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance?

31:30: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our third episode of Building a Better Future: Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Elizabeth Landau from GreenPortfolio.

0:26: Introduction

2:15: Please could you elaborate on the problem space you’re in and why it’s such an impactful space?

4:35: Can you contextualise what our money is doing in our accounts and the carbon affects of that?

06:52: How quick a process is that in terms of assessing what someone's current impact is and helping them make a switch to something greener?

09:20: Where did your passion from climate and sustainability come from?

11:37: Where did the idea for GreenPortfolio come from? How did you meet Bonnie?

14:05: What’s the most impactful metric?

15:10: What did those first few months look like? When did you quit your job and start doing this full-time?

17:25: How has that evolved from a revenue model perspective as the journey’s gone on?

19:42: In a world where the economy isn’t in as greater a place as it used to be, how much of an appetite is there beyond just focussing on interest rates and returns?

21:30: 2-3 years into the journey, talk me through what GreenPortfolio looks like today in terms of the team and users?

22:40: Does that mean people listening could go to your website now and use the tool?

23:00: What challenges have you faced so far? How has the market positively or negatively impacted what you’ve been doing?

24:55: What are you excited about for next year?

26:58: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

28:20: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

29:33: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance?

31:40: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our second episode of Building a Better Future: Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Emiel Cockx from Genvision.

0:21: Introduction

2:05: About Genvision - What is the problem and how are you solving it?

4:10: Where did your passion for climate and sustainability come from?

5:25: Talk me through your pathway into being a tech entrepreneur?

7:43: Where did the inspiration come from to create your own business?

09:40: Where did you put 1 and 1 together to make 2?

11:55: At what point did you become aware of the trust and verification problem in the carbon removal space?

13:15: At what point did you go all in with this? Did you start developing it after you graduated or?

15:16: So you’ve been going 18 months now. What has it looked like for you?

17:28: When did you close the pre-seed?

19:30: How was the process of building out your team?

22:30: What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced would you say?

24:04: Where are you today in your journey?

25:30: How have you found this year from a wider market perspective been? How has it impacted you for better or for worse?

27:22: How hopeful do you feel for the climate sector next year / the future?

28:23: In Genvision’s world, what are you most excited about moving forward? What does 2024 look like for you?

29:43: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

29:10: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far?

31:10: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance?

32:00: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our first episode of Building a Better Future:Stories from ClimateTech Founders on the East Coast, I spoke with Garrett Boudinot from Vycarb.

0:15: Introduction 

2:00: What is the problem that you’re solving with Vicarb? 

4:05: Is there anyone else doing this? 

5:22 You’ve got quite a unique gap in this market though right? 

6:50: Take me back to the beginning. Where did this passion come from? 

09:56: What about the entrepreneurial side? When did you think about moving forward and coming up with a solution to the problem? 

13:28: Did Vycarb exist as a business prior to or was it born within Activate? 

15:17 How long was the Activate program for? 

15:40: How has the last year been? How challenging was it and what were the major roadblocks? 

19:50: You’re based out of NewLab in Brooklyn right? Is that linked to Activate? 

21:09: Talk to us about your pilots? 

24:35: What does the next 12 months have in store for you? 

28:10: How have you found the wider market this year? 

30:55: How hopeful do you feel for the future of the sector more broadly? 

32:50: Is there anything that could help you in some way? What would be your big ask for what could drive you forward this year? 

35:08: What community / people-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far? 

35:38: What media-based resource have you found to be the most impactful for your journey so far? 

36:36: Do you have any productivity tips to manage your workload or work-life balance? 

37:28: Conclusion 

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our eleventh and last episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Nikki Gaddo: Founder and CEO of GoodMine.

Nikki is CEO and Founder of GoodMine, a female-led, profit-for-purpose technology company redesigning how consumer goods flow through the system to advance the circular economy (SDG12). In her earlier career, she spent 13 years in investment banking, which equipped her future entrepreneurial self with the skills required for success!

0:00: Podcast introduction

01:50: Tell us about GoodMine. What are you building and who is it for?

07:45: What was your inspiration for GoodMine? And tell us about the early days of getting it off the ground?

15:30: How was the process winning your recent grant with Innovate UK?

17:00: How have you found going through this journey as a sole female Founder? Do you feel you’ve faced adversity?

26:30: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

30:05: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

32:10: Do you have anyone that you look up to?

30:28: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our tenth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Saasha Celestial-One: Co-Founder and COO of OLIO.

Saasha is Co-Founder and COO of OLIO, a free app harnessing the power of mobile technology and the sharing economy to provide a revolutionary solution to the problem of food waste. Before OLIO, Saasha founded London’s first pay-as-you-go high street childcare provider, and prior to that she spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley, McKinsey and American Express.

00:00: Podcast Introduction

02:28: Talk to us about Olio

03:45: What’s the origin story? How did you meet Tessa?

12:50: What are the key milestones that you’re most proud of?

17:10: Given that your platform is primarily B2C, would it work as well as B2B do you think?

20:30: What as your experience going through the funding process? Why do you think you got the money where perhaps others haven’t?

27:30: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

28:40: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

30:28: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our ninth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Lucy Lyons: Co-Founder and CEO of Kestrix.

Lucy, commercial Co-founder of Kestrix, is an entrepreneurial leader with international experience founding and scaling sustainability-focused ventures and conducting policy research. After their first experience as a founder as the CEO of reLive, an angel-backed sustainable end-of-life platform, she was the first hire under the CCO at Berlin-based Plan A, Europe’s first B2B carbon accounting SaaS company.

00:00 - Podcast introduction

02:45: About Kestrix

04:18: Was this an idea you came into the Venture Builder with or is it one you formed after meeting Matt?

06:15: When did you actually come out of Cohort 4 and go it alone? How has the business evolved since that point?

09:35: How has the fundraising process been? Have you found through the journey that you have felt any gender adversity?

16:23: How have you found the rest of your working career? Can you share some of your journey with us please?

21:38: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

24:20: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

27:37: Do you have a role model you look up to?

29:57: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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On our eighth episode of Two Pence Worth: Stories from female Founders in Climate, I spoke to Alexandra Birtles: Co-Founder and CEO of In Good Company.

Alexandra is the Co-Founder and CEO of In Good Company, a tech-for-good start-up which makes it quick and easy for people to find the best ethical and sustainable businesses and experiences around them. She's a firm believer in businesses doing well by doing good and the power of technology to help make the world a better place.

00:00: Podcast introduction

02:35: Talk to us about In Good Company, what does the platform do, who is it for and what makes it unique?

08:37: At what point did you meet your Co-Founder / Decide to go for it with the business?

12:30: Talk us through the early days of getting it off the ground

16:00: At what point did you bring in your CTO? And is it just the three of you at this point?

19:20: How have you found being a woman in business building a career? Have you or Sarah felt adversity due to gender?

28:35: What people-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

30:30: What media-based resource would you recommend others access to support them?

32:10: Do you have a role model you look up to?

34:35: Conclusion

Video versions of these episodes are available here.

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