Podcasts about Carbon War Room

You don't meet many people like Jigar Shah.He's one of the rare leaders who has shaped the clean energy transition from every angle — as a founder, as an investor, and most recently, as a government leader. If you know Jigar, you already know the headlines: He founded SunEdison, led Richard Branson's Carbon War Room, co-hosted the Energy Gang podcast, co-founded Generate Capital, and most recently, ran the Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office, better known as LPO. If you don't know Jigar, but you're listening to this, chances are you've felt his impact. In 2024, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.And fun fact, he's also the very first guest to return to Watt It Takes for a second episode.For more than two decades, Jigar has been behind the scenes — and sometimes out front — helping scale the technologies and financing models that define today's energy economy. But this episode isn't about Jigar's résumé; it's about what it was like for him to join and lead LPO, what he learned in his four years in government, and what he's carrying forward in this next chapter of his career. SponsorsThis season of Watt It Takes is brought to you by our lead sponsor, HSBC Innovation Banking who is proud to bank some of the most exciting companies pioneering the technologies of tomorrow.With specialist financing support, deep understanding of the challenges, and a global network across more than 50 markets, they help clients scale breakthrough innovations, and take them to the world.So, if you're looking for early-stage funding, or well on your way to FOAK, follow the link below to learn how HSBC Innovation Banking can help on the next stage of your journey.https://www.business.us.hsbc.com/en/innovation-banking-powerhouse-innovationAbout Powerhouse Innovation and Powerhouse Ventures Powerhouse Innovation is a leading consulting firm connecting top-tier corporations and investors, including corporate innovation teams, CVCs, and pensions with cutting-edge technologies and startups that meet their specific criteria for engagement. Powerhouse Ventures backs entrepreneurs building the digital infrastructure for rapid decarbonization. To hear more stories of founders building our energy abundant future, hit the “subscribe” button and leave us a review.

Jigar Shah served as Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from March 2021 to January 2025, where he oversaw a $400B budget. Prior, Shah was co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Generate has raised over $10 billion, investing in 50+ technology and development partnerships with more than 2,000 assets globally.Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing (i.e., PPAs).After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson to help entrepreneurs address climate change.--Here are six topics we covered in the podcast:1. Post-LPO ResetAfter managing $107B in deals at DOE's Loan Programs Office, Jigar Shah hit pause and rebranded as a “podcaster.” He's taking time to reflect before diving into the next chapter.2. Climate VC Is BrokenShah says the 100x-return VC model doesn't fit climate tech's reality. He pushes for an “East Coast” model: aim for 18% IRR, win 7 of 10 bets, and skip the moonshots.3. Evergreen Capital > 2-and-20At Generate Capital, Shah turned down big checks to build an evergreen structure that aligns with long-term climate infrastructure. It's less lucrative for managers, but way better for founders.4. FOAK Risk, ExplainedHe breaks project finance into five risks: tech, feedstock, offtake, construction, and ops. LPO, unlike most investors, can stomach execution risk, like 12 methane pyrolysis reactors, not just one.5. Think Like a DeveloperClean tech needs dev capital like real estate: risky early bets, then stable returns once built. It's not “risk-free”—just “risk-you-can-understand.”6. Deep Tech's Fatal FlawToo many founders chase giant, low-margin markets. Shah says to start with high-margin niches (like InventWood selling to data centers) and then scale.--

Jigar Shah has had a lengthy career as an energy industry entrepreneur and strategic thinker. He founded Sun Edison and helped to create a new model for deploying solar power systems. He was part of the Carbon War Room and then founded Generate Capital to provide loans to proven technologies that had not yet achieved...

Biodigesters, sustainable vineyards, & board positions for women are just a few of the fun topics Catherine discussed with Suzanne Hunt, VP of Policy at Generate Upcycle, in this Green Light podcast episode. With operations in Europe, Canada & the U.S., Generate Upcycle is dedicated to scaling up mature infrastructure in areas like organic waste recycling & wastewater, & has invested in companies like Atlas Organics. Suzanne shared about some of the challenges of advancing policy goals in a politically volatile environment, as well as advice on how climate activists & cleantech companies can work more cohesively together. Suzanne has had a diverse & impressive career. She began her career at the Environmental Defense Fund & eventually went on to do work for organizations like XPRIZE, Carbon War Room & Generate. Some of her recent accomplishments include working with coalitions to help get food waste diversion/recycling and climate legislation passed in her home state of New York. Suzanne is also on the board of organizations like Cornell AgriTech, & shared her advice on how women & those with other underrepresented identities can best prepare for a board position. If you're a clean energy employer & need help scaling your workforce efficiently with top tier candidates, contact Catherine McLean, CEO & Founder of Dylan Green, directly on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/3odzxQr. If you're looking for your next role in clean energy, take a look at our industry-leading clients' latest job openings: bit.ly/dg_jobs. 

How is the Loan Programs Office providing unprecedented amounts of capital for clean energy innovations? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Jigar Shah, US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office Director, his $400 billion mandate in commercialising clean energy innovations, how these technologies align with US energy security goals and climate commitments, and what the multiplier effect of LPO financing could mean for private sector investment. Jigar Shah is the Director for the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the US Department of Energy where he leads and directs the organisation's considerable loan authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. With more than 25 years of experience in clean energy, he is an expert in project finance, clean technology, and entrepreneurship, as well as a visionary leader and innovator in the field of sustainable infrastructure. Prior to joining the DOE, Jigar co-founded and served as the President of Generate Capital, the leading investment and operating platform for distributed energy storage, microgrids, fuel cells, electric vehicles, and organic waste management. He also founded SunEdison, the inventor of the modern solar-as-a-service industry, and served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Jigar is the author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy, a book that outlines his mission to scale the transition to a global clean energy economy.

Aimée Christensen, Founder and CEO of Christensen Global, talks with CleanTechnica's Scott Cooney about climate crisis, resilience, and highlights from the recent COP28 conference. Aimée Christensen brokered the first ever bilateral agreement on climate change between the US and another nation (Costa Rica, in 1994), and has helped build the sustainability platforms for, among others, the United Nations, Microsoft, Google, and Virgin, where she helped Sir Richard Branson develop the Carbon War Room.

Aimée Christensen, Founder and CEO of Christensen Global, talks with CleanTechnica's Scott Cooney about climate crisis, resilience, and highlights from the recent COP28 conference. Aimée Christensen brokered the first ever bilateral agreement on climate change between the US and another nation (Costa Rica, in 1994), and has helped build the sustainability platforms for, among others, the United Nations, Microsoft, Google, and Virgin, where she helped Sir Richard Branson develop the Carbon War Room.

Joshua Kagan is the Co-Founder & CEO of Bonfire, a tokenized real estate platform focused on helping everyday people build commercial real estate portfolios. Prior to starting Bonfire, Joshua was the Managing Director of CleanFund - a speciality finance company that provides capital to commercial buildings; additionally, he was the Operations Lead for Richard Branson's Carbon War Room which was focused on deploying capital into energy efficiency projects in commercial buildings. Joshua purchased his first residential project in 2011 and since then has participated as a sponsor or investor in more than a hundred million dollars worth of commercial and residential real estate projects.   --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/crypto-hipster-podcast/support

Joshua Kagan is the CEO of Bonfire - a real estate tokenization platform. Prior to starting Bonfire, Joshua worked in leadership roles in proptech/fintech for 12 years (Atlas Capital, Carbon War Room, CleanFund) while also building out a portfolio of single family rentals. Joshua Kagan is a real estate investor who has a great story to share and words of wisdom to impart for both beginning and veteran investors alike, so grab your pen and paper, buckle up and enjoy the ride. Want to get in contact with Joshua Kagan? Reach out at www.bonfire.capital.Want to become financially free through commercial real estate? Check out our eBook to learn how to jump start a cash flowing real estate portfolio here https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com/real-estate-wealth-book  Enjoy the show? Subscribe to the channel for all our upcoming real estate investor interviews and episodes.  ************************************************************************  GET INVOLVED, CONNECTED & GROW YOUR REAL ESTATE BUSINESS  LEARN -- Want to learn the ins and outs of real estate investing? Check out our book at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com/real-estate-wealth-book  PARTNER -- Want to partner on a deal or connect in person? Email the host Gabe Petersen at gabe@therealestateinvestingclub.com or reach out on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabe-petersen/  WATCH -- Want to watch our YouTube channel? Click here: https://bit.ly/theREIshow  ************************************************************************   ABOUT THE REAL ESTATE INVESTING CLUB SHOW   Hear from successful real estate investors across every asset class on how they got started investing in real estate and then grew from their first deal to a portfolio of cash-flowing properties. We interview real estate pros from every asset class and learn what strategies they used to create generational wealth for themselves and their families. The REI Club is an interview-based real estate show that will teach you the fastest ways to start and grow your real estate investing career in today's market - from multifamily, to self-storage, to mobile home parks, to mix-use industrial, you'll hear it all! Join us as we delve into our guests career peaks and valleys and the best advice, greatest stories, and favorite tips they learned along the way. Want to create wealth for yourself using the vehicle of real estate? Getting mentorship is the fastest way to success. Get an REI mentor and check out our REI course at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com.  #realestateinvesting #passiveincome #realestate   Interested in becoming a passive investor in one of our projects? Kaizen Properties, is looking for passive investors for our upcoming deals. We invest in what are known as “recession resistant assets”: self storage, MH & RV parks, and industrial properties. If you are interested, go to the website and click on the “Invest with Us” button at the bottom of the page.Support the show

Podcast Episode 106Really Interesting Women - Jean OelwangJean Oelwang is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group. Since its launch, it has inspired a number of global initiatives – like The Elders (with Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu), Ocean Unite, Carbon War Room and The B Team. For over 20 years Jean has worked closely with and learned a lot from Sir Richard Branson, having previously been the joint CEO of Virgin Mobile in Australia.In her current roles Jean has had occasion to work with Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu,  the Dalai Lama, former President Carter, amongst many others. It has given her insight as to what makes a successful and fulfilled life - and it's not money. In fact, I was cheeky enough to ask her about the meaning of life...and she gave me the answer! And it makes sense!!We discuss her recent book "Partnering" which shows the importance of deep seated connections and relationships and her anecdotal evidence comes from her interviewing over 60 business and life partnerships including Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Ben and Jerry, and Desmond and Leah Tutu.It's really interesting, insightful and a fun conversation.Head to the link in my bio to listen to this podcast. www.theelders.orgwww.bteam.orgJean's book: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/partnering-9781529146066@jeanoelwang #reallyinterestingwomen #riw @virginunite @virgin #partnerships #nelsonmandela #desmondtutu @richardbranson #dalailama #disruptivedetours @theelders_org #deeplylistening #meaningoflife Visit instagram @reallyinterestingwomen for further interviews and posts of interesting women in history. Follow the link to leave a review....and tell your friendshttps://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/really-interesting-women/id1526764849If you know of a potential guest or interesting woman in history, email me atreallyinterestingwomen@gmail.com

Partnering the Virgin Way with Jean Oelwang Todays episode is one I am so excited for. Jean Oelwang is an incredible leader and she shared someone epic insights in this episode.Jean is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, an entrepreneurial foundation that builds collectives, incubates ideas and re-invents systems for a better world. Over the last 15 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including: The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the RMI), Ocean Unite, The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, 100% Human at Work, The Virgin Unite Constellation and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship. As part of her work over the last three decades, Jean has helped corporations put the wellbeing of people and the planet at their core, including working with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to help embed purpose in all they do.  Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group leading their people strategy.  Jean has long explored the overlap of the business and social sectors and has been involved in both, having worked for the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in Australia, and in numerous volunteer roles, including a year-long stint as a VISTA volunteer where she worked with – and learned from - homeless teens in Chicago. Jean recently wrote a book called Partnering which is about forging deep connections that make great things happen. Purchase your copy of Partnering here - https://www.amazon.com/Partnering-Forge-Connections-Things-Happen/dp/059318954X Have a look at Virgin Unite here - https://unite.virgin.com/unite/ ----Full Transcript, Quote Cards, and a Show Summary are available here: https://www.jjlaughlin.com/blog

Partnering the Virgin Way with Jean Oelwang Todays episode is one I am so excited for. Jean Oelwang is an incredible leader and she shared someone epic insights in this episode.Jean is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite, an entrepreneurial foundation that builds collectives, incubates ideas and re-invents systems for a better world. Over the last 15 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including: The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the RMI), Ocean Unite, The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator, 100% Human at Work, The Virgin Unite Constellation and The Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship. As part of her work over the last three decades, Jean has helped corporations put the wellbeing of people and the planet at their core, including working with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to help embed purpose in all they do.  Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group leading their people strategy.  Jean has long explored the overlap of the business and social sectors and has been involved in both, having worked for the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in Australia, and in numerous volunteer roles, including a year-long stint as a VISTA volunteer where she worked with – and learned from - homeless teens in Chicago. Jean recently wrote a book called Partnering which is about forging deep connections that make great things happen. Purchase your copy of Partnering here - https://www.amazon.com/Partnering-Forge-Connections-Things-Happen/dp/059318954X Have a look at Virgin Unite here - https://unite.virgin.com/unite/ ----Full Transcript, Quote Cards, and a Show Summary are available here: https://www.jjlaughlin.com/blog

Jean Oelwang is the founding CEO and President of Virgin Unite. Over the last 17 years, she has worked with partners to lead the incubation and start-up of several global initiatives, including: The Elders, The B Team, The Carbon War Room (successfully merged with the RMI), The Africa Donor Collective, Ocean Unite (now ORRAA), The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator, and 100% Human at Work. Jean also served as a Partner in the Virgin Group leading their people strategy. Jean spent 17 years living and working on six continents to start and help lead mobile phone companies, where she started building the path to become the exceptional leader and philanthropist she is today. She is the author of Partnering and co-founded Plus Wonder to spark more meaningful deep connections and collaborations in the world. She is sharing a bit of her wisdom with us today on the 1st episode of Season 02 of “Getting to the Top!”.

Jigar Shah has had an exceptional career as a commercializer of energy decarbonization solutions, from founding solar developer SunEdison, to putting his money where his mouth is with the original Clean Feet Investors fund, to co-founding the Carbon War Room with Richard Branson. Now he's running the US Department of Energy's Loans Program Office and has $40B of authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. In this broad and animated discussion, he asserts the value of the $504 million hydrogen storage and generation project in Utah the program funded, why he's bullish on small modular reactors as well as wind and solar, and why HVDC is a big part of the USA's energy transmission future but isn't a slam dunk.

Jigar Shah has had an exceptional career as a commercializer of energy decarbonization solutions, from founding solar developer SunEdison, to putting his money where his mouth is with the original Clean Feet Investors fund, to co-founding the Carbon War Room with Richard Branson. Now he's running the US Department of Energy's Loans Program Office and has $40B of authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. In this broad and animated discussion, he asserts the value of the $504 million hydrogen storage and generation project in Utah the program funded, why he's bullish on small modular reactors as well as wind and solar, and why HVDC is a big part of the USA's energy transmission future but isn't a slam dunk.

Jigar Shah has had an exceptional career as a commercializer of energy decarbonization solutions, from founding solar developer SunEdison, to putting his money where his mouth is with the original Clean Feet Investors fund, to co-founding the Carbon War Room with Richard Branson. Now he's running the US Department of Energy's Loans Program Office and has $40B of authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. In this broad and animated discussion, he asserts the value of the $504 million hydrogen storage and generation project in Utah the program funded, why he's bullish on small modular reactors as well as wind and solar, and why HVDC is a big part of the USA's energy transmission future but isn't a slam dunk.

Jigar Shah has had an exceptional career as a commercializer of energy decarbonization solutions, from founding solar developer SunEdison, to putting his money where his mouth is with the original Clean Feet Investors fund, to co-founding the Carbon War Room with Richard Branson. Now he's running the US Department of Energy's Loans Program Office and has $40B of authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. In this broad and animated discussion, he asserts the value of the $504 million hydrogen storage and generation project in Utah the program funded, why he's bullish on small modular reactors as well as wind and solar, and why HVDC is a big part of the USA's energy transmission future but isn't a slam dunk.

Ann Davlin is the Chief of Strategy at Dynamhex, a software development company that monitors and visualizes complex energy consumption data for individual, corporate and government entities. Her extensive background includes leadership positions with the White House, the Department of Defense, the US Senate as well as Richard Branson's Carbon War Room, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Ann continues to offer her leadership and services in Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) with her unique insight and strategic knowledge.

Episode SummaryPhilip-Michael Weiner co-founded recapture carbon in 2017 together with Trey Pringle. They are convinced that climate change is not a scientific problem but rather a systems problem caused by behaviour. Therefore, they combine multiple solutions and act as a project developer pursuing the first-ever systems-designed approach to Carbon Removal. In this episode, we discuss barriers to technological solutions, what is necessary to remove 100 billion tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere by mid-century to avoid the worst effects of global warming and the crucial role of design.What we talk abouthow carbon can be removed from the atmosphere while earning a positive return,what risks big companies face if they don't have a strategy for technological removal as part of their financial framework,scenarios for large emitters' 'race to zero',the role of a designerly way of "thinking in systems" to accelerate change and positively influence people's behaviour. About Philip-Michael WeinerPhilip-Michael is a full-stack designer, award-winning company builder, and creative director who has spent the last decade creating some of the most impactful products in the food, technology, and consumer industry.He has worked with companies of all sizes worldwide, including brands like  Carbon War Room, Rocky Mountain Institute, Rockefeller Foundation, Virgin Unite, and Richard Branson's personal projects as well as collaborating with disruptive startups in Silicon Valley. Philip-Michael is driven by taking a systems approach to growing companies' impact through behavior change and meaningful, enduring design. His products have been showcased at the Museum of Design in Barcelona and in books such as 99 Designs for Life.In 2017 he co-founded recapture carbon, a company addressing large carbon-emitting organizations to remove carbon from the atmosphere while earning a positive return. Resources mentionedrecapture's Net Zero Seriesrecapture's Report about Fortune 500 GHG Emissions  for FY2019Verra Carbon RegistryPanel Discussion on Youtube  moderated by Mike Teague at ONEOKMission ZeroClimeworks100% Human at Work ProjectConnect with recapture carbonWebsite of recapture carbonMore episodes like thisThank you for joining the Naturally Innovative Podcast! Don't miss out on new episode releases on Instagram.If you enjoyed this episode please share, subscribe and review it, so more people can find this podcast and be inspired by the stories my guests shared!For any kind of feedback, feel free to connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn! 

Today's guests are Rob Hanson, CEO & Co-Founder of Monolith, and Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office, at U.S. Department of Energy.Rob is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Monolith, where he leads the development of next-generation technology for producing low cost, low emission hydrogen and carbon black, an important raw material used in the manufacture of rubber and plastic. Prior to Monolith, Hanson served as the global director of product management for AREVA Solar, the solar division of the world's largest nuclear company. He has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford, and has been a guest lecturer at Stanford, UNL, Foothill College and the University of Saskatchewan on topics ranging from thermodynamics to entrepreneurship.Jigar was most recently co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered "pay as you save" solar financing. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park.I was eager for Rob and Jigar to come back on the show to discuss Monolith's recent $1B loan from the DOE's Loan Programs Office. Rob provides us with an overview of Monolith, key phases of the company thus far, and the motivations for seeking public funding. Jigar explains his role at the LPO, why traditional VCs aren't built for early-stage climatetech, and how the private and public sectors can address climate change. We also discuss the government's role in the carbon-free future, how to re-align incentives for traditional funders, and advice Rob and Jigar have for entrepreneurs in the climate space. This is a great episode and a must-listen for anyone at the intersection of climate and finance. Enjoy the show!You can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@mcjcollective.com, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded February 7th, 2022To learn more about Monolith, visit: https://monolith-corp.com/To learn more about the US DOE's Loan Programs Office, visit: https://www.energy.gov/lpo/loan-programs-officeTo learn more about this episode, visit: https://mcjcollective.com/my-climate-journey-podcast/hanson-shah

Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office at U.S. Department of Energy, founder of Sun Edison and Generate Capital, founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. 

Many major global companies are progressing on their own sustainability roadmaps as we proceed into the 'Climate Decade.' But the science is clear that we must do more and quickly to avoid the worst-case consequences of climate change and take advantage of the economic opportunity offered by the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Supply chain transparency and working closely with suppliers to reduce scope three emissions will be a challenge for companies with complex supply chains. Tessa Lee, Senior Corporate Engagement Manager at the Climate Group, joins us to discuss how going public with a net-zero or other supply chain sustainability pledge needn't become a stick for your company to beat itself with, rather, an enabling driver of your sustainability goals.   About the Speaker Tessa Lee is the Senior Corporate Engagement Manager in the Climate Group's New York offices. She incubates new workstreams and strategic program areas for the Business Action campaigns, including RE100 and EP100, and provides a suite of member engagement services to corporate members. She is also leading the Climate Group's newly launched Sustainable Supply Chain efforts. Previously, she led monitoring, evaluation and learning at 100 Resilient Cities, pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation, and before that, business development and program implementation at the Rocky Mountain Institute and the Carbon War Room, for industries including freight trucking and maritime shipping, global energy access, mining and islanded economies, low-carbon cement, and agriculture and forestry. She has a MSc in Development Studies from the London School of Economics, and a BA in International Relations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In this episode of Smart Energy Voices, host John Failla sits down with Miro Sutton, Managing Director – Renewable Advisory, Strategy and Origination, NRG Energy. This discussion covers the state of community solar, including key trends, benefits, and common misperceptions. You'll want to listen in to learn about NRG's unique approach to developing community solar projects.  You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Miro Sutton's background and current role at NRG [02:05] The current state of community solar [05:21] Benefits for community solar customers [11:20] Misperceptions about community solar [13:59] Community solar's environmental benefits [17:55] NRGs unique approach to community solar projects [20:29] A recent example of a community solar deal [26:34] Why community solar? The most apparent benefit of community solar is economical. Customers can get guaranteed savings without having to risk money. The only risk is the opportunity cost of a project that may or may not have worked out. That guarantee has been an attractive value proposition in the market and has opened many doors in the industry. Another benefit in some areas is the flexibility of assignment. For example, if a customer has a business that they want to close and open another, they can move their contract to the new business. From a politician's perspective, they can increase the solar on the grid through local projects without making a giant deal. They're also able to democratize access to solar across multiple types of residential and commercial customers who would otherwise not have access. It checks the RPS box, equity box, and all the boxes that politicians love, making for a successful program from all perspectives. Current trends in community solar Today, savings are guaranteed no matter what the bill credit value is. The customer agreements have gotten a lot friendlier and are moving toward opening up to a lot more people. Financers also are starting to understand that community solar is not like onsite solar or VPPAs. There's less risk to the individual customer. The customers' flexibility also translates to flexibility for managing components for the developer.  From the developer's perspective, there are other trends as well. There's more focus on LMI (low- or moderate-income) customers. This market brings in new considerations such as qualifying and maintaining the LMI status. The developers also have to deal with increasing grid considerations and interconnections. These factors have been seen in Massachusetts and now Maine. They're something to consider but are, for the most part, being resolved favorably for the industry.  Streamlining community solar NRGs process is focused on saving their customers time and money. The main focus is on saving the customers time. Part of this is due to programs being fragmented and nuanced. Rather than customers worrying about timing and which provider to choose, NRG takes care of all of those details. They are there to prepare their customer with everything needed to take the plan to their leadership and get it executed. One of the first things NRG does is present a customized contract template to the legal teams on the customer side. After that document is finalized, NRG takes it to the development community with a request for offers. This process saves a significant amount of time for the customer and creates an entirely homogenized experience. Using a model like this, it's no wonder NRG has been successful in community solar projects across the nation. Resources & People Mentioned Starbucks Deal to Power with Renewable Energy New York state will consolidate billing for community solar customers Connect with Miro Sutton On LinkedIn Miro Sutton leads the Renewable Advisory team at NRG, assisting Fortune 500 customers in their renewable procurement efforts by creating customized renewable and sustainable energy solutions. He has been part of 4+GW of renewable transactions in his career. Miro has 14 years of experience working in the renewable energy industry, including seven years with NRG. Miro has originated over 1.5GW of renewable energy projects for Fortune 100 C&I customers including Ecolab, US Bank, Lowes, and other similar entities. Additionally, Miro has supported C&I customers 400+MW of Community Solar subscription agreements across four states. Miro was involved in the founding of the Carbon War Room, the promotion of PACE financing solutions, the creation of the Cash for Clunkers bill (“CARS” H.R. 1550), and the development of international programs. Connect With Smart Energy Decisions https://smartenergydecisions.com Follow them on Facebook Follow them on Twitter Follow them on LinkedIn Subscribe to Smart Energy Voices If you're interested in participating in the next Smart Energy Decision Event, visit smartenergydecisions.com or email our Event Operations Director, Lisa Carroll at lisa@smartenergydecisions.com Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

What's hot today might be out of the zeitgeist tomorrow. Are people still doing goat yoga? Are skinny jeans really the new mom jeans? There are so many trends to keep track of and so many “next big things,” it's impossible to know what's real and what's just a passing fad. For a business, it's important to understand the distinction, and it's even more important to have products that will thrive regardless of the different cycles your industry will run through. Lopa van der Mersch says she has that kind of product with her company, Rasa, which makes a coffee alternative with adaptogen blends. Lopa has a fascinating story, including inadvertently entering into a cult, navigating tricky co-founder relationships, and building up a business to more than $2M in revenue all from her garage.On this episode of Up Next in Commerce, Lopa explains why she believes that her product will be a game-changer regardless of societal trends, and she breaks down how to spot something phony or bad for you, whether it's in a product or even in a partner or personal relationship. Enjoy this episode! Main Takeaways:Finding the Right Match: When partnering with a co-founder, especially one who is a close friend, some things you should consider are their skills and their ability to resolve conflicts. Ask yourself would you hire this person to do this job if they were not your friend? And think back to how you have handled conflicts with each other in the past. If you are comfortable with the answers to those questions, you can feel more confident in that person as a partner.Culture Shock: Growth in any industry is related to what is happening in common culture. When something is trending, a corresponding industry will rise. Today's society is focused on health and wellness more than in the past, so companies that deal with products in that space are on the rise. But to stay solvent even when the trends change, companies need to ensure that they have products that are worth something and add to a person's life regardless of whether it's trendy or not.Let It Come, But Also Go After It: Striking the right balance between organic growth and focusing energy and money into specific channels is difficult. The key is to make sure that you are diversifying your efforts wherever you choose to try to gain attention. Play with the levers of what's working in one area, but continue to invest elsewhere so that when one thing begins to fail, you have other options. For an in-depth look at this episode, check out the full transcript below. Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.---Up Next in Commerce is brought to you by Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Respond quickly to changing customer needs with flexible Ecommerce connected to marketing, sales, and service. Deliver intelligent commerce experiences your customers can trust, across every channel. Together, we're ready for what's next in commerce. Learn more at salesforce.com/commerce---Stephanie:Hey everyone. And welcome back to Up Next In Commerce. This is your host, Stephanie Postles, CEO at Mission.org. Today on the show, we have Lopa van der Mersch who currently serves as the founder and CEO of Rasa. Lopa, welcome.Lopa:Hi, great to be here. Thanks for having me.Stephanie:I am very excited to have you on. So your history as we talked about before the show started is very intriguing and I think our guests would love to kind of start there and hear a bit about your background, childhood, all of the things about Lopa.Lopa:All right. Well, let's see how long we have. So it's all a question of where do I start, right? I mean where do we plug in? But I will say I think a good place to plug is around when I was 16, I first heard the word enlightenment, I don't even remember in what context and I was like, that. I want that, whatever that is. And I started reading spiritual books on Taoism and Buddhism and I went from being this incredibly miserable teenager, like the most, like special. I know like everybody's miserable as a teenager, but I was extra. I'm extra about everything. And then I kind of went through this awakening process as I discovered this other dimension to life and I was just hungry and I was positive and I saw beauty everywhere and it was great.Lopa:I started getting into yoga and I kept on finding myself wanting a deeper and deeper relationship with a teacher. And then I did find a guru, like a real guru from a lineage in India and studied with him for a long time and learned a tremendous amount. Spirituality was a huge focus of my life. I've probably done six months of retreats over the years. And for a while three to four hours of meditation practice a day and I was hardcore. And at some point in there, I started to sort of question the navel gazing nature of it all and was like, what else can I give to the world? And what else can I bring to the world? And through serendipity in many ways, I found a job in the bio char industry.Lopa:And for those who aren't familiar, bio char is short for biological charcoal. It's charcoal that you add to soil to both sequester carbon and improve soil quality. And I helped co-found two businesses there. I worked for Richard Branson's Carbon War Room while I was there. I spoke at TEDx. It was like I was in the right place at the right time in an industry that was really growing specifically for its focus on being a potential solution for climate change. And then after, I don't know, five years of eating, breathing, sleeping, sweating bio char, and then practicing and doing retreats when I could and all of that, I left that context and went on and around the world trip with my now husband and just at the very end of that trip, we inadvertently as always happens, got into a cult. And no one knows you're getting into a cult when you're getting into a cult. Nobody's like-Stephanie:Okay, how do I even know if I'm not in one right now then?Lopa:It's a great question. So there's sort of two distinctions of cults. We are all in a certain cult in terms of modern society, in terms of our involvement with media and the way that it shapes the way that we think. All of that could be considered a cult. And depending on how you look or who you talk to, that could be seen as a benign cult or a destructive cult. Many religions are benign cults. But in this context we were in what could be considered a destructive cult or another framing that they use in cult academia is high demand group. And so one of the ways that you can assess if am I in a cult kind of situation, how much demand is there for your time, for your attention, for your devotion, for your money? And in this context, we were pretty much 100% of our time was focused on this cult. My husband was working at the time and found it incredibly hard to maintain his job and all of his duties in the cult context.Stephanie:How did you inadvertently get into it? Did you meet one person and they're like there's this cool thing, it kind of sounds like this, and it's just like a community of just like besties. And then you get in there and it just turns into more and more and more work, or what does that look like?Lopa:Yeah. Yeah, it's always gradations. So we met somebody and she was talking about her experiences with this woman. And often people don't think of women as having that, but it usually there's some kind of narcissistic component to any cult dynamic. Not necessarily though. And I will also say too, just because I think it's important to understand, you can be in a cult of two and another way to look at that is an abusive relationship. So that would be considered like the smallest size of a cult and then bigger ones are what we normally think of when we think of cults. So if you're in a relationship and you're like am I in a cult of two, look at how much demand is on your time and how much are they trying to limit the world around you?Lopa:So yeah, we met this woman, she was telling me about her experiences and they were amazing and mystical and psychedelic in many ways. And I was like, all right, this sounds like what I want. Yeah. I want that magic. I want that other worldliness. And so we went to go see her and she's a very powerful, very charismatic woman and there's real great spiritual teachings in there too. Nobody joins a cult just because they're like, oh, I want to get abused. That sounds great. There's something that draws them in. And usually it's a trauma bond that keeps people in because there's like, oh, today it's a little bit of love and tomorrow I'm going to humiliate you and today, you're the best thing ever. And tomorrow I'm going to question every aspect of your sense of self.Lopa:So it started as this charismatic, interesting, powerful woman who had a lot of energy. I did have psychedelic experiences around her. Cool. That's fun. Without any drugs and it's the context there. And there are some things that I probably should have been like um, she gravels and hisses and speaks in tongues and stuff.Stephanie:A little off putting.Lopa:Yeah, yeah. But I was like, well, everybody around her kind of did it. And so that normalized it and was like, oh, well maybe I just don't get it. And maybe okay, if I start doing that, then I'll be more spiritual too. And all that kind of stuff. And with almost any cult or context, it gets more and more insane literally. It's like an onion. The outer layers and people who just come to a class here and there, they might be like, she's amazing. What are you even talking about? This is not a cult.Lopa:And then as you get deeper and deeper in and closer into that kind of inner circle, that's where things like some of her like... Sorry, I'll go back and say for the first six months or so, it was like bliss. It was amazing. It was just awesome. And I felt so seen and so loved and all of that. And then after some time is when, and in spiritual contexts, you're trying in some way to break your ego down. And so the eco breaking down a scene in this context of like, well, I need this and so I'm being humbled.Stephanie:Yeah, you need that abuse and ripping apart every piece of need because I [inaudible] and I need to be separate from that.Lopa:Exactly. Exactly. So this is part of the growth and I just have to sustain it and all of that, and it can be tricky to assess if that is real, is it really actually good? And you do need to be cut down in some ways or we all have times in our lives where somebody gives us a reflection that we really don't like but we really fricking need. And that can really hurt to let it in. I think a prime present tense example is people beginning to see the embedded racism in their system for white people and I think that's a reflection that none of us really want to hold, but we have to. It's important to hold and that's a big ego, like we have to let the knife go in on that one, for example.Lopa:But then in these more kind of abusive context, it's like you have to look very closely at what is this person's motive? Do they really feel like it's coming from I am actually trying to help you in some way. And she always said that she was and this was all for us and all for love and all of that. And when it came down to it, some of the things that really kind of set us off towards the end was just realizing how incredibly unhumble she was and how unwilling to receive feedback or any kind of bi-directional. She gives a lot of feedback in our direction. And then we're like, are you kind of sitting on a pedestal and then freaks out. And so those were some of our cues. And sometimes it is, you find just this tiny little cue, and then that's the thread that lets it all kind of break down and then you realize, whoa, wait a second, what are we doing? Where are we? Why are we prioritizing every minute of our lives around this person?Stephanie:Wow. Can you get out? Because I always hear when you're in-Lopa:It's hard.Stephanie:It's hard to get out. So what does it look like you trying to get out of that?Lopa:Yeah. I mean, it's different for every person. For us, it was an outside reflection from somebody who was a relative stranger who brought up. He was like, I'm sure she's a really beautiful person, but I see some red flags and I'm just a little bit concerned and then gave some examples of other teachers who were very humble. And I don't know if he specifically chose these teachers because they're very humble or what, but it was a strange experience. My husband and I were both on the phone with him at the time. When we got off the phone, it literally felt like a bubble popped.Stephanie:Wow.Lopa:We were, wow. Okay, something changed. And we felt kind of naked and exposed. And then we were like oh, we just need to give her some feedback. She's kind of lost her humility and she's like, I am that, I am everything. And so we just need to sort of remind her of her humanity a little bit, right, because we're all humans. And there was a process of, we gave that piece of feedback and then over the next three weeks, there were 3000 emails sent between the group. I went back and looked at my gmail and it was like 3006 or something, crazy. 3006 or something absurd. I'm trying to [inaudible] language out of my vocabulary. And my husband really saw it quickly and was out and for me, it took a little bit more time where I was kind of questioning myself, oh, maybe she is the real deal and I just can't take it and all of that.Lopa:And therapy was a really big part of the healing and the reconciliation and finding my core sense of self again, which got adjusted over the course of this whole time. It was like, somebody questions your motive once and you're like, oh no, that's not where I'm coming from. And then they do it again and you're like, what do you mean? And then they keep doing it and keep doing it. And you move a little bit off of your center over and over because you start to question yourself, well, maybe I am this kind of showy person and you start to believe that. And that's gaslighting and that's how that happens. So for me, it was a process of kind of reexamining all of my beliefs and all of the dogmas that I'd picked up in the course of my life and all of these different things to get back to kind of what feels like a core solid sense of self and a lot of therapy.Stephanie:Wow. That's intense. Okay. So you get out of this cult and then what happens after that?Lopa:Yes. Well that year was a doozy. I now call it my own personal 2020. Now that we've had 2020, I'm like, oh, that was my 2015 because yeah, I left the cult, 3000 emails, I had an emergency back surgery while I was pregnant, I moved across the country a week later, lost a family member, had an emergency cesarean birth that was traumatic, I had a huge falling out with my family. I was fried. And so Rasa actually really came out of necessity. Necessity is the mother of invention. I was fried and I was like, I need something to help me keep going because now I had a baby waking me up, really precious little munchkin. And I tried coffee. I've never been a big coffee drinker because it's a little too much for my system. I tried coffee and was like, whoa, okay, irritability, jitters, panic attacks, sleep is even more messed up. No. This is a hard no.Lopa:And so I looked at all the coffee alternatives out there and tried them all. And I was like, really? This is it? Come on, we can do better, right? And I've been a big herb person, just an enthusiast. I love herbs. I've always had lots of jars of herbs in my kitchen and stuff like that. And I was like, can't we just put a bunch of really good herbs in there? And then I started to really think about here, looking at coffee in this coffee cup that people just don't even really question, this ritual of drinking coffee, it's even built into so many aspects of our culture in terms of don't talk to me until I've had my second cup of coffee kind of stuff.Stephanie:Community stuff like let's meet up for coffee.Lopa:Yes, totally, totally. People talking about how coffee is their personality. And I started being like, wow, this is something that people often actually used to override their body signals. So like their body's like, I'm tired. The answer is not rest or downshift a little bit or maybe I need a little time in nature or anything like that. The answer is often coffee.Stephanie:Yeah.Lopa:Coffee is the tool of a society that does not give two shits about anything except for your productivity in a way. And we buy into that and we do that. And I say this also in the context of not saying that I'm sure a lot of people listening, entrepreneurs, people out there in the world are like, no, you do not blah, blah, blah, my cup of coffee. I understand that. I really get it. It's not that coffee is bad or coffee is the devil. It's about how you're relating to it. Just like how you're relating to anything. Like a glass of wine with dinner is not a bad thing. It's a beverage, but if you have a real dependency on that, and that is something that you really need and you have two or three or four, it's all about right relationship fundamentally. So yeah, I started looking at that and I was like, wow, everybody's just drinking coffee, coffee jacks up your central nervous system. It causes a cortisol flood from your adrenals.Lopa:So it's literally triggering a stress response which is part of why you feel so amazing. And because the cortisol is there to help you be able to beat the tiger or run away from the tiger or whatever. And I was like, wow, that doesn't necessarily put us into our best selves. When I am revved up, I'm not necessarily kind of grounded in my best decision-making, my cognitive executive function is not operating from that wide spacious perspective. And so I was like, all right, what if we, and then there was this other kind of aha about coffee is also one of the few accepted bitter tastes in our culture.Lopa:We don't tend to love bitter in our society, but coffee is super bitter. And so as chocolate is the other one. And I was like, so there's a bunch of amazing herbs out there. Some of them taste kind of like crap, but if you stick them into this like rich, robust cup and with other things that are kind of masking the taste, you can actually get people to drink something that's going to be incredibly healthy for them every single day and is actually going to help them regulate their stress response.Lopa:And so that's where at that point, I started working with a herbalist. I love herbs and there's a bit of a trend out there of people just being like, oh, there's all these trendy things out there, let's just go ahead and throw them into a bag and sell them. And herbalism is a very, very long standing tradition. That's the original medicine, the people's medicine and there's a lot of science in there too. And so I think it's really important. It's very different to have a herbalist formulated product versus trendy things in a bag products. And so I worked with a herbalist and they actually did the formula. And so that was five years ago. We were kind of in beta for roughly two years. And then we hard launched in April of 2018 and now I am founder and CEO of a 20-person business and things are going great.Stephanie:Wow. That's amazing. So when thinking about formulating the product, did you go into it already knowing I want to have for sure these things in it, or did you really just relinquish control and just say, you tell me, here's maybe the benefits that I want to see or I want it to taste maybe a little bit bitter or not at all? How did that relationship go about?Lopa:With that original relationships, so that was my original co-founder, who was a very, very dear friend and now has a royalty on her formula and we bought her out. We didn't bring out the best in each other in a business context. So that's really good, if you're going to start a business with a close friend, you really want to look at them from the angle of would I hire this person to do these things? And have I ever gotten into significant conflict with this person and how did we do? And because as soon as you're dealing with money, it becomes almost like a marriage, it's way intense. And just our friction didn't quite work, but so she had these herbs that she was already working with. Lopa:And I made suggestions, I was like, I think we should add this. And I think none of them ended up in the final formula, but I was like, it needs to taste good. It needs to be really functional. It needs to have an energy component. It doesn't have to match coffee because coffee, I think is an unsustainable energy spike. But it does need to give people some kind of lift and I wanted it to be gluten-free, have no natural flavors, anything like that. So it's just herbs. And she went to town, we now have a herbalist on staff who is a clinical herbalist and he has reformulated that same formulation probably 40 times or something. And some of that is we've done some major reformulations to just continue to improve the taste and continue to improve the functionality. And then sometimes there's like, oh, this herb has a sustainability consideration and so we're going to swap that out and, oh, we're going to change it to a different source.Lopa:And then that source has a different taste. And now we have to adjust everything. But we actually taste every single batch of herbs and reformulate every single time based on the strength of the harvest of the herbs because you're always adjusting for climate and things that are totally out of our control and we want to have a consistent taste.Stephanie:Yeah. I love that. So the one thing I want to talk about too, and understand more is the industry as a whole around adaptogens because I feel like that word now it seems like it's on every product. And sometimes I'm like, well, how do I know what an adaptogen is? Is it real? Is it not? Because it seems like a trendy thing. And how did you think about that when entering into this industry?Lopa:Yes. Oh man, don't get me started. So first, how do you know what an adaptogen is? And is it real? So these are herbs that have been used for thousands of years in traditional context, in [inaudible], in Chinese medicine. And then in the 1940s, a Russian scientist named Nicola Lazaroff, there we go, thank you. He was basically tasked with giving Russian super soldiers and athletes an edge without a crash. And so he went to work studying all sorts of substances, including herbs and fell on these types of herbs, and he was like, oh, wait a second. This does give them the edge. They can go longer, harder, faster, more, and then they don't have a crash after the fact which is what happens with stimulants. And that's the issue with coffee is you get that crash in the afternoon because it's a kind of an unsustainable lift.Lopa:And so he initially started working with eleuthero which was the original adaptogen. And there are over 3000 studies on eleuthero, it's one of the most studied herbs and all through his research. And that term was coined, I believe, in the early 1950s. And so in order to be called an adaptogen, a herb needs to, we call it the four Ns, it needs to have a normalizing effect on the body. So it helps balance, helps you find homeostasis against environmental, physical, emotional, mental factors, all kinds of stress. It needs to be non-toxic in normal therapeutic doses. So it has to be basically safe. It's not going to, basically safe for most people. It needs to be nonspecific in terms of, there are many herbs where this herb is very good for the liver or this herb is very good for the blood.Lopa:These are herbs that work systemically and holistically in the whole body. And then that relates specifically to number four which is neuro-endocrine. It needs to have an impact on your neuroendocrine system which is your nervous system and your endocrine system coming together. And both of those, I want to go a little bit into the science, but so you have two main pathways that your body uses to communicate that you're under stress which is your hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and your sympathoadrenal system, hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis is HPA. And the HPA axis is how your hormones tell your adrenals that there's a stress issue. And then your SAS is neuro-transmitters. And these herbs strengthened those two systems, literally like exercise. So they say that it mimics stress. But it's actually in a good way.Lopa:It's a eustressor. So it's actually like exercise is stressful for our bodies but it's in a good way, because we're getting stronger, we're getting more resilience, all of that, we're getting more flexible. And so adaptogens are literally doing that to your body's stress response system. So they have to have that neuro-endocrine impact as well. And this is also really interesting, just seeing adaptogens trending so much, many companies out there, I think, do not understand that there is a scientific criteria. It's not a marketing term. And there's actually a pretty small class of herbs that are scientifically substantiated as being adaptogens.Stephanie:Yeah, I was going to ask like how many are out there that have that claim against them?Lopa:Yeah. So it depends on who you talk to and who you look at. And we're actually working on coming out with a whole here is the definitive adaptogen guide. Here's what actually has the scientific backing. Here's why we chose these particular herbs based on these scientists and based on what we know and here's the list and here's what gets adaptogen washed. And this is a term that we've coined adaptogen washing where somebody calls something an adaptogens and it's not. So there's about, I think it's 39. And that number is changing based on the science. Sometimes they'll do a few more research studies and be like, oh, actually this one drops off the list or they do a few more research and they're like, okay, this one's definitely on the list. But depending on which scientist you talk to, there's either nine or 12 definitive adaptogens and then roughly 20 to 25 other probable adaptogens or secondary adaptogens.Lopa:And to be generous to the industry, we call anything that is probable, possible, secondary or primary an adaptogen. But many things that we see get mislabeled as adaptogens out there are Chaga is not an adaptogen, lion's mane, all the functional mushrooms, people are like, functional mushrooms are adaptogens. Nope, there's just two. And that is cordyceps and Lingzhi.Stephanie:I love Lingzhi.Lopa:Yeah, turmeric is not an adaptogen. Actually there is one other mushroom that's very little known called [inaudible], I think. But yeah, Chaga is not an adaptogen, lion's mane, turmeric. I've heard Matcha be called an adaptogen, [inaudible]. People just kind of throw it on anything. And this is an interesting case of an industry growing because we're overstressed as a culture. And this was going back to one of your questions about did we know what we wanted to put in that cup? And were we aware of that? We want to put the best stuff ever in a cup and adaptogens are the best stuff ever especially as a superior way to stimulate yourself that's more sustainable. And I believe that they're trending because people need them. That's what's happening right now. And there's a pretty uneducated consumer base.Lopa:And so there's a lot of knowledge to understand. And adaptogens tend to grow in really extreme environments which is why they're expensive. They grow on the tops of mountains, in desert, in these kinds of contexts. And it can be hard to actually get a full harvest out of them in the same way as like you could for other herbs.Stephanie:There's definitely a lot of education needed around this space. And it seems like so many new things are popping up. I mean, I was just at brunch the other day where my friends were talking about Ayurvedic diets and oils to use. And I mean, it was so much, I probably was like oh my gosh, I don't even know how to consume all the things you're telling me because it feels like everything I'm doing, I just never knew about any of this. Well, the same thing with adaptogens and understanding what that is. And there's a whole revolution, I think, of this new kind of nutrition and dieting and way of thinking that is going to take some time to educate the consumers on what that actually is and who's a phony and who's real and what's an actual real product or not.Lopa:Yeah. And what's actually going to have an impact. It wouldn't be such a problem, I think to have adaptogen washing if it didn't like also devalue the herb itself. And to another point, if I gave you something and was like, this has CBD and it doesn't have CBD, you'd be like, what the heck? And some people do call CBD an adaptogen, it's not, and that doesn't make those herbs any less amazing. Just don't mislabel them.Stephanie:Yeah, just use the right words.Lopa:Yeah.Stephanie:So yeah. I completely agree. So when you're starting this company, a lot of founders start out and they're really excited. And then sometimes they're kind of like how's this going? Is this my thing? Get a little distracted, and I want to kind of hear how your journey went with getting really excited about this, knowing you had a solution to something, what did that look like after you had landed on, I want to start this company? Was there any hesitation ever or wondering is this even my thing?Lopa:Yeah. Yeah. I think that's pretty normal. I hope to normalize that for people like, I've definitely had entrepreneurs come to me and be like, I'm not sure if I want to do this anymore and I'm like, that's okay. You'll have those days. It's really hard to create something. And yeah, I mean, my trajectory, let's see, that first two years there was a lot, well, the co-founder conflict really kind of clouded, yeah, my situation for a little bit. And so I was like, well, maybe I should do something else. And maybe I should focus on other things. And I just kind of kept coming back to this and I just kept being like, this is a good idea and I feel like it needs to happen. And I couldn't believe that there wasn't something like this out there. And then, I mean, it's been stressful.Lopa:It is a lot of work and learning how to run a business while running a business is hard. If I were to do this all again, I'd be like, oh, wow, this is going to be a lot easier going forward. I've been the co-founder in a few businesses, but it's very, very different to be actually at the helm. And the buck stops at you kind of thing. And yeah, work-life balance has been tricky. I have two kids now. I actually hard launched Rasa when my second son was four weeks old. Tough planning. It didn't quite go to plan as I'd hoped. And there's definitely a sense of the business would take as much energy as I would possibly give it. My kids would take as much energy as I would possibly give them. And so there's this feeling of, it's never quite enough.Stephanie:The mom guilt. The mom guilt is so real. I feel that [inaudible], yeah, I'm in the house recording. My three kids are usually on the other side of the door and I'll just be like should I be out there with them and having to be like, no, boundaries. Most people, well, not now, but used to go to an office and be away and that's okay. You got work to do. And yeah, work-life balance is definitely a struggle especially working at home now in the same presence as kids and family members and pets and all of that.Lopa:Yeah. We actually originally made the Rasa headquarters out of our garage so that I could be closer to my kids. I just wanted to be able to breastfeed for a bit, put the baby down to a nap, come back. And so we were in my garage until last September. It worked great for that time. And I was like, well, we're running a $2 million business out of my garage. This is solid, it's a small garage. It's not like a big old thing. But it was my garage. We had a storage unit in the back. We had a shipping container in our driveway. We had a shed, it was in all of our basements, pretty much every room had something Rasa-related. And so I was like, all right, we got to get out of here.Stephanie:Yeah. Your neighbors are like, what's this girl doing over there?Lopa:I know. They were like, this zoning. It was not up to code, but we're out now. So forgiveness rather than permission.Stephanie:Yeah, yeah, I agree. So I want to talk a bit about Amazon too because I saw that you were part of the Launchpad program, what do you call it? And I haven't had anyone on the show at least that I know of who's been a part of that. So I want to hear about your experience being on that and spreading the word about Rasa and getting in front of new customers and just being on Amazon in general.Lopa:Yeah. I mean, Amazon in general, Amazon has been a really solid channel for us, which is part of why we went with the Launchpad program. It's been just very consistent. The growth has been pretty steady and predictable. The customers there have been great too. We have some really consistent customer retention on Amazon which I think is not what we really expected. We have a lot of subscribers there. And so we were on the Launchpad program for about a year. We actually are just in the process of pulling out of it. They do take a 5% cut and basically, I think if you have somebody on the team who's really managing it closely and is really taking advantage of every single opportunity that they have, I think it's probably a really good program. We did not have that.Stephanie:What are the opportunities that they provide within that program?Lopa:Yeah, there's a lot of promotional potential. Some of those come with additional revenue cut. Some of those just require additional marketing planning and that sort of thing. And I'll say we have tended to... We actually for about the last year have really under indexed on Amazon. I think we could have autopiloted it. And we were like, oh, well Launchpad will be good and blah, blah, blah. So we may actually go back to the Launchpad program once we have our Amazon growth strategy a little bit more, but a lot of promotional opportunities, get on the front page. You get chances to do extra deals. They have the lightning deals and I don't manage the Amazon super closely. So our Amazon guy could tell you a little bit more, but yeah, a lot of emails came through where I was like, huh, we should probably do that, but we don't really have time. We don't really have the marketing bandwidth.Lopa:And I think now I look back and we're like, well, we want that 5% margin back. We can put that into ad spend. And I think that that's going to be a better use of that capital at this time. And if we had actually been taking advantage of all those emails that came through, you can get a dedicated account manager who will help audit your ad spend and all that stuff. If we were doing that, I think it would have been a great program for us. And it was positive, we've seen growth, but not quite enough to warrant 5% on every bag.Stephanie:Yeah. Yeah. That's quite a hefty margin to take out. For them to do-Lopa:On top of their original 30%, yeah.Stephanie:Ooh, that's a lot. So you pulled back to focus more on ad spend. I mean, what kind of channels were you relying on to get the word out? Because even though it is a big trend around this industry, I still feel like it's pretty niche to get in front of the right people who understand it and are ready to buy around this. I think it might be a little harder of a sell to get in front of someone who has to do the research like me to be like, well, what is an adaptogen? Is a good for me? And how did you go about finding the right people in the platform that'll work for you?Lopa:Yeah, well, we're really going after the coffee market and adaptogens are the way that we're doing that. So adaptogens right now, it's a $25 billion industry, but most of that's in Asia and because they have a cultural context around using these herbs in daily life that we just don't have. And so we are actually bringing a cultural context for these herbs through the coffee ritual and coffees is a $465 billion market. So we like that TAM a lot better. So that said, most of our customers are actually coming to us for a coffee alternative and then they're like, oh, it actually supplies all these benefits as well. And I think that's one of the things that we've been kind of working on and finding our positioning and our messaging in terms of yes, it's a beverage and it's delicious and it's intended to replace entirely or replace partially your coffee ritual.Lopa:But then it also has all these ancillary benefits, not ancillary. I mean, we get incredible customer reviews that say that it's just life changing. And so I think there's a way, and I think that's part of why we get an amazing long tail retention on our customers because we're delivering on more than they expected in terms of the impact. But most of our customers, we've been pretty heavily focused on Facebook. That's been our major scaling channel and that's a really interesting context right now because the iOS 14 change. And I think also with the pandemic ending, the buying patterns ending we hope, the buying patterns are shifting a bit as well. And so people are going back to their third spaces. They're going back out in the world a bit more.Lopa:And CACs are only going up. They're not coming down ever. So we sort of had a little... Facebook's been amazing for us. And I have had this little bug in the back of my head for like two years where I've been like we can't put all our eggs in this basket. We had one ad that, I mean, I think this one particular ad had done a million dollars in revenue for us or something. And it was based on something, it was a relevancy score. So in Facebook, they were categorizing by relevancy and it had a 10 out of 10 relevancy and we were like we could just dump money into it and it would just keep returning money. And it was amazing. And then they dropped the relevancy score as a factor all in their algorithm. And it was like our cash cow has died. It just suddenly, because the way the algorithm was prioritizing, it just didn't deliver in the same way. And we were like, wow, we're at the helm or we're at the whim of something that we have very little control over.Lopa:And so we're starting a little bit of a channel diversification strategy just to have a little bit more health in terms of what we're doing in the business.Stephanie:So many companies start out that way that I can think of and I think it's perfectly okay to rely on one channel. I mean, I've talked to a couple where they're like in chat within Instagram DMs, or Facebook chat, that's where our company's at. And I mean, we kind of went through that at mission too. We were very reliant on media and we became the top on there. That was where our business model was headed until one day they made a few changes and we're like, whoa, that just disrupted our entire business. Why are we relying on someone else's platform? We need to get off here and diversify. What kind of channels are you trying out now? And how did that make you rethink, relying on any platform in general?Lopa:Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. If you're diversified, then you have a little bit of a hedge. And so if something changes, you're like, cool, we're going to just flex the lever a little bit more over here. So we've been very under-indexed on B2B wholesale in general. We've never had a salesperson and we just considered it part of customer care. And if somebody came to us and was like, we'd like to order for our store, we'd be great. And that was kind of it. And so now just knowing that you can really scale a business that way, too. We're going to be investing in that a bit more. So we're in like, I don't know something like 600 retail stores at this point and-Lopa:So yeah, wholesale, actually investing in growth on Amazon, PR is something that we've also done almost none of. So actually working to in-house PR, I have come to kind of think of PR agencies as black holes where money goes to die. So I'm really keen on in-housing it. And influencers is also something that we've been very under-indexed on, just haven't put anything towards and it's all been organic, which is great. And we've had a lot of organic movement in all these things, but there's a difference between letting it come to you versus like, okay, now we're going to really focus on this. And then we have some international opportunities opening up as well.Stephanie:Cool. That's amazing. All right. So I know we're getting short on time and I do want to talk about crowdfunding and I know you mentioned you were very excited about that. So I want to dive into why are you guys crowdfunding? Why do you choose that approach? And you also mentioned innovative marketing ideas around that so. I want to hear all the things.Lopa:Yes. Yes. So DTC has allowed this new level of customer relationships and we have a lot of intimacy all across our communications and people always tell us they feel like they're talking to a friend instead of a company. And we love that and incredible brand love as well. And we feel like the logical next step of that is becoming crowdfunded or community-owned. And we've had lots of investors come and knock on our door and be very interested in what we've done and what we've been able to build, bootstrapped especially for a CPG business. And the thing that just kind of keeps coming up and especially for VCs, VCs are very extractive capital. And we actually talk about it internally. Like VCs are the coffee of money.Lopa:Coffee is an extractive energy source for your body. VCs are an energy extractive source of money for your business. And we do a lot of things differently. In our business, our culture is, I think pretty remarkable. We're doing a lot around sustainability. There's a lot of things where we're prioritizing a triple bottom line instead of a bottom line, just the bottom line. And we get nervous about the idea of getting into a relationship with somebody who's like, well, yeah, you can't treat your employees that way and you can't do this and that.Stephanie:You've got to return the fund to be worth it to me.Lopa:Exactly. Exactly. And we know that our customers love the way that we do things and want us to be more and more that way. So we're very excited about that and they just changed the regulations so that you can raise 5 million via crowdfunding instead of just one per year. And so we're very excited about, we're going to be hopefully one of the first to actually close a $5 million round crowdfunding. And some of it, we've just realized like damn, these businesses can be real capital intensive. And we're trying to do this with capital constraints which means people constraints and bandwidth constraints. And then we're trying to do a very high integrity product with a lot of value in the product and compostable packaging and just fair trade as much as we can all across the business and treating our employees really well.Lopa:And all of these different things that just does cost money, cost more. And then we're like, well, we want to grow as well. We want to invest in growth. So we've been basically break even except for investment in growth for a while. And we were like, if we had more capital to invest in growth, we know that the business is financially sustainable and really solid. And so if we just can get that growth capital and so that's basically why we're doing it. And when you're building a brand that people love, going into some of our marketing strategies around this, when you're building a brand that people really love, and then they're also becoming owners of that brand, I think there's a big question about what's secret, and what's not secret.Lopa:And there's a lot of secrecy in the CPG world and in business in general. And we are seeing that the more transparent we are, the more our customers just eat it up. And they love the behind the scenes about the business. And they love just knowing about why we made a certain change in our packaging and stuff like that. That's where we get the most responses. It's kind of crazy. And so we are shifting towards being more and more open about margins, our run rate and including people in these details allows them to be included in this incredible journey of launching this product. And so we're going to be doing a lot more around this. We're kind of working on building the internal content engine to be able to just be a more and more transparent and share more and more about what it takes to do this and the hard decisions and the hard moments where I'm like, oh my God, my kids and this and the business and all that stuff.Lopa:But our customer reviews are incredible, so incredible. We have to be editing them for the FDA. We've had people say that they had a Rasa baby, it's made them more patient with their partners and their kids and all that. And that's why we got into plant medicine. We knew the power of these things. And so I think crowdfunding is a way of getting people invested in the business and having the business actually be like herbs were originally the medicine for the people and now it's going to be a business about herbs for the people as well. And so it just feels like it's really perfectly aligned.Stephanie:I love that. I mean, I think the idea too around transparency, not only does that give your customers things to look at and engage with you, but I think it also invites help too. If someone sees oh, your margins are around this. Let me come in and help you because I think maybe in the CPG industry, maybe they should be around here. I've got this idea around logistics that might help you enhance that. So I think the more you share, the more other people might come in and be able to actually help and want to lift everyone up in the process.Lopa:Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think in the industry, that is really valuable. Sometimes there's always a question of how much feedback you get from where. And sometimes you're like, wow, that's a lot of people that want to help and I don't really know what they're doing.Lopa:But I mean, that said, we listen to every piece of feedback too. And I think going back to the cult conversation a little bit, when you get feedback that you don't like, you have to look at it and say like, okay, if 1% of this is true, what part would be true? And then look at that. And that's one of the nice things too about DTC is that we have been able to actually iterate our products very quickly based on customer feedback. And I think having more transparency also means that we're going to be able to crowdsource product ideas and reformulate things to match people's needs more and stuff like that which we're really excited about.Stephanie:Yeah. Yeah. Super exciting. All right. Let's do a quick lightning round. Lightning round is brought to you by Salesforce commerce cloud. This is where I ask a question and you have a minute or less to answer. Are you ready?Lopa:Yes.Stephanie:All right. What's your favorite Rasa drink to enjoy in the morning?Lopa:Super Happy Sunshine.Stephanie:Okay. Awesome. If you had a podcast, what would it be about and who would your first guest be?Lopa:It would be about cultivating energy intelligence, emotional intelligence but energy intelligence. Yeah. And my first guest is a great question. I have not even thought about that. I mean, if I could just wave a magic wand, I would actually have Brené Brown because we don't think of the way that we hold ourselves in our vulnerability as being actually kinks on our energy. And I think that her work around vulnerability and shame is actually very energy liberating.Stephanie:Yep. Yeah. I love her. What's up next on your reading list or your podcasts list?Lopa:Oh man. I have such a long list. I'm in the middle of The hard thing about hard things by Ben Horowitz. And I'm also reading a book about the ancient Indian martial arts that I practice called [inaudible] and I'm in the middle of like five books right now. Another great one, oh, just Hunt, Gather, Parent.Stephanie:Oh, I'm reading that now.Lopa:It's so good.Stephanie:So good. Yeah.Lopa:Oh my God, so good.Stephanie:It makes you-Lopa:And it's working.Stephanie:[inaudible] parenting in general like oh, why are we basing our parenting advice off? What does she say? The past 100 years or something when there's time-tested things that work for thousands of years that we can tap into and around the stress of the parenting right now is only on essentially the mom or mom and dad where we're doing the same work that used to be 15 people, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. And I'm like, there's going to be a shift though. I think it's going to start heading in that direction again.Lopa:Yeah, I think so too. And on the podcast, Fred, I'll say, I actually was looking at your list of podcasts and I was like, oh my God, I need to be listening to all of these. So well done. I love business-Stephanie:[inaudible] podcast, hey. I love that. Yeah, check them out. They're good ones. Launching new ones all the time too. And the last one, what is the best piece of advice you've ever gotten? It can be business, personal or from the cult, whatever comes to mind.Lopa:Best piece of advice I've ever gotten. Lopa:What comes up is that purpose is a red herring and that so many of us, I think in this, it may be a little bit less for your audience. But I think that this quest for what am I supposed to do and what is my purpose? And I can only really do something once I have my purpose. The advice was stop wallowing and trying to find your purpose and do something. And you will find your purpose in the process of acting. You will find the things that don't feel aligned and then you'll adjust. And so it's about help someone and help something and you'll find purpose in the process of doing.Stephanie:That's amazing advice. And that's actually perfect for our audience right now. I mean, people trying to start businesses and I mean, you probably went through this too. I know I have of, is this my thing? Am I passionate about this? Do I want to do this for the next 100 years? And I love that. Just start doing it and you will figure it out.Lopa:Yeah.Stephanie:That's perfect. All right, Lopa, well, I've loved having you on. It's been such an engaging conversation. It's really fun to hear about your life and Rasa. Where can people find out more about you and your company?Lopa:We are at wearerasa.com and we actually have a discount code for you guys. If you use the code upnext, you'll get 20% off your order. And we're also on Amazon and we're on Instagram and Facebook at We Are Rasa.Stephanie:Amazing. I'm definitely using that code. I cannot wait to try it. So thank you so much for joining us. We'll have to have you back for round two to hear how the company is going because this is such a pleasure.Lopa:I would love that. Thank you.

Join Our Facebook Group Community here: bit.ly/sfe-community Listen to our SFE podcast - Impact Talks on Anchor or Spotify: startupfundingevent.com/podcast/ ... Jigar Shah is the Director for the Loan Program Office at the U.S. Department of Energy. In his role, Shah leads and directs the Loan program Office focused on building a bridge to commercial financing for technologies that are ready to scale the transition to a global clean energy economy. He oversees the planning and execution of the organization's over $40B of authority within manufacturing, innovative project finance, and tribal energy. Jigar has spent most of his career bringing climate solutions to scale. Jigar most recently served as the President and Co-Founder of Generate Capital, the leading investment and operating platform for sustainable infrastructure, bringing scale to distributed energy storage, microgrids, fuel cells, electric vehicles and organic waste management. Jigar also founded SunEdison, inventor of the modern solar-as-a-service industry. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Shah is the author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. Originally from Illinois, Shah holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois-UC and an MBA from the University of Maryland College Park. He has spent more than 20 years working in clean energy in the NGO and private sectors. ... 00:00 Introduction & Start in clean-energy career 07:56 Closing the deal with Goldman Sachs & Scrutiny from investors 19:16 Perspective on Bill and Melida Gates' letter on climate change 36:16 What is going to shift us to a better climate? 39:10 What makes a great entrepreneur? & Mentoring startups 47:35 Meeting a successful mentor 53:16 Public or Ivy League universities 54:54 Interesting tech companies 01:08:15 Helping companies grow 01:10:15 Green hydrogen 01:14:05 Is the future looking positive? 01:22:10 Proper Business Plan 01:27:15 Biggest learning lessons 01:33:36 Perspective on Tesla & Closing ... Created by www.lightningvideoeditors.com

Do you feel out of energy after the dreadful and exhausting 2020? Or maybe you've recently just gone through trauma—your personal 2020—and have no idea how to regain balance? After a series of traumatic events, getting back on your feet can be a real challenge. However, intentional living, regaining balance, replenishing your energy, and restoring yourself are all possible. In this episode, Lopa van der Mersch joins us to share her tips on regaining balance and energy after facing adversity. She talks about her own traumatic experience and how she’s able to overcome life’s challenges. As founder of coffee alternative Rasa, Lopa also discusses how we can heal through alternative energy sources and intentional living. If you feel lost in your journey to healing after your own 2020, this episode is for you. Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode: Find out how to regain balance and replenish energy after a trauma. Discover technology fasting and how it can improve your well-being. Learn how to practice intentional living. Resources Learn more about mindfulness and meditation from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s books. Learn more about mindfulness and meditation from Jack Kornfield’s books. Check out Rasa’s website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Use code “LOVED” to get 15% off of all the incredible Rasa products! Create a daily meditation ritual in just seven days! Download BUILD YOUR DAILY MEDITATION RITUAL and other freebies at com! FREE Action Guide! Apply the lessons you learn from this episode as you listen! Sign up at com, and I’ll send it right away! Episode Highlights The Inspiration Behind Rasa After a series of traumatic events in 2015, Lopa needed a new way of energizing herself. She realized that coupling coffee with Ayurveda practices was overwhelming for the nervous system. Lopa then worked with an herbalist to create Rasa, a coffee alternative that utilizes energy from within yourself. Rasa creates a stress buffer so people can get out of the stressed state and make better decisions. Lopa’s Story Lopa was spiritually hungry ever since she learned about enlightenment at 16 years old. She received a lot of training and exposure to Ayurveda. However, it ended up being a traumatic situation: her teacher was power-abusive. Lopa left, but it primed her to get into an even worse situation. How to Regain Balance After a Traumatic Event We have experienced a global 2020, but we may have also experienced a “personal 2020.” Modern society’s technological and business-heavy environment isn’t conducive to sensitivity and intentional living. Start small and start easy. Do the next easiest and most pleasurable thing that you are willing to do. If you’re in a tough situation, taking one deep breath might be the next easiest and most pleasurable thing to do. Celebrate all the small steps and immerse yourself in that celebration. Technology Fasting Too much exposure to technology can leave you feeling fragmented and overwhelmed with information. You need to have extra space for metacognitive awareness. Place boundaries on technology usage. Build rules which can eventually become rituals, so you can apply intentional living. Balancing Multiple Responsibilities and Replenishing Energy Constant discernment, recalibration, and assessment are needed. Yoga helps cultivate discernment and an awareness of your cup. Cultivating praise and gratitude can help you shift away from victim orientation. Focus on the things where you have freedom. How to Practice Intentional Living You can make anything a ritual by aligning your body, energy, and mind. When these aspects are not aligned, you spill energy. Notice the rituals that you already have before making new ones. Connect with yourself and your bigger context to know what you want. Create your rituals from that connection. Find nourishment from what’s already present in your circumstances. 5 Powerful Quotes from this Episode [09:31] “If we do not unturn those stones in the process of excavating, you know, our egoic self or you know, our narratives of who we are, then we run the risk of expanding what is already there.” [14:17] “You have to start small and you have to start easy. Like, you have to do the next easiest, pleasurable thing that you are willing to do.” [19:04] “Sometimes it helps to put those guardrails on and to have those rules. And then eventually it becomes something that doesn't feel like an imposition on yourself, but feels like a way that you're respecting and nourishing yourself.” [21:25] “I think that the most important thing that we can do is really find where that value is for yourself and know what those inputs are for you to recalibrate and to renourish and to add more energy into your cup as opposed to seeping it out.” [37:24] “It can be really helpful to start making a list and just, like, keep a running list of the things that make you feel good, just like, you know, it doesn't have to be, like, where you sit down and just pour it all out in 20 minutes or an hour. But like, you just keep adding to it.” About Lopa Lopa van der Mersch is the founder and CEO of Rasa, a coffee alternative that is energizing, healthy, and sustainable. After going through a series of traumatic events in 2015, she noticed that coffee only worsened her stress levels. Lopa looked for the "perfect coffee alternative" but didn't find one. Her answer was to make her own coffee alternative and run a business, all while being a wife and a mother of two. Lopa is passionate about the environment and has co-founded two climate solution companies, worked with Richard Branson's Carbon War Room, and lobbied at the United Nations. She is also keen on spirituality and spent most of her 20s in deep study of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Kashmiri Shaivite Tantra. If you want to know more about Lopa and her work, you can follow her on Linkedin or check out the Rasa website.   This episode is brought to you by Rasa https://wearerasa.com Code: LOVED for 15% OFF    This episode is brought to you by BiOptimizers   leakygutguardian.com/radicallyloved USE CODE: radicallyloved10 for 10% off any order     Enjoy the Podcast? If you felt radically loved from listening to this podcast, subscribe and share it with the people you love! Love to give us 5 stars? If you do, we'd love a review from you. Help us reach more people and make them feel loved. Do you want to help people regain their balance in life and practice intentional living? A simple way is to share what you've learned today on social media. Don't forget to follow and message us on these platforms! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosieacosta Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosieacosta Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radicallylovedrosie TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@itsrosieacosta To feeling radically loved, Rosie

Ted Flanigan interviews Jigar Shah, one of the solar industry's luminaries and the founder of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). He also founded and managed Sun Edison, at one time the world's largest solar company. He then teamed up with Sir. Richard Branson to manage the Carbon War Room.Until his recent announcement at the US Department of Energy, heading up the Loans Program Office, Jigar Shah ran Generate Capital, a specialty finance company that builds, owns, operates, and finances infrastructure assets involving the world's critical resources: energy, water, agriculture and basic materials. Generate's team has decades of collective experience financing billions of dollars of sustainable infrastructure. https://generatecapital.com/In 2018, EcoMotion teamed up with Generate Capital to create the nation's first Powered Emergency Response Centers (PERCs) at Santa Rita Union School District in Salinas, CA. Between solar and storage, and sophisticated controls, SRUSD's six campuses are able to operate indefinitely during power outages.

How does one come up with a brand new clean energy business model? Why if energy transition is the 'biggest wealth creation opportunity of our lifetimes' many have been slow to get on board? What went wrong in California with rolling blackouts and why Jigar Shah believes it has to do with the sunny state being a nanny state? Jigar Shah is one of the few people that have actually invented a whole new clean energy business model.  In 2003 he founded Sun Edison which allowed people to get solar panels on their roofs on ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis, instead of paying upfront. In 2009 he became the first CEO of Carbon War Room – a ‘global non-profit commitment to supporting global entrepreneurs scale their climate solutions’ founded by Richard Branson. His time at Carbon War Room inspired him to write a book called ‘Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy’.In 2014 Jigar co-founded Generate Capital and has been running it ever since, investing in climate energy projects and opportunities.He’s a fellow podcaster, a co-host of the ‘Energy Gang’ with Stephen Lacey and Katherine Hamilton, covers energy, cleantech and the environment. Jigar is a mechanical engineer by education and he holds MBA from the University of Maryland.   Links: Jigar’s Wikipedia entryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jigar_Shah Republican Congressman to Oil and Gas Industry: ‘No More Subsidies’  - Jigar Shah argues for an end to fossil fuel subsidies—and a phase-out of clean energy subsidies.https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/republican-congressman-to-oil-and-gas-industry-no-more-subsidies Generate Capitalhttps://generatecapital.com/ Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy (on Amazon)https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Climate-Wealth-Unlocking-Economy/dp/0989353109 The Energy Gang podcasthttps://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast/the-energy-gang About Cleaning UpOnce a week Michael Liebreich has a conversation (and a drink) with a leader in clean energy, mobility, climate finance or sustainable development.Each episode covers the technical ground on some aspect of the low-carbon transition – but it also delves into the nature of leadership in the climate transition: whether to be optimistic or pessimistic; how to communicate in order to inspire change; personal credos; and so on.And it should be fun – most of the guests are Michael’s friends.Follow Cleaning Up on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLCleaningUpLinks to other Podcast Platforms: https://www.cleaningup.live/  

As you know by now, my first cleantech love and experience was in solar PV. At that time, creating my own solar business, Jigar Shah was an inspiration. Sun Edison really moved the dial forward for solar in the US and then across Europe and beyond. Now funding a range of clean energy and technology infrastructure projects, and a leading voice in the cleantech sector, I was delighted to have Jigar join me for this episode. About Jigar Shah: Jigar Shah is the President and Co-Founder of Generate Capital, the leading investment and operating platform for sustainable infrastructure. Founded in 2014, Generate Capital is the only “one-stop-shop” for pioneers leading the Resource Revolution. Prior to Generate, as the Founder and CEO of SunEdison (NASDAQ: SUNE), Shah pioneered “no money down solar”, which unlocked a multi-billion-dollar solar market and became the largest solar services company worldwide before its acquisition by MEMC. Shah is the author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Shah’s decades of experience in renewable energy consistently show that business model innovation and entrepreneurship are two of the keys to proving that sustainability pays. Shah holds an M.B.A. from The University of Maryland and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. About Generate Capital Generate Capital is a finance company based in San Francisco, California. Its partners with project developers and technology manufacturers globally to finance sectors in renewable energy, technology, finance, and sustainability sectors. Founded in 2014, Generate builds, owns, and operates sustainable infrastructure to deliver affordable and reliable resource solutions for companies, governments, and communities. Generate currently has more than 25 technology and project development partners and serves more than 400 companies, universities, school districts, cities, and non-profits across North America. Generate Capital build, own, operate and finance assets in: - Sustainable Energy (microgrids, solar, energy storage, lighting, HVAC systems, fuel cells, geothermal, biomass & biogas, building automation & sensors, heat pumps, smart meters) - Sustainable Mobility (electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, autonomous vehicles, charging depots & infrastructure, fleets) - Sustainable Water, Waste & Agriculture (anaerobic digesters, wastewater treatment, desalination, food waste management, recycling/reuse, precision agriculture, farm automation, irrigation, sensors & meters). Social links Jigar Shah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jigarshahdc/ Jigar Shah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JigarShahDC Generate Capital Website: https://generatecapital.com/ Generate Capital on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/generatecapital/ EPISODE LINKS Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy – Jigar Shah, https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Climate-Wealth-Unlocking-Economy/dp/0989353109 Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002RI9BH6/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2 The Great Transition: Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R6OEYIC/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0 Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reinventing-Fire-Business-Solutions-Energy-ebook/dp/B005PJTNR2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1586247663&refinements=p_27%3AAmory+Lovins&s=digital-text&sr=1-2&text=Amory+Lovins

Today's guest is Jigar Shah, President & Co-Founder at Generate Capital.Jigar was the founder and CEO of SunEdison (NASDAQ: SUNE, TERP), where he pioneered “no money down solar” and unlocked a multi-billion-dollar solar market, creating the largest solar services company worldwide. He is the author of Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. After SunEdison, Jigar served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Generate Capital, the Carbon War Room and SunEdison all follow from Jigar’s vision that business model innovation will unlock the largest wealth creation opportunity – resource efficiency. Jigar is committed to helping entrepreneurs and large companies alike implement resource efficiency solutions using “pay as you save” project finance models. Jigar holds an MBA from The University of Maryland and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He sits on the boards of sPower and the Rocky Mountain Institute. Jigar lives in New York City and is trying to find the perfect cocktail.In today’s episode, we cover:Overview of Generate Capital'Generate’s business model and approachIndustries and solution types they are interested inExample projectJigar’s backround and experiences leading up to GenerateHow Generate measures success beyond returnsHow Jigar thinks about the nature of the climate problemThe role of the new blood coming into the spaceCapital types and capital gapsCapitalism, GDP growth, and climate changeWhere economists get it wrongHow optimistic is Jigar for the future?The most effective ways to address this issueHow Jigar would allocate $100B to maximize its impact on the problemHow you and I can helpLinks to topics discussed in this episode:Generate Capital: https://generatecapital.com/McKinsey’s resource revolution paper: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/resource-revolutionScott Jacobs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobsscott/Matan Friedman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matanfriedman/WeDriveU: https://www.wedriveu.com/SunEdison: http://www.sunedison.com/NEXTracker: https://www.nextracker.com/Greenpeace: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/Breakthrough Energy Ventures: https://www.b-t.energy/ventures/Carbon War Room: https://rmi.org/carbon-war-room/Sunil Paul: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunilpaul/International Energy Agency: https://www.iea.org/Craig Venter: https://www.jcvi.org/about/jventerYou can find me on twitter @jjacobs22 or @mcjpod and email at info@myclimatejourney.co, where I encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Enjoy the show!

On today’s episode Dr. Elana interviews Lopa van der Mersch, owner and founder of Rasa. A mama herself, Lopa created a line of adaptogenic coffee alternatives that give you regenerative energy that won’t cause you to crash and burn. This episode discusses the pitfalls of relying on caffeine for energy and how to feel energized without resorting to caffeine and instead using adaptogenic herbs.  All moms and moms-to-be can benefit from listening to this episode!  This episode is sponsored by RASA. Try RASA using discount code WHOLEMAMAS for 20% off (new customers only) Enjoy the listen! You can find us on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. We’d love to hear your thoughts on Instagram or Facebook. Topics Discussed: Why Lopa created Rasa and how it has been supporting mamas Details about the herbs chosen for each blend What adaptogens are and why they benefit moms  Pitfalls of relying on caffeine for energy  How to feel energized without resorting to caffeine  Show Notes: Learn more about Whole Mamas Pregnancy Program Get Our Weekly Pregnancy Emails Dr. Elana’s Med School For Moms Schedule an appointment with Dr. Elana Follow Steph and Elana on Instagram Whole Mamas Podcast Archive Lopa is the founder and CEO of Rasa, a brand making adaptogens accessible through holistically-balanced tonic adaptogenic coffee alternatives…while bringing some much-needed humor and realness to wellness. Growing a start-up from launch to breakeven in 8 months, while attachment-parenting two tiny humans (3 & 1), is no easy feat, and Lopa credits a steady diet of adaptogens, integrity, and playfulness as being key to Rasa’s success (and her not going completely insane in the process). Lopa’s past is a wild ride that includes: dropping out of college to caretake a wildlife refuge, a short stint as a British dancing lady, cremating dead bodies, being the Biochar Queen who worked with Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room and spoke at TEDx, joining two cults (which offered both real spiritual value and real trauma), traveling the world, and finally, starting Rasa. Her love of business and adaptogens is only matched by her passion for tea ceremony and her knack for often-inappropriate humor, thanks to the sarcastic 12-year-old that lives inside her. Please remember that the views and ideas presented on this podcast are for informational purposes only.  All information, content, and material presented on this podcast is for informational purposes and not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Consult with your qualified physician or healthcare provider before starting any diet, supplement regimen, or to determine the appropriateness of the information shared on this podcast, or if you have any questions regarding pregnancy or your prenatal treatment plan.

On this week's episode, the team are talking all things hydrogen with Jigar Shah, the president of Generate Capital and co-host of the Energy Gang podcast. Jigar Shah has a well-earned reputation as one of the most influential voices in the US clean energy market, having pioneered no-money down solar with SunEdison and led the not-for-profit climate group, the Carbon War Room. Since its founding in 2014, Generate Capital has provided US$130 million of funds to a leading fuel cell provider, Plug Power. In October 2019, Jigar declared hydrogen to be the ultimate clean electricity enabler. On the show, we ask Jigar why he thinks hydrogen is becoming interesting for investors today, which business models he feels are exciting and offer the most attractive niches for hydrogen technology, whilst getting his side of the story on that time he met Chris at a conference…. All this and more on the show!"Generate Capital start Plug with $30million loan" - Albany Business Review"And then they expand to $100 million" - Plug Power"Jigar Shah on clean energy finance and plain speaking" - GreenBiz"Why Jigar Shah believes hydrogen will enable clean electricity" - Jigar Shah

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.Positive Phil Podcast is a daily podcast hosted by Positive Phil. Our popular growing podcast currently airs on iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spreaker, Soundcloud, on our official website, RSS feeds globally, and many more digital platforms!If you are looking for another way to stay motivated in life, be sure to subscribe to our episodes.www.positivephil.comJigar Shah is the President and Co-Founder of Generate Capital. Jigar was the founder and CEO of SunEdison (NASDAQ: SUNE), where he pioneered “no money down solar” and unlocked a multi-billion-dollar solar market, creating the largest solar services company worldwide. After SunEdison, Jigar served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to help entrepreneurs address climate change. Jigar sees business model innovation as a leveraged tool for driving the next productivity revolution – resource efficiency. He is committed to helping entrepreneurs and large companies alike implement resource efficiency solutions using “no money down” project finance models. In 2013, Jigar authored Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy. He holds an MBA from The University of Maryland and BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He sits on the boards of sPower and the Rocky Mountain Institute.After decades of collective experience financing billions of dollars of sustainable infrastructure, Generate Capital has created the Infrastructure-as-a-Service™ .Generate Capital Raises $200M for Distributed Energy, www.generatecapital.com

Jigar Shah is an entrepreneur committed to deploying existing technologies that solve resource scarcity and climate change. He is author of the upcoming book: Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy.He is CEO of Jigar Shah Consulting and a Partner at Inerjys, a new Montreal based fund focused on a new approach to Cleantech investing. He is also a board member of the Carbon War Room, the global organization founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin United to help entrepreneurs address climate change. He served as the Carbon War Room’s first CEO from 2009-2012.Shah’s first foray into realizing his vision of climate wealth was the founding of SunEdison in 2003; which remains the world’s leading solar services company. At SunEdison, Shah simplified solar as a service by implementing the power purchase agreement (PPA) business model. The SunEdison business model enabled massive, scalable deployment of existing solar technology that turned solar into a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Prior to SunEdsion, Shah worked within strategy at BP Solar, and before that was a contractor for the Department of Energy on vehicles and fuel cell programs.He is an investor in BrightFarms, SevaCall, KMR Infrastructure, Paradigm Change Capital Partners, and SolarNexus. Board member at Empower Energies, SolarNexus, EarthDay Network, Carbon War Room, and Greenpeacewww.positivephil.com  

Jigar Shah is an entrepreneur committed to deploying existing technologies that solve resource scarcity and climate change. He is author of the upcoming book: Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy.He is CEO of Jigar Shah Consulting and a Partner at Inerjys, a new Montreal based fund focused on a new approach to Cleantech investing. He is also a board member of the Carbon War Room, the global organization founded by Sir Richard Branson and Virgin United to help entrepreneurs address climate change. He served as the Carbon War Room’s first CEO from 2009-2012.Shah’s first foray into realizing his vision of climate wealth was the founding of SunEdison in 2003; which remains the world’s leading solar services company. At SunEdison, Shah simplified solar as a service by implementing the power purchase agreement (PPA) business model. The SunEdison business model enabled massive, scalable deployment of existing solar technology that turned solar into a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Prior to SunEdsion, Shah worked within strategy at BP Solar, and before that was a contractor for the Department of Energy on vehicles and fuel cell programs.He is an investor in BrightFarms, SevaCall, KMR Infrastructure, Paradigm Change Capital Partners, and SolarNexus. Board member at Empower Energies, SolarNexus, EarthDay Network, Carbon War Room, and Greenpeacewww.positivephil.com  

Welcome to Episode 138, Solar Warrior! In October 2009, Mike Eman was sworn in as Prime Minister of the small island state of Aruba, a dutch territory in the Caribbean, and over the course of 8 years established a leadership position in championing renewables. Aruba became the first Caribbean island to declare a 100% renewable target, way back in 2012, long before the recent fanfare we’ve covered here on the US cities also taking up that banner. He partnered with Sir Richard Branson & Jigar Shah via their Carbon War Room, and created the 10-island challenge, a call to other Caribbean islands to increase renewables penetration & wean off fossil fuels.   Today, Mike and I discuss how this all came to be, the obstacles his administration faced in passing this legislation, the lessons learned along the way, and the work he’s now doing to help other Small Island Developing States with similar visions for sustainability. His perspective is beautiful, so I hope you’ll take the time to check it out.   You can find more great founder stories and solar startup advice in the other 137 episodes archived over at www.mysuncast.com.   Thanks to our partners, Helioscope & Powerhub for supporting this show so you can listen to it for Free.   I am opening up 2 new coaching spots this quarter, so if you're interested please shoot me an email to get an application: Nico@mysuncast.com 

Welcome to Episode 138, Solar Warrior! In October 2009, Mike Eman was sworn in as Prime Minister of the small island state of Aruba, a dutch territory in the Caribbean, and over the course of 8 years established a leadership position in championing renewables. Aruba became the first Caribbean island to declare a 100% renewable target, way back in 2012, long before the recent fanfare we’ve covered here on the US cities also taking up that banner. He partnered with Sir Richard Branson & Jigar Shah via their Carbon War Room, and created the 10-island challenge, a call to other Caribbean islands to increase renewables penetration & wean off fossil fuels.   Today, Mike and I discuss how this all came to be, the obstacles his administration faced in passing this legislation, the lessons learned along the way, and the work he’s now doing to help other Small Island Developing States with similar visions for sustainability. His perspective is beautiful, so I hope you’ll take the time to check it out.   You can find more great founder stories and solar startup advice in the other 137 episodes archived over at www.mysuncast.com.   Thanks to our partners, Helioscope & Powerhub for supporting this show so you can listen to it for Free.   I am opening up 2 new coaching spots this quarter, so if you're interested please shoot me an email to get an application: Nico@mysuncast.com 

Welcome to Episode 60 of SunCast! In today's episode of SunCast, I speak to Jigar Shah, an icon in the solar industry. From founding SunEdison to leading the Carbon War Room as its first CEO, Jigar has been innovating on business models in the energy and infrastructure arenas for more than 2 decades.   Currently, Jigar is the co-founder and President of specialty finance company, Generate Capital, investing in infrastructure assets in what they refer to as the world's critical resources, energy, water, agriculture and basic materials Tune in Today as we Discuss: How Jigar's early career and family life shaped the companies he's built Why Jigar believes you can't build a business as a side-hustle SunEdison's early days of financing, and how that influences his own investing ethos What Jigars sees smart entrepreneurs doing to win For resources from today's episode, head over to www.mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes to today's and every other show's blog posts. (the direct URL is ...episodes/060) This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, Head over to www.mysuncast.com/SolRates and click on the Request an Invitation button. Thanks again for setting aside THIS time in your day. Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Jigar Shah.

Welcome to Episode 60 of SunCast! In today's episode of SunCast, I speak to Jigar Shah, an icon in the solar industry. From founding SunEdison to leading the Carbon War Room as its first CEO, Jigar has been innovating on business models in the energy and infrastructure arenas for more than 2 decades.   Currently, Jigar is the co-founder and President of specialty finance company, Generate Capital, investing in infrastructure assets in what they refer to as the world's critical resources, energy, water, agriculture and basic materials Tune in Today as we Discuss: How Jigar's early career and family life shaped the companies he's built Why Jigar believes you can't build a business as a side-hustle SunEdison's early days of financing, and how that influences his own investing ethos What Jigars sees smart entrepreneurs doing to win For resources from today's episode, head over to www.mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes to today's and every other show's blog posts. (the direct URL is ...episodes/060) This episode is brought to you in partnership with Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help You quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, Head over to www.mysuncast.com/SolRates and click on the Request an Invitation button. Thanks again for setting aside THIS time in your day. Enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with Jigar Shah.

On this episode of the podcast we're heading down to the islands! Well, figuratively speaking, at least. Our guest is Christopher Burgess, Director of Projects for the Islands Energy Program, an initiative of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Carbon War Room. We discuss what the Islands Energy Program is and the challenge that spawned it; cover the current energy landscape in the Caribbean; discuss what types of renewables the islands are pursuing and how the Program is working to bring about that transition; discuss what this shift means for the future of local islanders and their economies; and close with Chris' prediction about renewable usage in the islands by 2025. Record date: March 31, 2017 Publish Date: April 3, 2017

Jean Oelwang is the CEO of Virgin Unite, the entrepreneurial foundation of the Virgin Group and a Partner in the Virgin Group focused on People Innovation. In 2003, Jean left her post as joint CEO of Virgin Mobile Australia to begin working with Richard Branson and the Virgin staff from around the world to create Virgin Unite. Over the last 10 years, Jean has worked with partners to create new approaches to social and environmental issues, such as the Branson Centres of Entrepreneurship and a global platform to support budding entrepreneurs. She has built collaborations to incubate a number of global leadership initiatives such as The Elders, the Carbon War Room and The B Team. In addition, Jean has been instrumental in working with over 25 Virgin businesses across 15 industries to put the wellbeing of people and planet at their core. In her previous life, Jean lived and worked on five continents helping to lead successful mobile phone start-ups in South Africa, Colombia, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and the US. Jean has long explored the overlap of the business and not-for-profit sectors and has been involved in both, having worked for the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife in Australia, and in numerous volunteer roles, including a stint as a VISTA volunteer where she worked with – and learned from – homeless teens in Chicago. She sits on the Advisory Council for The Elders and the Boards of the Carbon War Room, the B Team, the Ocean Elders and Just Capital.

Want to make sure that your imports or exports are traveling on a ''clean'' ship? There's a way to do that. Shipping Efficiency.org is an initiative that was launched in 2010 to create a rating database for vessel carbon dioxide emissions. Environmentally conscious shippers can consult the site for reports on more 76,000 commercial vessels in service today, and book their cargo accordingly. But the effort goes well beyond mere reporting. It's an offshoot of the Carbon War Room, created in 2009 by Virgin Group chief executive officer Richard Branson in partnership with RightShip. The objective is to identify private-sector solutions to climate change. Shipping Efficiency.org tackles the ocean shipping sector, which is responsible for more than a billion tons of CO2 emissions each year. In this conversation with Victoria Stulgis, senior associate with Shipping Efficiency.org, we learn of the many actions, both large and small, that vessel owners and operators can take to slash their carbon emissions – all the while making their ships more efficient. A retrofit, she says, can help slash an operator's fuel bills by 15 percent. In all, the industry stands to save some $70bn on fuel by the year 2030.

Jose Maria Figueres is the President of the Carbon War Room, an organization that supports initiatives by private companies to reduce their carbon emissions. And previously he was the president of Costa Rica. We talked with Figueres about why he sees moving towards low carbon economies as an opportunity to combat other issues such as poverty, and about Costa Rica's own ambitious efforts to become carbon neutral by 2021.

 Peter Boyd formally of the Carbon War Room  (recently awarded NGO of the Year at the Business Green Leadership Awards) and now a Senior Advisor with the B Team.

February 5, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://onforb.es/16Qi5rp. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Richard Branson’s Carbon War Room recently partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute to accelerate a global shift to a low carbon future. Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute noted, “The energy revolution is accelerating; the implications for businesses around the world are enormous. Now is the time to be part of this change.” “Climate change is the challenge of our generation. The good news is that increasingly the technologies are there, and are rapidly becoming commercially viable to shift our economy to low carbon,” he concluded. Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.

Part autobiography, part treatise, in Creating Climate Wealth, Jigar Shah demonstrates how all of us can participate in the largest wealth creation opportunity of our time. Shah explains that proven, scalable climate solutions, using an infrastructure-as-a-service model, will create the next economy. The book draws lessons from what Shah learned in the creation and success of SunEdison and as CEO of The Carbon War Room. The key message is that climate wealth is at our fingertips – accessible to entrepreneurs, investors, governments, NGO's, and corporations, and will create thousands of jobs.

In this talk, author Jigar Shah will describe an opportunity in front of all of us: how to turn the biggest challenge of our lifetime — climate change — into a $10 trillion dollar new economy. In this talk, Shah presents “The100/100 New Economy Plan” that identifies 100,000 businesses selling $100 million in climate change solutions by 2020. Jigar Shah is the author of Creating Climate Wealth. Unlocking the Impact Economy. He founded SunEdison, the world’s largest solar-services company and was the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room — a global nonprofit started by Richard Branson to promote entrepreneurial solutions to climate change.

We've got much of the technology needed to solve the climate crisis. What we need now is financing innovation, says Jigar Shaw, author of "Creating Climate Wealth" in an interview with Lisa Cohn of EnergyEffficiencyMarkets.com. If we can break that barrier, we'll create what he calls climate wealth. The founder of SunEdison and the former CEO of the Carbon War Room quotes the EIA, saying we need $10 trillion by 2020 to fight climate change. We're on the path to invest $4.5 billion. "We have the technology to meet the 2020 goal," he says. "Many existing technologies are ready to be deployed." What's needed now is smart money, he says. Listen to learn what smart money is, why many EE subsidies should be eliminated and why Shaw's plan would create wealth.

Part autobiography, part treatise, in Creating Climate Wealth, Jigar Shah demonstrates how all of us can participate in the largest wealth creation opportunity of our time. Shah explains that proven, scalable climate solutions, using an infrastructure-as-a-service model, will create the next economy. The book draws lessons from what Shah learned in the creation and success of SunEdison and as CEO of The Carbon War Room. The key message is that climate wealth is at our fingertips – accessible to entrepreneurs, investors, governments, NGO's, and corporations, and will create thousands of jobs.

Machine-to-machine communication offers an opportunity to make the modern world more energy efficient. David Biello reports