Today we are joined by DR Richardson the Co-Founder and CEO of Elephant Energy. DR started his career in a ClimateTech Fund for about 8 years. Then eventually left to scratch his entrepreneurial itch and build a ClimateTech startup. After about 2 years of testing ideas, he and his Co-founder Josh Lake landed on Elephant Energy where they are removing the friction of electrifying homes.
A few of the things we talked about today are...
their product & the benefits - an interesting one was the health benefits of it
how they got started
the challenges of being a ClimateTech founder
his experience fundraising for the company
the talent challenges
how important blue-collar work is and the challenges of making it attractive
and his outlook on the future
how you don't need to be a technical person to found a climate tech startup
It's a really fun episode and hopefully an inspiration to those without a technical background who are motivated to build a business and want to help reverse climate change in the meantime.
Topics:
3:19 How he started
15:02 Benefits of electrifying a home (Financial, Climate, Comfort, Health)
21:54 Finding good contractors and working with them
25:06 Insurance COs & cleaner homes
26:30 Launching and advice to other founders
28:48 How PE exp informed his decision making process
31:32 His experience fundraising (How wide, Luck, Just need one yes)
35:10 Loyal to a fault
37:23 Behind the scenes - the hard things
39:38 The mental gymnastics of being a founder
41:47 Talent and making Blue Collar work sexy
49:13 Outlook on the future
Links:
HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner
__________
We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.com
#81 Electrifying Homes, Home Air-Quality & Health, Merging Blue & White Collar Talent w/ DR Richardson (Elephant Energy)