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”
Category Archives: Energy & Climate
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”
Innovating to Solve Two Crises at Once
The world is locked down. My calendar, which weeks ago was full of flights and meetings, is now back to back to back Zooms. And yet – while so much has stopped – the glaciers are still melting, the emissions are still climbing, and the climatetech startups that are our best hope of reversing bothContinue reading “Innovating to Solve Two Crises at Once”
Why My Toddler and I Participated in Today’s Climate Strike
Today I took our toddler out of daycare (with his mom’s permission!) and participated in the Climate Strike in downtown Chapel Hill. It was a youth-organized, peaceful protest against climate inaction, featuring student and faculty speakers. The gathering started at Peace and Justice Plaza, where there was music, chanting, and some speakers. We then processedContinue reading “Why My Toddler and I Participated in Today’s Climate Strike”
The Paris Agreement
Much has been said recently about the US pulling out of the Paris Agreement and the vast majority of it has been highly politicized by people who have never even read the agreement. Opinions are quite polarized, ranging from “It was a perfect agreement and, now that we have pulled out, the sky is falling,”Continue reading “The Paris Agreement”
15 Years An Entrepreneur
Fifteen years ago I cofounded my first startup. Now, with seven startups under my belt, some big successes, some small successes, and some, ahem, “less than successes,” it’s amazing to think about how pivotal that decision to try the entrepreneurial path was. It was my junior year in college and I had been working partContinue reading “15 Years An Entrepreneur”
My presentation from the 2016 Distributech Conference
This week I was in Orlando for Distributech, the annual Smart Grid Conference. I made some great connections, did lots of demos, and enjoyed making a brief presentation about one of Smart Office Energy Solutions’s client case studies:
The Future of Energy
Last week I was honored to be asked to give a brief talk on the future of energy at 1776, Washington DC’s startup incubator. I was in town for less than 24 hours but it felt invigorating to present my ideas back in my home town. The event was called RebootEnergy, and its purpose wasContinue reading “The Future of Energy”
The First Cleanweb Hackathon in Texas
Last weekend marked the culmination of a special project I’ve been working on for many months: bringing the Cleanweb Hackathon to Houston! Cleanweb is a global movement of people developing IT-based “clean” technologies instead of the traditional “cleantech” like solar and wind which require massive investments and decades to commercialize. The purpose of a cleanweb hackathonContinue reading “The First Cleanweb Hackathon in Texas”
If Climate Change Isn’t Happening, Why Is the Arctic Melting?
The following question was asked on LinkedIn: “After Climate-Gate, skeptics say that man-made climate chaos and global warming are not happening yet the Arctic’s melting faster. What are your thoughts, observations and views?” My response: “I’m not a an expert in climate change, but I know many such experts. They are professors in environmental science,Continue reading “If Climate Change Isn’t Happening, Why Is the Arctic Melting?”