Home upgrades shouldn’t be this hard - and yet for millions of homeowners trying to electrify, save money, or improve comfort, the process is confusing, time-consuming, and painfully outdated.

Grant Gunnison, Founder of Zero Homes, knows this firsthand - and he’s on a mission to fix it by combining deep construction know-how with smart technology that removes friction for homeowners and contractors.

In this episode, Grant shares:

✅ Why the home improvement experience is broken, and what it costs homeowners

✅ Why no one has solved this problem (until now)

✅ How Zero Homes is tackling the impossible scale of electrification in America

✅ The hidden operational traps founders face in legacy industries

✅ The resilience it really takes to build something better

If you’re a sustainability founder, operator, or anyone trying to solve big practical challenges in housing or climate, you’ll find Grant’s approach both honest and inspiring.

Listen now and learn how fixing frustrating systems at scale can unlock real climate impact - one home at a time.

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Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

When it comes to cleantech, good ideas aren’t enough - if you want real impact, the economics have to work first.

Grizz Deal, co-founder of IXWater, has built nine companies by taking unused government lab tech and turning it into real businesses that solve huge industrial problems - like turning toxic wastewater into usable water for a fraction of the cost.

In this episode, Grizz shares what most sustainability founders get backwards about scaling:

💡 Why industries won’t adopt your green solution unless there’s a clear financial upside

⚙️ How to survive the messy early phase of custom projects and unlock repeatable sales

📈 Why selling your IP can be smarter than clinging to the CEO seat

🌍 What it really takes to turn waste into a resource - and a business that lasts

If you’re building a sustainability company and want to make sure it actually works in the real world, this one’s for you.

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Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

What if the most valuable part of your product... isn’t what you built first?

In this episode of The Plucky Bamboo Podcast, Chris speaks with Cory Vanderpool, founder of Sprk - a company on a mission to give energy upgrades like solar panels real value in real estate transactions.

With over a decade in the solar industry, Cory saw deals collapsing, value being lost, and no one bridging the gap between home energy systems and the people buying and selling those homes. So he built a new kind of company - one that’s creating the back-end infrastructure the clean energy market desperately needs.

Together, we explore:

🔹 Why most sustainability products struggle with messaging and market adoption

🔹 The painful lesson of building the “wrong” feature - and what finally unlocked traction

🔹 How Sprk chose one clear audience and stopped trying to solve every stakeholder’s problem

🔹 What founders must understand about awareness stages and “meeting people where they’re at”

🔹 Why building something great isn’t enough - you have to make sure people want it

If you’re a founder trying to scale in a complex or low-awareness market, this episode will hit home.

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Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

“Sustainable” isn’t enough, not if we’re still poisoning the planet.

In this episode, I’m joined by Jonathan Appel, co-founder and CEO of Eden, a company developing regeneration tech that turns pollution into clean fuel, water, and fertiliser - with zero waste.

But this conversation goes far beyond the tech.

We dig into the real challenges sustainability founders face when trying to scale something meaningful, including:

💡 Why “sustainability” is broken - and what should replace it

📉 What stops climate tech from scaling, even when the product works

🧠 How to lead through pressure, setbacks, and burnout

⚡ Why mission-aligned capital matters more than fast capital

If you’re building a purpose-led business and trying to grow without compromise, this one’s for you.

🎙 Hosted by Chris Jones

The Plucky Bamboo Podcast - real stories and strategies behind scaling sustainability-focused businesses.

📩 Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisg-jones/

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Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

In this episode of The Plucky Bamboo Podcast, I sit down with Joe Phoenix, founder and CEO of Givinga — a fintech company powering corporate giving strategies from the inside out.

We talk about the stuff most leaders don’t admit publicly:

• Why ESG can’t be a box-ticking exercise anymore

• How to delegate without dropping the ball

• What really builds trust at scale (hint: it’s not just messaging)

• And why growing a purpose-led business always takes 5x longer than you expect

If you’re a sustainability founder stuck between vision and execution, this episode is packed with grounded insight, strategic advice, and hard-earned lessons on building something that lasts.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

Most sustainability founders are trying to balance two conflicting truths: the pressure to grow and the responsibility to stay true to their values. In this episode, Daniel Walton, founder of OLPRO, shares his hard-earned lessons from building one of the UK’s most recognisable sustainable outdoor brands.

From navigating greenwashing fears to earning B Corp certification and adapting to fast-changing customer expectations, Daniel opens up about what’s worked, what’s failed, and why sustainability is now core to both product and brand strategy.

You’ll learn why their early “loan a tent” initiative didn’t stick, how they’re using recycled materials without compromising quality, and what surprised him most about the B Corp process. If you’re a purpose-driven founder trying to build something that lasts — without losing your edge — this episode is packed with real-world insight.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

What happens when your sustainability solution works - but the market isn’t ready?

In this episode, Eyal Harel, CEO of BlueGreen Water Technologies, shares how their proven water remediation tech saw explosive success in Israel… and nearly took the company under when they tried to scale too fast into global markets.

We talk about:

• How a single algal bloom caused $2.7B in economic damage

• Why climate founders must learn to sell into conservative, hyper-regulated systems

• The painful lessons of scaling without validation

• Pivoting into carbon credits to unlock growth

• And why 70% success should be “good enough” in environmental innovation

This isn’t a feel-good impact story - it’s a brutally honest breakdown of what it takes to grow when science, regulation, and public perception are all working against you.

If you’re building in climate tech, water, or any mission-driven sector, this one’s for you.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

Most sustainability companies talk about circularity — but few actually build systems that make it happen at scale.

In this episode, Mikey Pasciuto, Co-Founder of Scrap, shares how his team turned a dorm-room idea into a fast-growing waste data company working with municipalities, brands, and stadiums to reduce landfill, improve packaging, and cut waste at the source.

We discuss:

✅ The real reason Smart Bins failed — and what worked instead

✅ Why most businesses are “waste blind” (and losing money because of it)

✅ How to sell into sustainability functions across wildly different orgs

✅ The truth about SaaS in sustainability — and why white-glove wins

✅ What to prioritize if you’re trying to scale impact and revenue

Whether you’re an ops-minded founder or a systems-savvy sustainability leader, this one’s packed with practical takeaways to help you grow your business and your impact.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

What happens when a sustainability company stops selling the mission—and starts selling real results?

Thomas Grinnan, CEO of Data Company One, shares how his team transformed their business by connecting purpose to profit.

In this episode, we dive into:

✅ Why apps alone don’t change behavior—and what does
✅ How to build a value proposition that actually leads to ROI
✅ The real reason many sustainability sales fall flat
✅ Fast feedback loops, lean product pivots, and CEO lessons in the trenches
✅ How to qualify the right customers and stop chasing the wrong ones

Whether you’re building a climate tech startup, scaling a purpose-driven business, or trying to sell sustainability in a tough market—this one’s full of lessons you can use right away.

🎧 Follow The Plucky Bamboo Podcast for more conversations with the leaders shaping the future of sustainable business.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.

Scaling a purpose-driven business is hard — but it shouldn’t feel like a constant uphill battle.

In this episode of the Plucky Bamboo Podcast, Chris speaks with Danielle Heward, founder of Optimo and expert in operational strategy for sustainability and social impact businesses.

They dive into what really holds back mission-led companies as they grow - and spoiler alert: it’s not a lack of purpose or passion. It’s the systems, communication breakdowns, and poor processes that slowly drain your team’s energy and stall your impact.

Expect a grounded, practical conversation covering:

- Why passionate teams still get stuck- How to balance your mission with real operational excellence- The danger of chasing tech solutions before fixing the foundations
- What sustainable scaling actually looks like - and how to get there
- How B Corp certification shaped Optimo’s journey (and what Danielle learned from it)
- The real cost of ignoring wellbeing as a founder

Whether you’re running a 5-person startup or scaling a national sustainability brand, this episode is packed with insight to help you grow with clarity, structure, and impact.

🎧 Tune in if you’re ready to build a business that runs as good as it does good.

———
Building a climate or sustainability business and feel like the growth still runs through you?
Take the free Growth Diagnostic - 6 minutes to find the biggest bottleneck holding your growth back, and see how you compare to 300+ climate founders: pluckybamboo.com/growth-diagnostic
The Plucky Bamboo Podcast: sustainability founders on how they actually grow - demand, sales, and the systems behind it. Hosted by Chris Jones.