Yesterday I had the pleasure of visting CU Boulder, as a guest in the Boulder Climate Ventures entrepreneurship course. Boulder is my backyard, and programs like this one – combining entrepreneurship education with a genuine climate mission – are exactly what I want to support. I grew up going to work with my mom atContinue reading “Moonshots in the Mountains: Speaking at CU’s Boulder Climate Ventures”
Category Archives: Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Liftoff: DexMat Closes Oversubscribed Seed Round
I am beyond elated to share that DexMat has closed an oversubscribed Seed funding round, bringing our total equity funding to $10 million! This milestone represents far more than capital—it validates our exponential trajectory, recognizes our incredible team, and accelerates our mission to drive a materials revolution that the energy transition desperately needs. Taking theContinue reading “Liftoff: DexMat Closes Oversubscribed Seed Round”
DexMat Wins Trellis Climatetech Startup Of The Year
Last week in San Jose, DexMat was crowned Trellis Climatetech Startup Of The Year—a true honor selected by my peers and fellow travelers in the climatetech community. It’s been quite a journey from nomination to this moment, and I’m thrilled to share the story. From Nomination to Recognition Earlier this year, one of our partners,Continue reading “DexMat Wins Trellis Climatetech Startup Of The Year”
From TJ Alumni to Climatetech CEO: My Journey on the Alumni Blast from the Past Podcast
I recently joined Mark Grey Mendes on the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) Alumni Blast from the Past podcast to discuss my journey from student-athlete to climatetech entrepreneur leading DexMat‘s nanomaterials revolution. You can watch the full TJ alumni interview on YouTube, but I want to share some conversation highlightst aboutContinue reading “From TJ Alumni to Climatetech CEO: My Journey on the Alumni Blast from the Past Podcast”
Climatetech Crowdfunding Strategies: Insights from My Recent Panel
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion about effective climatetech crowdfunding strategies, speaking from my perspective as an investor in many crowdfunded climatetech ventures. I was particularly excited to join this conversation as it was hosted by Third Derivative, the climatetech innovation ecosystem that I founded and led as CEO forContinue reading “Climatetech Crowdfunding Strategies: Insights from My Recent Panel”
Empowering Rice Engineers with an Entrepreneurial Mindset
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of Masters in Engineering Management and Leadership students at Rice University—my own alma mater. Stepping back onto campus, now as a mentor rather than a student, felt like a full-circle moment, especially since this seminar was hosted by RCEL, where many yearsContinue reading “Empowering Rice Engineers with an Entrepreneurial Mindset”
Why We Built Third Derivative
I mentioned in my prior post that I shared our rationale for building Third Derivative on LinkedIn; here is the full text: Leading a climate tech startup is tough. You often have greater capital needs and longer paths to market, making it harder for you to compete with software ventures for funding. Commercializing climate techContinue reading “Why We Built Third Derivative”
Third Derivative: My Next Great Adventure
Far over the misty mountains coldTo dungeons deep and caverns oldWe must away ere break of dayTo seek the pale enchanted gold. I have founded or led eight climate tech startups. I’ve had one really big success, a few smaller successes, and a few “learning experiences” along the way – but every one of themContinue reading “Third Derivative: My Next Great Adventure”
The End of Smart OES
Last year Smart OES was acquired by Ingenero, one of our corporate strategic investors! I’ve been meaning to blog about this momentous event, but the acquisition itself and then major moves in other areas of my life (More on that soon!) have kept me busy. Finally I have a chance to reflect back on SmartContinue reading “The End of Smart OES”
My Entrepreneurship Principles: Leadership
In my first piece on Mindful Entrepreneurship, I laid out several principles to optimize the entrepreneurial process. In my second piece, I argued that culture is extremely important to startups. In this final (?) piece, I will now examine how leadership can create an optimal startup culture and help others execute the entrepreneurial process. EntrepreneurialContinue reading “My Entrepreneurship Principles: Leadership”