CleanTechies Podcast Silas Mähner (Climate Headhunter) & Somil Aggarwal (Climate PM & VC)

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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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

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Links:
**Josh Knauer | ReSeed
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 
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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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📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
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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

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

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

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Jackson, Managing Partner at Earthshot Ventures. Earthshot Ventures calls themselves carbon generalists and invest from Seed to Series B. They mainly invest in software and “stepchange” hardware with a preference to double down on existing portfolio companies.

Mike’s story is great because of how intentional he has excelled at every stage and in multiple sides of building in climate. He is a successful founder from cleantech 1.0, a rockstar investing even before earthshot, experienced in project finance, and now investing in a collaborative way that is pushing the whole climatetech industry forward.

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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
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox | https://cleantechies.substack.com/podcast
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel | https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5

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Topics:
**06:49 Journey from Childhood to Leading a Climate Fund
**12:54 Lessons from Cleantech 1.0
**15:54 Preparing for Project Finance
**25:13 Importance of Business Models
**32:35 Rising at the Westly Group
**34:37 Building a Complementary Team
**39:48 Why Earthshot is a "Network Fund"
**43:14 Investing Earlier in ClimateTech
**45:02 AI and its Impact on Climate
**48:31 Attracting Capital from Generalist Investors
**49:50 Advice for VCs 
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Links:
**Mike Jackson | Earthshot Ventures
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 
Support the show

In this episode, we actually have a bit of a flashback for you – I sit down to chat with Tiya Gordon, co-founder and COO of It’s Electric, creating curbside EV charging specifically built for cities. 

Before I even go into what we talk about, I’d like to shout out what Tiya has done in the few months since recording this episode in December:
She was part of the Green Economy Action Plan, a landmark green jobs plan for NYCHas appeared on NPR,Was awarded the 2023 Top 10 Innovator award for Transportation Electrification by Darcy Partners, Was featured in Forbes, Spoke at Davos, Received a  $1.5M award from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation enabling cities to deploy our innovative and community centered model of public charging. And just last week, she announced that It’s Electric has created the first UL certified detachable cable charger That’s not mentioning all the recognitions they collected in 2023 but I’ll leave you all to read about those on your own. Tiya and I have met a few times in a few different context, but it was a real pleasure being able to do this with her and tbh I think we’re already due for a part two.

---
🌎 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 | https://cleantechies.substack.com/podcast
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel | https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5

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Topics:
**03:03 It's Electric Origin Story
**07:01 What does It's Electric do
**11:31 What it's like Working with Cities
**15:10 What she Learned From Working with Municipalities
**31:04 NYCW
**37:10 Building the Team
**40:52 Having a "Non-Traditional" Background in ClimateTech
**45:43 Advice for Founders
**50:07 Note to Audience

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Links:
**Tiya Gordon | It’s Electric
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 
Support the show

In this episode, Somil chats with Logan Grizzel, partner at MUUS Climate Partners, the climate tech venture capital arm of MUUS & Co. investing at the convergence of decarbonization and technological innovation.
This episode probably broke the quotable clip record we have – Logan was a great mix of knowing how to communicate his thoughts and genuinely having such unique insight having worked on alternative fuels at Toyota, then going into grid strategy and now spending time as a Climate VC, previously at Blackhorn Ventures and now MUUS Climate Partners.

In this episode we talk about the challenge with timeframes of venture funds in climate, his perspective on nuclear fusion, alternative fuels at Toyota, centralized vs. decentralized grids, the nuances of hardware, the climate tech scene in Denver, how they got such a diverse team, & more.

Anyways, 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.  
---

🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox | https://cleantechies.substack.com/podcast
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel | https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5

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Topics:
**03:11 Herd Mentality in Climate VC
**09:26 Logan's Experience at Toyota
**13:34 The Significance of the Prius
**17:06 Nearshoring and Onshoring 
**21:34 The Mismatch in Hydrogen Supply and Demand
**24:39 Decentralized vs Centralized Approaches to the Grid
**28:04 Timing and Assessing Technology Maturity
**29:25 Assessing Founder Adaptability
**30:29 Dreaming Too Big or Small in Entrepreneurship
**42:16 Denver Climate Scene
**48:12 Lessons from Blackhorn Ventures
**49:34 Diversity in Team Building
**58:58 Advice to VCs
**01:01:53 Takeaways
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Links:
**Logan Grizzel | MUUS Climate Partners
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 
Support the show