Impact Drivers

In our eleventh episode we hear from Jeffrey Char, serial entrepreneur and investor. He currently manages two renewable energy ventures he co-founded. SOGO Energy is building a distributed utility to serve rural communities in Asia with affordable, reliable, and clean energy. TRENDE is an online renewable energy retailer accelerating the widespread adoption of solar power in Japan.

In this episode we learn about the energy landscape in Japan and other parts of Asia, Jeff's journey starting TRENDE and SOGO Energy, his biggest lesson learned from founding numerous companies, and what's next for his ventures.

In our tenth episode we hear from Sofie Blakstad, CEO and Founder of hiveonline. hiveonline is a blockchain based community finance platform rolling out to unbanked communities across sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. Prior to starting hiveonline, Sofie spent nearly 30 years building and transforming technology and businesses for international banks.

In this episode we learn about Sofie's journey starting hiveonline, lessons learned in building a global product and team, how she is thinking about hiveonline's business model going forward, and the biggest challenges and opportunities on the horizon in the fintech space.

In our ninth episode we hear from Jamie Jones, an entrepreneur, scientist, and educator currently serving as the Executive Director of Fuqua's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She is also an Associate Professor of the Practice of Management.  

In this episode, Jamie and Jen discuss a range of topics from important principles for social impact driven businesses, to commercializing technology-driven new products, to how the startup ecosystem could better support entrepreneurs building high impact companies.

In our eighth episode we hear from Michael Lombardo, CEO and Founder of BookNook. Before starting BookNook, Michael was the CEO of Reading Partners, a nonprofit he grew to be one of the largest children's literacy nonprofits in America.  

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 35% of 4th graders in the United States performed at a proficient or better level on the 2019 reading assessment. BookNook is a company on a mission to get all students reading proficiently by ensuring every child has access to a world-class reading teacher.  

In this episode we learn about Michael's journey from CEO of Reading Partners to starting BookNook, how BookNook has adapted to fully online learning and what the results have been, and business decisions the company has made in order to uphold their values. We also talk about differences Michael has reflected on between leading a nonprofit and leading a social enterprise and what the future looks like for BookNook.

In our seventh episode we hear from Orianna Bretschger, CEO and Founder of Aquacycl. Aquacycl is commercializing microbial fuel cell technology that treats wastewater and creates electricity at the same time. Wastewater treatment is normally a significant energy consumer but Aquacycl's solution remedies this by harnessing biological processes. Their technology has been proven in the field through pilot projects and is entering the market by targeting highly-concentrated organic wastewater producers.

In this episode we learn about Orianna's journey from Ph.D. student to starting Aquacycl, the science behind Aquacycl's technology and why it matters, as well as the possibilities for the company as they continue to develop.

In this episode we hear from Bryan Lee, CEO and Founder of Krishi Star. Krishi Star is working to end poverty for those smallholder farmers in India. They are working to do this by transforming agricultural value chains.

In this episode we learn about Bryan's background that led him to starting Krishi Star, his entrepreneurial journey including how Krishi Star's business has changed over time, as well as challenges and advice for starting a business abroad.

In this episode we hear from Margaret O'Mara, Author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. 

Margaret is a historian of modern America who writes and teaches about the history of the technology industry, American politics, and the connections between the two. She is the Howard and Frances Keller Endowed Professor of History at the University of Washington. She is also an opinion writer for the New York Times. 

In this episode, we talk about the history of Silicon Valley and entrepreneurship in the United States, how government has played a role in promoting innovation, the state of entrepreneurship today, and what history tells us about how to promote innovation going forward.

In episode 4 we hear from Zach Supalla, CEO and Co-Founder of Particle. Particle is an IoT platform taking the physical world online. The company has a program, Particle for Good, that provides their products at a reduced price to mission driven companies. However, it turns out, that many of Particle's use cases have a positive environmental impact, even if that wasn't the primary objective. Particle has raised a $40 million series C and has nearly 200,000 developers on its platform.

In this episode we learn from Zach about Particle's journey as a company, interesting ways Particle is being used, how their platform is making the world better, and what is next for the company and IoT.

In our third episode we hear from Sissi Liu, CEO and Co-Founder of Metalmark Innovations. Metalmark Innovations is a company with a novel technology that can purify the air and kill viruses including COVID-19. In this episode we learn from Sissi about Metalmark's technology, the company's path to market, and her entrepreneurial journey as she works to commercialize a technology without an easy route forward.

In our second episode we hear from Stonly Blue, Co-Founder and Partner of Urban Us. Urban Us is a fund focused on investing in entrepreneurs building for the massive problem of climate change with solutions that upgrade cities. In this episode we learn from Stonly about how the fund has evolved over time, challenges and opportunities building solutions to climate change, and what is on the horizon with the fund and urban tech.