Future Optimist
Mind-expanding tales of entrepreneurship and people building the world of tomorrow, brought to you by aloa.agency.
Mon, April 07, 2025
The Future of 3-Wheel Electric Scooters with Tim Huntzinger of XOTO - Ep.228
Tim Huntzinger is the founder of XOTO, one of the most fun means of alternative mobility I've tried. I'm a bike fanatic, and I'll never take a car anywhere if I can help it. I met Tim and he let me try a demo of his new invention, and I was instantly hooked.In a world of options, XOTO represents a really interesting place in the market, and something that will be super useful for many people. ➡️ https://xotoinc.com
Wed, March 05, 2025
A Brilliant Alternative to Unsustainable Precious Metals Mining with Don Weatherbee - Ep. 227
Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx, discusses the company's innovative approach to regenerating platinum and palladium from used catalytic converters. I love businesses that embrace the circular economy, and this is an angle I hadn't heard of before.With a background in the mining industry, Don Weatherbee highlights the unsustainable nature of current mining practices, and explains the importance of recycling precious metals due to growing demand and geopolitical risks. 00:00 Introduction to Don Weatherbee and Regenex01:00 The Importance of Platinum and Palladium Recycling03:11 Challenges and Innovations in Catalytic Converter Recycling03:50 Regenex's Journey and Technological Advancements07:44 Economic and Environmental Impacts of Recycling08:24 Future of Platinum and Palladium in the Automotive Industry10:17 Personal Insights and Entrepreneurial Journey20:29 Collaboration and Optimism for a Sustainable Future22:47 Conclusion and Call to Action https://www.regenx.tech/ Watch the video of this episode: https://youtu.be/shtI-ImWR7g
Fri, December 06, 2024
Tens of Millions Raised for Enlightening Neurotech with Valentin Randon of Muse - Ep. 226
Is neurotech more exciting or terrifying? Is it a vehicle for optimizing our productivity or spying on is an a way humans never imagined? Joining me is Valentin Randon from Muse, a neurotech headset company that claims to have over 500,000 users. We pull no punches, as we go deep into philosophy to discuss the promising and perilous future of neurotechnology. Valentin Randon, the head of product at Muse, shares insights about the company's extensive brain data collection and its potential applications, including meditation, disease detection, and even thought recognition. We explore the philosophical and ethical implications of neurotech, the balance between thriving and privacy, and the intersection between personal growth, technology, and a dystopian future. 00:00 Intro 00:31 The Duality of Neurotech: Optimism and Fear(!) 03:17 Exploring the Potential and Risks of Brain Data 09:02 Personal Journey: Breaking Up with Tech 15:51 The Quest for Measuring Consciousness 20:37 The Paradox of Gamifying Zen and Higher Consciousness 24:01 The Paradox of Seeking Validation 29:19 The Balance Between Observation and Action 34:38 The Future of Wearable Technology 37:17 Philosophical Reflections on Technology and Society 40:30 Concluding Thoughts and Personal Reflections Subscribe to watch more videos https://choosemuse.com Watch the video of this episode: https://youtu.be/Eil-myltfMI
Mon, November 11, 2024
$10 Million for Breakthrough Health-tech AI with Eirini Schlosser [Live in Las Vegas] - Ep. 225
This LIVE interview took place with Eirini Schlosser in Las Vegas at HLTH. Her company Dyania Health is one of the most exciting AI companies in health-tech today, and they just announced $10 million in Series A funding. Watch on YouTube . Eirini Schlosser discusses how Dyania Health uses AI and large language models to revolutionize patient care, specifically for cancer and heart failure patients. It's really one of the most awesomely beneficial uses for AI that I've seen yet, and it's a product we should all be excited about. 🚀 https://dyaniahealth.com
Mon, October 28, 2024
3 Million TikTok Followers Gamifying Beach Clean-up with Felix Krainer of Planet Matters [Live in Boston] - Ep. 224
This podcast is a video shot live in Boston. For the full experience, watch on YouTube ! I co-sponsored a beach cleanup with Planet Matters, Neurable, and my agency: Aloa.agency. I also interviewed Planet Matters on their awesome ocean cleanup success. Felix Krainer is the founder of Planet Matters, a global sensation for sustainability. Join me and volunteers from Harvard, MIT and local startups on our quest to pick up beach trash. Felix Krainer created a TikTok movement to make beach cleanups exciting and viral. His innovative approach gamifies positive change, which is a novel approach to both business and life. Special thanks to Dr. Ramses Alcaide and the Neurable team for co-sponsoring the beach cleanup. Tune in to be inspired to organize your own beach cleanup and make a positive impact! Follow Planet Matters . https://neurable.com
Fri, October 11, 2024
Mind-bending Ecotech Ideas from 5 Brilliant Founders - Ep. 223
This podcast episode features a compilation of past interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs in the realm of ecotech and sustainability. So it's come to this: an FO clip show. But the reason is clear: innovation isn't something that happens "out there". It's the conscious effort of brilliant, hard-working innovators grinding day in and day out. I dug into the archives to bring you some gems you might have missed over the years. These amazing people continue to inspire me! Featuring: Hans de Neve of Carbyon . Massimo Portincaso of Arsenale . Ben Christensen of Cambium Carbon . Martin Schichtel of Kraftblock . Greg Johnson of AquiPor Technologies . My agency: Aloa® Agency .
Fri, September 20, 2024
The Future of Electric Super Cars with Nikita Bridan [Live in Long Beach] - Ep. 222
Nikita Bridan is one of the co-founders of Oilstainlab, a boutique futuristic supercar manufacturer of the future. They've built a monster, and soon it will be all-electric. Video of the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=catWEb3lSok In this episode, we talk about the meticulous design and inspiring backstory of Oilstainlab with co-founder Nikita. Discover the journey from their Ukrainian roots to becoming boutique car builders in Canada. Learn about their innovative approach to car design, the importance of integrating storytelling, and the evolving car industry. Nikita also shares insights into their unique business model and future plans, including the exciting development of their supercar, the Half 11. Join us for a captivating conversation about design, technology, and the future of automotive craft. Oilstainlab: https://www.instagram.com/oilstainlab/ My Agency: https://aloa.agency
Fri, August 30, 2024
Sustainable Ammonia is Vital for Our Future with Suzanne Zamany Andersen of Nitrovolt - Ep. 221
Suzanne Zamany Andersen is the CEO and founder of Nitrovolt, a brilliant start-up that's raised millions making green or sustainable ammonia. You might not know this, but ammonia is vital for agriculture, and it's a key component of human survival. "Green" ammonia is a cornerstone of sustainability, and it's at the heart of fertilizer production, increased crop yields, soil health, and sustainable food. Suzanne Andersen is tackling the problem if sourcing ammonia head on with a game-changing company. In this episode we'll talk about how sustainable ammonia has the power to lift billions out of poverty, and it's one of the most overlooked components of our long-term survival. My agency: https://aloa.agency Nitrovolt website: https://www.nitrovolt.com
Fri, August 16, 2024
Julie Bliss Mullen: What are PFAS (forever chemicals) and how is Aclarity solving this massive problem? - Ep. 220
Julie Bliss Mullen is cofounder and CEO of Aclarity and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree. Her company Aclarity destroys PFAS ( Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances ) and mitigates risk at landfills and centralized waste treatment facility. You might have heard of "forever chemicals"—tiny particulates that are found everywhere, and sadly, in all of our blood streams and even in breast milk. These chemicals may cause cancer and other harm, and they are ubiquitous in our products and even our drinking water. Julie Bliss Mullen is on a mission to make forever chemicals a thing of the past—I can think of no nobler pursuit. ➡️ https://www.aclaritywater.com ➡️ My digital agency, Aloa® .
Fri, August 09, 2024
Lab-Grown Meat: Is This the Future of Food? - Ep. 219
Is lab-grown the future of meat? Even after $1.6B in investment into the sector, is cultivated meat a viable long-term solution? I created a fact-based, humorous video covering the history and future of meat replacements, including plenty of data-driven insights. The short answer is: YES, it’s an incredible necessary thing for humanity. But that doesn’t necessarily mean these products will be flying off the shelves in the short term. What about you? Would you eat/support/invest in lab-grown meat? Watch this as a video .
Fri, July 26, 2024
Dr. Masachs Boungou: How REAL Adversity Leads to Stronger Entrepreneurs - Ep. 218
Dr. Masachs Boungou, an eternal optimist, author, and public speaker, shares his incredible journey from fleeing war-torn Republic of the Congo to finding success in the United States. The type of entrepreneurship practiced in Silicon Valley is often criticized for being homogenous and lacking diversity. That's why Dr. Boungou's is such a fresh perspective. Many privileged entrepreneurs have no idea what real hardship looks like. Dr. Masachs Boungou was able to turn horrific childhood events into a positive outlook, and now? He has authored a paper on how extreme personal tragedy has driven 25 entrepreneurs to later greatness. It's proof that you can overcome anything life throws at you, if you have the right mindset.
Sat, July 20, 2024
$20MM for Futuristic Houseplants That Fight Indoor Air Pollution with Lionel Mora - Ep. 217
Lionel Mora is the co-founder and CEO of NeoPlants, a start-up that's raised $20 million for plants that tackle indoor air pollution. In this inspiring episode, he shares his insights on the potential of nature to address significant issues like climate change and indoor air pollution, using plants as technology. Lionel discusses the innovative approaches NeoPlants is taking, including bioengineered microbiomes and sustainable product design, to create plants that purify air 30 times more efficiently than traditional ones. Learn about the challenges of building a company that merges deep tech with consumer products, the importance of scientific credibility, and the future of synthetic biology. Discover how NeoPlants aims to bring a touch of nature into our modern lives, creating a sustainable and healthier living environment. My agency: https://aloa.agency NeoPlants: https://neoplants.com
Thu, July 11, 2024
Ross & Maru Face the Future: How We Built a 7-Figure Agency - Ep. 216
Bonus! My wife Maru and I talk about our experiences and challenges in building a successful 7-figure digital marketing agency. In this special episode, I reflect on my early skills in technology and programming, transitioning into different careers, and eventually founding their agency in 2016. We discuss the evolution of the business from freelancing to building a team of 14. If you've ever thought of following a similar path, this episode is for you. ➡️ Our agency: https://aloa.agency
Fri, July 05, 2024
Niccolò Ferrari: A Brilliant Business to Handle the Looming EV Battery Crisis - Ep. 215
Niccolò Ferrari is the founder and CEO of Scoutit, a brilliant business concept that will enable the EV battery circular economy. Today? EVs are the minority on the road. But soon? We'll have millions of dead batteries to dispose of, creating a possible ecological nightmare. But Niccolò has taken matters into his own hands, turning Italy's "motor valley" upside down. ➡️ https://scoutitweb.com ➡️ My digital agency: aloa.agency
Wed, June 26, 2024
Ross & Maru Face the Future: Are We Optimistic After 200+ Interviews With Successful Entrepreneurs? - Ep. 214
Join us for a rare, reflective conversation about the learnings and insights gained from hosting a podcast, highlighting the inspiring work of diverse and talented individuals, including entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders. My wife and I discuss the emotional and intellectual journey from ignorance to awareness about global challenges such as resource shortages and climate change, and how these issues are being addressed. The main question is: Are we more or less optimistic after talking to all these people?? ➡️ Our agency: https://aloa.agency ➡️ Watch this Episode on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Wed, June 19, 2024
Andriy & Sergiy Lyubchyk: Game-Changing Tech That Generates Energy from Thin (Humid) Air! - Ep. 213
Andriy & Sergiy Lyubchyk are co-founding brothers of CascataChuva a Portuguese eco-tech company that believes it can literally pull energy from thin air. This idea is almost too wild to be true, but apparently we're all just one NDA away from seeing it for ourselves... While running another experiment, these brothers discovered that there were forces they couldn't account for. This discovery led them to develop "a revolutionary technological solution for producing electrical energy through direct conversion of humidity adsorption energy by elaborating a highly innovative 'atmospheric humidity to electricity' converter device. Is it a game-changer in clean energy? Or pseudoscience? Let's find out! ➡️ https://cascatachuva.eu ➡️ My digital marketing agency, Aloa .
Wed, June 12, 2024
Daniel Carcillo: From Stanley Cup Winner to Psychedelic Therapy Pioneer - Ep. 212
Daniel Carcillo was a pro hockey veteran and 2-time Stanley Cup winner. But his life changed when he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and traumatic brain injury (TBI) following his 10-year career as an “enforcer” in the NHL. After years of suffering from neurological issues, he found solace in psychedelic medicine – something that traditional pharmaceuticals could not provide. Today, Daniel is an advocate on behalf of TBI survivors and those dealing with mental health challenges, vocal about the inadequacies of America’s healthcare system, which is driving patients to explore novel treatments such as Ketamine, MDMA, & Psilocybin. This is why he co-founded Healing Realty Trust (HRT), a real estate investment trust investing in the clinical infrastructure required to support tomorrow’s medicine. As COO, he hopes to help unlock the industry’s growth and help millions of people access these therapies by providing a real estate network that supports innovative medicine. ➡️ My digital marketing agency, Aloa . ➡️ Watch this Episode on YouTube: @therosspalmer DISCLAIMER: THIS PODCAST DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE The content of this podcast is for entertainment/informational purposes only. No material in this podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen.
Wed, June 05, 2024
Mark Atkeson: ByteDyance, TikTok, and Three Decades of Entrepreneurship in China - Ep. 211
Mark Atkeson is the author of 'Risky Business in Rising China', a book chronicalling three decades of business, tech, and politics in China. TikTok, ByteDance... China seems to be always in the news. Sometimes for good, sometimes for... less than good? Either way, I wanted to explore the real truth of China's rise and its role in shaping the world of today and tomorrow. In this episode, Mark shares his unique experiences and observations from his extensive career, highlighting the significant lift of 800 million people out of poverty, the rise of China's private sector, and the critical economic ties between the U.S. and China. This episode covers a range of compelling topics including the transformation of China's automotive industry, the cultural work ethics of Silicon Valley and China, the great firewall, and the future of U.S.-China relations. ➡️ https://www.markatkeson.com ➡️ Work with my digital agency, Aloa . ➡️ Watch this Episode on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Wed, May 29, 2024
David Wakerley: Insane Tech Turning Carbon Emissions into Usable Plastic - Ep. 210
David Wakerley is the co-founder and CTO of Dioxycle—a truly mind-blowing tech company that turns factory emissions back into usable plastic. Dioxycle has raised over $17 million in funding to date, and focuses on repurposing carbon emissions into ethylene, an essential chemical in many products. David teaches me the environmental challenges associated with ethylene production, the carbon-intensive processes currently used, and about Dioxycle's groundbreaking electrolyzer technology. Their goal is to create sustainable solutions that could prevent 800 million tons of emissions and recycle 600 megatons of CO2 per year by 2050. Join David as he explores the potential to revolutionize the industry and make a positive impact on the planet. ➡️ https://dioxycle.com ➡️ Watch this Episode on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Tue, May 21, 2024
David Brown: Cyber Threats, Ethical Hacking, and the Future of Digital Security - Ep. 209
David Brown is the CEO of CounterCraft, deception-powered cybersecurity solutions that go beyond detection and response. In this talk, David tells me about the challenges and opportunities within the cybersecurity landscape. Although he's optimistic about humanity's capacity to overcome adversity, David also expresses concerns about the potential for global conflict and the increasing sophistication of cyber threats. Whether we realize it or not, David Brown's work is at the heart of one of the most important and underdiscussed issues of our time. ➡️ https://www.countercraftsec.com ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Watch this Episode on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Wed, May 15, 2024
Chris Tolles: Raising $12 Million for Ingenious Soil Carbon Tech - Ep. 208
Chris Tolles is the CEO of Yardstick, an eco-tech company focused on measuring soil carbon that just raised $12MM in Series A funding. In this episode, we talk about climate challenges, and the potential of addressing climate change through improved agricultural practices. Exploring a niche within a niche, Yardstick aims to create a market by offering a method to measure soil carbon cheaply and effectively, thereby enabling better carbon dioxide removal techniques. My talk with Chris Tolles covers the importance of accurate measurement in soil health, the financial and environmental incentives for sustainable agriculture, and how Yardstick navigates the complexities of market creation and the voluntary carbon market. Featuring customer success stories and insights into the startup’s journey, this script unfolds the intersection of climate science, agriculture, and entrepreneurship towards a more sustainable future. ➡️ Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mvVrjyMCsx0 ➡️ https://www.useyardstick.com
Fri, May 03, 2024
Nik Ershov: Creating Mind-Tracking Brain control Interfaces that De-Stress - Ep. 207
Nik Ershov is the CEO of Waverox, makers of brain-monitoring headphones and headbands that help you de-stress and be more productive. Nik Ershov shares his journey from experiencing severe burnout in the advertising and marketing industry to founding a startup focused on combating stress and increasing productivity through a mind-tracking device and wellness app. He explains how his personal battle with burnout, depression, and anxiety led him to explore neuroscience and develop a technology that utilizes EEG to monitor and improve mental states. We talk about the Waverox device, including tracking brain activity, emotional states, and offering personalized training sessions to enhance stress resilience and productivity. Ourconversation touches on broader topics such as the impact of AI on jobs, the importance of self-care, and philosophical questions about work/life balance. ➡️ https://waverox.com ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 26, 2024
Dr. Gordon Chiu: Winner of Harvard Tough Tech Prize, Graphene Expert & Entrepreneur - Ep. 206
Dr. Gordon Chiu has 41 patents and recently won Harvard Business School's "Tough Tech" Prize in 2023. He is a graphene pioneer, investor, AI entrepreneur and deep tech expert. In this episode, we discuss various topics including a utopian/dystopian future, the importance of authenticity, the future of technology, and the healing power of music. Join me for a deep philosophical conversation with a man who has raised many millions of dollars in his life for a staggering number of influential projects, including work on the combination of graphene and AI and the possibilities it presents. ➡️ https://phenegra.com ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 19, 2024
Jon Hacker: Mind-Blowing, Zen-Inducing Neurotech Headphones - Ep. 205
John Hacker is a biomedical engineer and the CEO of NeurGear. His latest innovation is the ZenBud, the market's first ultrasonic vagus nerve stimulator, designed to promote relaxation and combat stress. In this episode, Jon Hacker discusses the underlying technology, its decades of research, and its implications for future wellness applications. He sheds light on the challenges and excitement surrounding new tech developments, emphasizing the blend of existing scientific knowledge with innovative application methods to enhance user experience. Our conversation dips into the broader topic of technological advancements in the medical field, touching upon ethical considerations, potential impacts on pharmaceutical dependencies, and the importance of scientific rigor and regulatory compliance in bringing devices like the ZenBud to market. ➡️ https://zenbud.health ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 12, 2024
Alan Liu: Touch-Based, Sweat-Sensing Tech for Diabetes and Beyond - Ep. 204
Joining us today is Alan Liu, the co-founder of Persperion Diagnostics, an innovative startup based in San Diego that aims to revolutionize diabetes management with its non-invasive glucose monitoring technology. Founded in 2022 by Alan Liu and Lu Yin, the company leverages cutting-edge touch-based sweat-sensing technology to detect a wide range of biomarkers from a simple fingertip touch. This technology was developed in the nanoengineering lab of UCSD Professor Dr. Joseph Wang, with whom Liu previously worked as a research assistant. After securing a substantial $4 million in venture capital seed funding in June, Persperion is now gearing up for a series of funding rounds to scale up manufacturing and prepare for clinical trials. The company, which has recently expanded to a hybrid lab and office space in Kearny Mesa, aims to start its pilot trial in Q1 of this year and seeks FDA approval later. Liu and Yin, who also co-founded the flexible battery startup Ocella, have been recognized for their pioneering work, making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Science category in 2024. As they continue to develop their diagnostic platform, Persperion Diagnostics remains focused on making health monitoring more accessible, affordable, and accurate for millions of people worldwide. ➡️ https://persperiontech.com ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 05, 2024
Brooke Harris: Creating a Plant-Based Milk Empire from Scratch - Ep. 203
Brooke Harris is the founder and CEO of Goodmylk Co., one of the world's leading plant-based dairy companies. Her awakening to the benefits of a plant-based diet—driven by personal health challenges—unveiled the stark reality of conventional "nutritious" alternatives marred by unhealthy additives. Determined to offer a genuine, healthful option, Brooke's venture into crafting plant-based milks without compromises led to the inception of Goodmylk. We talk about the challenges of building and running an ethical business, making this episode deeply personal and real. ➡️ https://goodmylk.co/ ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 29, 2024
Massimo Portincaso: Pioneering Bio Manufacturing (Star Trek is Here?) - Ep. 202
Massimo Portincaso is the Founder and CEO of Arsenale BioYards. Formerly, he was a managing director at Boston Consulting Group. As the creator of this groundbreaking bio-manufacturing platform (what does that even mean!?!), he’s using crazy tools like yeast to build… Anything! No this isn’t Star Trek… but this is undeniably the kind of future tech that humans have only dreamed about for generations. Beyond Arsenale, Massimo leads Deepwave Ventures, offers his expertise on several advisory boards, and champions the deep tech mission through his work with Hello Tomorrow. His journey from a senior role at BCG to a key player in the bio-economy illustrates a commitment to practical innovation. Arsenale BioYards, recognized for its pioneering approach and backed by its first round of funding, stands as a testament to Massimo's vision of a more efficient and economically viable bio-economy. In short? This man is building the future! ➡️ https://www.arsenale.bio/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/massimo-portincaso ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 22, 2024
Greg Johnson: Ingenious Water-Permeable Sustainable Concrete - Ep. 201
Greg Johnson is the Co-Founder and CEO of AquiPor Technologies. His company offers groundbreaking tech for porous concrete, meaning the sidewalk can collect and capture rain water! AquiPor promotes a new type of material technology intended for urban stormwater management. We will investigate the effectiveness and environmental impact of their products, including their permeable concrete and low-carbon technology claims. The discussion will also cover AquiPor's approach to infrastructure solutions and their real-world applications. Join us as we look beyond the marketing to understand the actual contributions of AquiPor Technologies to urban water systems, and why this crazy tech is so important right now. ➡️ https://aquipor.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/greg-johnson ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 15, 2024
Welcome to the Future Optimist Podcast!
Welcome to Future Optimist! I'm Ross Palmer, founder of aloa.agency, and together we're going to explore the world of the future in all its good and bad glory with the entrepreneurs and visionaries who are building the world of tomorrow. I hope you’ll join me in becoming a Future Optimist! ➡️ Watch these episodes on YouTube ➡️ My agency Aloa®
Fri, March 15, 2024
Introducing Future Optimist (Thanks for 200 Interviews!)
Wow – 200 interviews in the bag! So what’s next? In this mini-episode I’m going to be telling you three things I’ve learned from the 200 interviews I’ve conducted for the Beat the Often Path podcast. I’m also going to be going into more detail about an exciting change that’s coming up – the name of the podcast is changing to…*drumroll*… Future Optimist! We’re going to explore the world of the future in all its good and bad glory with the entrepreneurs and visionaries who are building the world of tomorrow. I’m excited for this new era of the show, and I hope you’ll join me in becoming a Future Optimist! ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 01, 2024
Ep. 200 – Deniz Kent: CEO of a Mind-blowing $80mm+ BioTech Company
In this very special 200th interview, I’m joined by Deniz Kent, the Co-Founder & CEO of Prolific Machines, a biotech company at the forefront of sustainable and healthy food. Starting his career with notable research in cancer immunotherapy at the University of Bristol, Deniz has been recognized for his contributions to science, including winning the award for “outstanding contribution to research” while at GlaxoSmithKline focusing on asthma. Deniz is a key player in cell production for agriculture, aiming to make cultured meat competitively priced against conventional farming. With $42M+ in funding and support from people like Mark Cuban, Emily Ratajkowski, and Ciara to name just a few, Prolific Machines is redefining food sustainability and accessibility. ➡️ https://www.prolific-machines.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/deniz-kent ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, February 23, 2024
Ep. 199 – Lin Kayser: The Insane World of AI-assisted “Computational Engineering”
Lin Kayser is the co-founder of Leap 71 – a Dubai-based company pioneering the emerging field of Computational Engineering. Lin started coding as an 8-year-old and is a serial entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in building high technology ventures. His software was also pivotal in the roll-out of the original Matrix movie, still one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. ➡️ https://leap71.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/lin-kayser ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, February 16, 2024
Ep. 198 – Gastón Paladini: Turning Soy Into Pork at a Molecular Level (This is nuts!)
Gastón Paladini is the CEO and Co-Founder of Moolec Science, a crazy tech company that is literally turning soy into pork. Can plants be more like meat, no really? In this episode, we're spotlighting Moolec Science, a trailblazer in the food industry harnessing the power of Molecular Farming technology. Not sure what that is? Great! Because neither am I. At the helm (and joining us today) is CEO and Co-Founder Gastón Paladini, who brings a wealth of experience from his 20-year tenure at Argentina's meat production heavyweight, Paladini Group. Now Moolec Science aims to disrupt the food sector by infusing plants with animal protein genes. This company is crafting a novel category between plant-based and cell-based technologies—frankly it’s a wild concept I haven’t heard of before until right now. Moolec Science is dedicated to creating food ingredients that merge the cost and environmental benefits of plant-based food with the taste and functionality of animal proteins. Basically, can you make soy beans taste and behave like pork? Today, Moolec Science is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker "MLEC". This idea is just so crazy, I had to explore it. ➡️ https://moolecscience.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/gaston-paladini ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, February 09, 2024
Ep. 197 – Niklas Kluger: Ingenious Rock Powder that Regenerates Soil and Removes CO₂ from the Atmosphere
Niklas Kluger is the co-founder and COO of InPlanet, a brilliant eco-company with a quadruple+ bottom line. We’ll learn how this GreenTech pioneer, with a rich background in environmental engineering and tropical agriculture, is revolutionizing carbon dioxide removal. From scaling urban farming globally to pioneering something I had never heard of called “Enhanced Rock Weathering” in Brazil, Niklas is at the forefront of combating climate change and regenerating tropical soils. Their rock powder is able to remove CO₂ while regenerating soil, two vitally important things for our sustainable future on this planet. So let’s explore InPlanet's mission to create a carbon-neutral future, one gigaton at a time." ➡️ https://www.inplanet.earth/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/niklas-kluger ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, February 02, 2024
Ep. 196 – Saman Farid: Legendary AI Investor/CEO on the Future of Robotic Automation
Saman Farid is the CEO and founder of Formic Technologies, a company at the forefront of revolutionizing automation in manufacturing. With a passionate commitment to boosting productivity in U.S. industries, his company Formic, specializes in offering cutting-edge robotic solutions that elegantly simplify automation. These versatile robots not only streamline the packing and palletizing processes but also contribute to the production of a diverse range of products, from delightful chocolate chip cookies to specialty chemicals. Saman’s journey in the tech and robotics realm is marked by significant achievements, including founding Comet Labs, an AI-focused investment fund and incubator. He also ran the global investment fund at Baidu Ventures focusing on AI, Machine Learning, and its effects on the way we work and live, so it’s safe to say he knows what he’s talking about in this space. His expertise and enthusiasm for technology have led him to invest in and guide over 25 businesses in robotics, AI, and technology. A childhood fascination with robots, coupled with his later study of automation and breakthroughs in AI, propelled him to establish Formic in 2020, a company that has since garnered over $30M in funding and numerous accolades such as FAST Company’s 2023 “Most Innovative Companies” Award. Beyond his professional endeavors, Saman is deeply invested in youth empowerment and actively supports technology education through local non-profits. ➡️ https://formic.co/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/saman-farid ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, January 26, 2024
Ep. 195 – Paul Shapiro: Best-Selling Author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World”
Paul Shapiro is the CEO of the Better Meat Company—a company on a mission to reinvent "meat". T hey’ve got plug-and-play mycoprotein formulations that quickly and cost-effectively enhance (or even replace) meat products while improving nutrition, flavor, and yield. He's also the author of the best-selling book, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast, a podcast that I might add closely mimics what we're doing here, except of course, his is better no doubt, because as a host, let’s face it, I am questionable at best. He's been a five-time TEDx speaker And has published more than 100 articles on food sustainability. Now, he's using mycoprotein to satiate, humanity’s collective "meat tooth". ➡️ https://www.bettermeat.co/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/paul-shapiro ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, January 19, 2024
Ep. 194 – Why Ramiro Velasco Thinks Amazon Latin America Is the Next Big Gold Rush
In today’s episode, we’re going to talk about Blue Oceans and Red Oceans, a concept talked about in Blue Ocean Strategy by Renée Mauborgne, W. Chan Kim. Broadly speaking, a “blue ocean” is uncontested market space—something that no one else is really doing, like Cirque Du Soleil when they first started. Compare that with a “red ocean”, or a supersaturated market in which you’re unlikely to succeed, like me selling you my NFTs of my head spliced onto Ryan Reynold’s body for the low low price of just 2 ETH! Joining us today is Ramiro Velasco, President and Co-Founder of GoAvance, a company that specializes in Amazon e-commerce but specifically in Latin America. The reason I wanted to do this show is because we tend to think only of opportunity in the country we live in. But perhaps, if certain techniques no longer work in your country, the blue ocean is applying those ideas to a different market, in this case, Mexico. I try to expand your ideas of what’s possible with this show, and maybe moving to Mexico and setting up shop there is exactly what you should do to find your own, uncharted waters. We’ll talk about practical tips for selling on Amazon in any country and also some general trends in marketing and ecommerce—this is especially relevant if you’ve ever wanted to sell something online. ➡️ https://goavance.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/ramiro-velasco ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, January 12, 2024
Ep. 193 – Matt Rogers: From Selling Nest for $3.2 Billion to Founding Mill, A Truly Brilliant In-Home Solution for Reducing Food Waste
Today we’ve got an AWESOME episode for you. Joining us is Matt Rogers, whom I believe we can accurately call a tech legend. Matt's career began at Apple, where his talent and dedication led him to build the software team responsible for ten generations of the iconic iPod. As one of the pioneering engineers on the original iPhone, his influence extended through five generations of the device and into the creation of the first iPad. His remarkable contributions to these groundbreaking products have left an indelible mark on the technology landscape. As if that wasn’t enough… Matt co-founded Nest Labs, revolutionizing the smart home device industry with the Nest thermostat. This innovation caught the eye of Google, leading to a high-profile acquisition for $3.2 billion in 2014. But Matt's ambitions didn't stop there. After Nest, he turned his focus towards philanthropy, particularly in climate-related initiatives. This path led him to a startling realization about food waste, and together with his former colleague Harry Tannenbaum, he conceived Mill. This ingenious kitchen bin transforms food scraps into chicken feed—basically indoor composting that doesn’t smell—offering a sustainable solution to household waste and contributing significantly to environmental conservation. With Mill, Matt Rogers is not just redefining waste management; he's shaping a future that aligns with the ambitious zero-waste goals of cities worldwide, promising a significant reduction in emissions and deforestation. Join us as we explore the journey of this extraordinary innovator and how his latest venture, Mill, is set to make a lasting impact on our planet. ➡️ https://www.mill.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/matt-rogers ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, January 05, 2024
Ep. 192 – Fabian de La Fuente: How a Serial Entrepreneur is Reshaping Solar Tech
Fabian is a six-time serial entrepreneur with a 33-year history in technology innovation, holding over 100 patents in software, electronics, and photovoltaics. He has led diverse teams on four continents and launched numerous technology products globally. As the Co-founder and CEO of Solaires Entreprises Inc., a Canadian cleantech company, he's pioneering the development of perovskite-based solar cells, aiming for higher efficiency and sustainability in solar energy. If you're wondering what it takes to build and scale and sell a business in the eco space, this episode is for you. ➡️ https://www.solaires.net/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/fabian-de-la-fuente ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, December 22, 2023
Ep. 191 – Ryan Field: Ingenious Tech Revolutionizing Neuroscience and Neuromedicine (Raised Over $150 Million)
Ryan Field is the CEO of Kernel, a neurotech company that's raised over $150 million revolutionizing neuromedicine. What if a brain scan was a part of our regular checkup? What if we could detect and prevent diseases like dementia far in advance, with non-invasive tech? Something as simple as just putting on a bicycle helmet? Could we accelerate treatment discovery? Improve patient outcomes? And transform neuromedicine? Joining us today is the CEO of Kernel, a company based here in Los Angeles that is up to out-of-this world stuff. I was lucky enough to visit their offices, and their tech is truly game-changing. I’ve even tried it on! Ryan Field is an inventor with more than 20 granted US patents, and Kernel has received over $150 million in funding and counting. Buckle up for an awesome episode. ➡️ https://www.kernel.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/ryan-field ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, December 15, 2023
Ep. 190 – Mike Loos: How AI and "Virtual Twins" Will Make Better Medicine, Faster
Today's episode feels like pure science fiction. What is a digital twin? How could this help us make better and faster pharmaceuticals? And why is that important? We know that there is so much data about us and our bodies and soon, our brains. Is there a reality in which we can use data to remove human testing from the process of finding new drugs? How can we use machine learning and artificial intelligence to better understand the data that we have? If this feels like something with massive, profound implications for our future, you’re right. And I’ll be honest: I barely understand what any of this means. That’s why we’re lucky that joining me right now is Mike Loos, the Vice President of Solution Architecture at TetraScience, a tech/bio company with over 100 leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies as customers. ➡️ https://www.tetrascience.com/demo ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/mike-loos ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, December 08, 2023
Ep. 189 – Tom Frazier: Why We All Need to Care about Sustainable Edge Computing
Tom Frazier is the co-founder and CEO of Redivider, a company that is making sustainable & responsible edge computing. But first, what is edge computing? You might not realize it, but every single device you use and every single platform you interact with is storing massive amounts of data somewhere. And the farther away from you physically these data centers are the more inefficient and unsustainable they become. Edge computing is the idea that we should keep the source of our data closer to where we're physically located, which is no easy task. In theory, this could help us be more sustainable, more efficient, and more secure in a world where our data is floating around everywhere, and can easily fall into the wrong hands. Now this is one of those subjects that is extremely timely, especially as we march headfirst into a future that is entirely digital. Redivider builds modular, smaller facilities, and diverse locations which enables faster data processing and increased to capacity, and they're also focused on improving sustainability, because their modular solutions are hydrogen powered. This episode falls into the category of something that humanity desperately needs, but we don't necessarily know we do yet, and that's why I'm so excited to share this conversation with you today. ➡️ https://www.redivider.co/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/tom-frazier ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Thu, November 30, 2023
Ep. 188 – Travis Rosbach: Building a 600% Growth Company In Hydro Flask
Travis Rosbach is the creator and founder of Hydro Flask, and a brilliant 600x MoM serial entrepreneur. Do you know those water bottles you've seen everywhere? Every single time you go to the airport, it seems like every single person has one? Well, it turns out that that's called the Hydro Flask, and it was invented by Travis Rosbach. Today we are going to discuss the unlikely journey and strange path of a true entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. Prior to founding his first company, Travis was a SCUBA dive master, a US Merchant Marine Boat Captain, and a commercial airline pilot in addition to being a world explorer. And yet somehow he ended up inventing what would go on to become one of the world’s most successful eco-friendly consumer products. He since sold that company and has helped countless others as an advisor, so his advice is something that we all should take very seriously. Brace yourself for truly enjoyable conversation with somebody I deeply respect. ➡️ https://www.travisrosbach.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/travis-rosbach ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 24, 2023
Ep. 187 – Robin Simsa: The Genius of 3D-Printed, Fungi-Based “Salmon” Filets
Robin Simsa is the CEO of Revo Foods, the first company to sell 3D printed, vegan “salmon” filets – already available all over Europe. They're making 100% plant-based seafood to reduce overfishing and relieve pressure on our marine ecosystem. Robin himself has a PhD in biotech from the university of Gothenburg and Tufts University, and he was also nominated to Forbes 30 Under 30. 3D printing food is one of those exciting or terrifying ideas depending on your perspective, especially if “it's people!” is still ringing through your brain and you're worried about a Soylent Green future. However, I see technologies like this as a necessary step towards our evolution as a species, which is why I'm so excited about this episode and I'm not the only one; investors have already poured up to $400 million into alternative seafood start-ups in recent years, including over $7 million into Revo Foods. ➡️ https://revo-foods.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/robin-simsa ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 17, 2023
Ep. 186 – Nicki Driscoll, PhD: Brain Implants as Thin as a Human Hair
Nicki Driscoll, PhD is a post-doc researcher at MIT, and CTO of NeuroBionics, a company that has developed a new kind of neural interface using microscale, flexible, bioelectronic fibers that seamlessly integrate with the body. Have you ever seen a fiber optic cable? Imagine a tiny strand that is as thin as a human hair. Each fiber integrates a range of functions, such as electrical, chemical, and optical capabilities to sense and modulate the biological environment. This gives us unprecedented access into the “symphony” of a properly functioning brain (something we’ll talk about later that is ultra ultra cool…) and also a better understanding of the brain when it’s not functioning properly. This is the kind of stuff the sci-fi future is made of, so buckle up! ➡️ https://neurobionics.io/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/nicki-driscoll ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 10, 2023
Ep. 185 – Viraj Mane, PhD: Can We Cure Disease with Human Breast Milk?
Viraj Mane is the co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer at Lactiga, an award-winning, venture-backed biotherapeutics company treating and prevent infections using an unusual but genius method…human milk. That’s right, Lactiga uses human breast milk to battle even the world’s most dangerous pathogens. It turns out, some people would benefit tremendously from what’s found in the breast milk of other humans, and if done right, the power of this novel approach is astounding. Viraj has a PhD in Human Genetics from Baylor College of Medicine, and has completed two post-doc fellowships, including one for the U.S. FDA. After he became a father, he had a strange but brilliant idea after seeing excess breast milk stored in the freezer. I know you’ll love this episode from a very smart person. ➡️ https://lactiga.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/viraj-mane ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 03, 2023
Ep. 184 – Guanhao Wu: Building a Personal Flying Jetpack Suit
Guanhao Wu is the Co-Founder and CEO of Exovolar, a company making personal flying jetpacks (finally!). Exovolar aims to augment our main mobility tool, the legs, to make flying as simple as walking. The combination of jet engines, exoskeleton, and their patented thrust vector nozzle design allows the legs to fulfill their destined duty – to support and move our body – like a certain heavily trademarked action movie franchise character. You know, what’s his face. I love it when someone attempts the truly ridiculous and flying in a suit like Steel Dude (that’s his name, right?) is a bold, audacious, ridiculous concept that is too fun to ignore. ➡️ https://exovolar.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/Guanhao-Wu ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 27, 2023
Ep. 183 – Amber Rivas: Solving the Housing Crisis in Los Angeles
Amber Rivas is the President and CEO at Aviva Family & Children's Services in Los Angeles. She’s dedicated her life to solving the complex housing issues facing major metropolitan areas like LA. Amber has worked for non-profits her entire career, helping women, children, and local communities with mental health and crisis intervention. She’s engaged with the most vulnerable parts of society—tackling issues head on that most of us choose to ignore. Today we’ll learn how her selfless journey has brought her satisfaction, joy, and a connection to her community in ways that are so powerful. She’s proof that while judgment is easy, doing something about it is far more rewarding and noble. I’m excited to share with you a powerful, and moving conversation. ➡️ https://aviva.org/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/amber-rivas ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 20, 2023
Ep. 182 – Candice Smith: From $6 to a Thriving PR Business in 3 Years
Have you ever gone from just a few dollars in your bank account to a thriving business? Or maybe you have less than you’d like in the bank right now, and you’re feeling lost, hopeless, or unsure if there’s any way out for you. Well today’s guest Candice Smith was there, just three short years ago. Today? She has a thriving PR business, and she’s been featured in Glamour, Good Morning America, Forbes, and a lot of other places that are a lot cooler and more influential than this show. Umm. But please don’t stop listening. Just… uhh, strike that last remark from the record. I wanted to showcase this story because it represents a very real, practical transformation that so many people who are struggling right now can make, and it’s a prime example of the power of entrepreneurship and determination to change the arc of our life when things aren’t working out the way we want them to. ➡️ https://frenchpresspr.com/ ➡️ https://rosspalmer.com/candice-smith ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 13, 2023
Ep. 181 – Morgan Mercer: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Empathy
Morgan Mercer is the CEO of Vantage Point, a VR product that’s being used by big companies like Ikea and Hyundai to teach soft skills and also to offer Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as Sexual Harassment training. It turns out, Morgan’s major insight is that VR is an unprecedented tool for “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”, which means that it’s an ingenious way to teach empathy. She’s been featured in over 150 major publications and Vantage Point’s tagline “While technology can cause apathy, immersive technology can drive empathy and fundamentally make the world more human” is something I deeply resonate with. ➡️ https://www.tryvantagepoint.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/morgan-mercer ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 06, 2023
Ep. 180 – Martin Schichtel: A Genuinely Brilliant Solution for Sustainable Energy
Martin Schichtel is the CEO of Kraftblock, an energy storage system that is able to decarbonize industries like steel, glass or ceramics. Martin leveraged unique industry insight to build a business that captures the enormous amount of waste that so many industries blast out without giving it a second thought. He patented energy-storing blocks that can store 1.2MWh of thermal energy at a temperature level of up to 1,300 °C. This means that we can store the heat byproducts of tons of heavy industries, which can translate into cost savings, decarbonizing entire industries, and generally making our whole society much more efficient. He had a brilliant idea, he executed on that idea, and he saw near immediate success bringing his brilliance into the world. I love crazy, out of the box solutions like this, and I know you will too. ➡️ https://kraftblock.com/en/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/martin-schichtel ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 29, 2023
Ep. 179 – Johnny Palmer: Where Entrepreneurship Meets Activism and Art
Johnny Palmer is a tech entrepreneur, the founder/co-founder of companies, and activist in the UK who has accomplished an incredible amount in both business and activism. He’s built a virtuous cycle with his businesses and greater mission, proving that money and resources used well can be the path towards building a better, more sustainable future for us all. His career is at the intersection of money and meaning, and his north star is evident in all of his many ventures. We’ll learn how seemingly different ventures can all be linked by the same guiding principle. ➡️ https://johnnypalmer.co.uk/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/johnny-palmer ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 22, 2023
Ep. 178 - Khat Zorig: The Intersection of Business, AI, Fashion, and Filmmaking
Khatantuul Zorig is an Investor at Innospark investing in AI/Robotics companies. She led/co-led investments in Neurable, Javelin, Encora, and she’s been an MIT-backed CEO/founder herself, all as a 1st generation Mongolian immigrant. In short, Khat is one of the coolest, most inspiring people I’ve ever met. She’s actively shaping neurotech, AR/VR, and even fashion, by merging her native Mongolian culture with the tech of tomorrow. She’s a fashion designer making wild, futuristic east-meets-west clothing, and she envisions an optimistic future where AI will automate all of our mundane, repeatable tasks, leaving our brains and creativity to soar. If you’ve listened to even one episode of this show by now, you’ll know how excited I am about this talk. ➡️ https://gotzorig.com/ ➡️ https://khatzorig.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/khat-zorig ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 15, 2023
Ep. 177 – Pablo Navarro: Co-Founding a $26 Million VC Fund in Colombia
Pablo Navarro is the co-founder of a $26 million VC fund in Colombia, and his latest project is cocora.io. Pablo's life story is remarkable, coming from a humble beginning to being heavily involved in the start-up scenes of both the US and South America. In this interview, we discuss Pablo's strategy for investing in LatAm startups, his advice for young entrepreneurs, and more. Today he is building Cocora, a platform that connects leaders in Latin America to coaches, and he’s passionate about transforming the business climate of his home country and beyond. ➡️ https://www.cocora.io/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/pablo-navarro ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 08, 2023
Ep. 176 – Mike McFall: The Secret to Building One of America’s Largest Coffee Chains
Joining us today is Mike McFall, the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of BIGGBY Coffee. Mike’s story is truly fascinating: in 1995, he and his friend decided to make a coffee chain, and their simple agreement has blossomed into one of America’s largest coffee chains, a franchise operation with over 350 locations. It’s clear that Mike is an “entrepreneur’s entrepreneur”, and in this episode, he tells me something I’m truly envious of: that he doesn’t suffer from crippling anxiety at 3am and rather has an innate sense that everything will always work out. I’m sure you’re just like that. No? Must be nice, right? Well, even though his path has been slow and steady, everything has appeared to work out for this remarkable human, and he’s documenting his unique, human-forward approach to business in a series of books. I know I’m about to get schooled in this conversation, and if you and a buddy ever thought about building something cool, you are too. ➡️ https://www.biggby.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/mike-mcfall ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 01, 2023
Ep. 175 – John Walsh: Revolutionary Electric Shuttles & Buses
John Walsh is the Founder & CEO of Endera, a company pioneering a sector of the electric vehicle market you probably haven’t thought much about: shuttles and buses. No, they’re not JUST for pub crawls, although it is Friday, so why not green up your booze tonight? Rather, it’s a sector with profound implications anywhere short-distance travel is needed. Their EVs have exceptional performance and range, and they represent a huge potential benefit for a wasteful and important part of our society. His company Endera has raised millions in funding, and John has been featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 as well as on Shark Tank. Buckle up for a fascinating conversation with someone who really has his vision locked on building a better future for us all. ➡️ https://www.enderamotors.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/john-walsh ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 25, 2023
Ep. 174 - Jhillika Kumar: Activating the Neurodiverse Workforce of Tomorrow
Jhillika Kumar is the Founder & CEO at Mentra, a neurodivergent-friendly talent platform that intelligently matches neurodiverse individuals with employers that value their strengths. Traditional talent and employment platforms tend to prioritize a certain kind of candidate, which can leave many highly-capable people without meaningful work. As our world changes, we have to realize that neurodivergence is not a weakness, but rather a strength for many mission critical roles. Mentra puts recruiters in front of candidates rather than forcing them to navigate through the challenging process of finding a job. How? Through humanistic AI and community-driven design. It’s an awesome concept whose time has most certainly come. ➡️ https://www.mentra.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/jhillika-kumar ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 18, 2023
Ep. 173 – Alison Hirukawa: The Insane Future of Gene Editing [Live in Boston]
Alison Hirukawa, PhD is the Co-founder and CEO of DropGenie. DropGenie is a groundbreaking start-up in the tech bio space making gene editing cheaper and lowering the amount of donor cells required. They’ve made a little plastic tray not much larger than the size of a playing card that makes molecular surgery affordable and scalable. The card itself looks like a maze, where a single droplet can be moved from one square to another via a revolutionary system of electric gates, which means that they can miniaturize experiments using way less input material, down to a single droplet scale. This is truly at the very cutting edge of technology that will soon impact us all, as gene editing has the ability to cure a range of genetic diseases by directly manipulating our DNA. I can’t tell you how excited I am about this episode, soon this tech will improve all of our lives. ➡️ https://www.drop-genie.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/alison-hirukawa ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 11, 2023
Ep. 172 - Sharon Kan: On the Hard Decision to Shut Down Your Start-up [Live in Boston]
Sharon Kan is the CEO & Co-Founder at Pepperlane, a start-up that helped mothers transform their ideas, skills, and passions into businesses that fit into their busy lives. They raised millions with her brilliant concept. Alas, like so many others, COVID had a massive negative impact on her business, and she had to make the difficult decision to shut it down earlier this year. In my conversations, I’m keenly aware of survivorship bias—that only talking to people who’ve won the lottery can give us a false impression about what it’s like to play the lottery. Or as Mitch Hedberg said: “You know when you see an advertisement for a casino, and they have a picture of a guy winning money? That’s false advertising, because that happens the least. That’s like if you’re advertising a hamburger, they could show a guy choking. “This is what happened once.”” Today we talk about life after a start-up, and how this unpleasant aspect of the journey led to Sharon finding a new voice and a new passion. Now she’s mentored hundreds of women CEOs and business owners, and she’s building a new life behind the scenes. If you’ve ever tried to build something ambitious, this episode is for you. ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon2016/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/sharon-kan ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 04, 2023
Ep. 171 – Adam Molnar: Headphones That Read Your Mind [Live in Boston]
Adam Molnar is the Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships at Neurable, the beautiful office in historic downtown Boston where we filmed this episode live. Neurable was gracious enough to lend me one of their conference rooms to meet inspiring local founders & entrepreneurs, and I got a first-hand look at their upcoming tech. Neurable makes brain-control interfaces or BCIs, and their tech is so discreet and non-invasive that it can literally fit into a pair of normal headphones. That’s right, just by wearing a normal pair of headphones, information from your brain can be captured, allowing you to do truly futuristic things like control Spotify using only your mind or better understand your focus and natural cycles to optimize your productivity in ways we never dreamed of. With their ground-breaking tech, it’s possible that in a few years every pair of headphones you buy will have Neurable baked in, ushering in a new era of both computing and self-awareness. ➡️ https://neurable.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/adam-molnar ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 28, 2023
Ep. 170 – Sridhar Iyengar: Life After a $260 Million Exit [Live in Boston]
Welcome to the Boston Series of Beat the Often Path! I got the chance to meet some of the most innovative and inspiring people in Boston’s robust start-up series, and I have to tell you, I absolutely loved my time there. Joining us on location at the Neurable offices in downtown Boston, Sridhar Iyengar is the Chief Innovation Officer of Elemental Machines and the former founder and director of Misfit, a wearable tech company that was purchased in 2015 by Fossil for $260 million. Sridhar holds over 30 U.S. and international patents and received his Ph.D. from Cambridge University as a Marshall Scholar. His newest company Elemental Machines has 250+ Customers and $300M+ in Protected Assets Monitored with their tech, which leverages a unique suite of IoT-enabled sensors, innovative software, and first-in-class data science to provide actionable insights that optimize complex operations. If it sounds complicated, it might be because this man is a genius. But more importantly, he’s a great person who is committed to helping other founders grow, so I’m deeply honored to have his wisdom on this show today. ➡️ https://elementalmachines.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/sridhar-iyengar ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 21, 2023
Ep. 169 – Bolis Ibrahim: Building the DC-Powered Future of Electricity
Bolis Ibrahim is the president of Cence Power, a start-up that aims to stop energy waste when AC power is converted to DC. The power coming into your house or office is AC, or alternating current. However, the vast majority of the devices and lights you use are DC, or direct current. Currently (har har), each individual device does its own AC/DC conversion, and if you’ve ever felt a hot laptop charger, you’ll have witnessed power going to waste. Cence can save buildings up to 40% on their energy consumption for lighting and HVAC systems, which adds up when you consider how many commercial buildings there are in the world! ➡️ https://www.cencepower.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/bolis-ibrahim ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 14, 2023
Ep. 168 – Maeve Wang: Awesome AI-Powered, Fully Custom Shoes
Maeve Wang is a Harvard graduate and the CEO of IAMBIC, a company that uses AI to make truly customized shoes that are tailored to your exact foot. Finding shoes that fit, it turns out, is a big problem for 27% of the population and it affects a considerably larger percentage. It’s not just about comfort and fashion, it’s about health and fundamental wellbeing. Beyond that, Maeve has a remarkable personal story and career, as she left the corporate world to become an unlikely founder. ➡️ https://iambic.co/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/maeve-wang ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 07, 2023
Ep. 167 – Michael Johnson: Is the Green Rush Over in a Maturing Cannabis Market?
Is the "green rush" over? Are NFTs still a thing? Was it wrong of me to put my life savings into AMC stock? Michael Johnson is the CEO of Metrc, a company that makes supply chain software for the cannabis industry. If talking about cannabis bothers you, I suggest you skip this episode… This is one of those businesses that makes sense when you learn about it, but seems so out of left field for an uneducated person such as myself. Today we discuss the cannabis industry boom and maturation of the “green rush” as what was once an emerging field becomes more commonplace. Metrc has over 250,000 users for their “track and trace” software program, and they’re trying to bring safety and oversight to the wild west of the cannabis space. ➡️ https://www.metrc.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/michael-johnson ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 30, 2023
Ep. 166 – Jo Norris: A Truly Brilliant 3-in-1 Solution for Carbon Capture
Jo Norris is a climate scientist, materials engineer, and artist, combining all three in the climate tech startup space. She’s the co-founder and CEO of Carbon Reform, a start-up that’s built a device that removes carbon from the air and safely stores it into sustainable building materials, while improving indoor air quality and reducing HVAC costs by up to 40%. It’s one of those wild, too-good-to-be-true ideas that I’m just so excited about, and I’m not the only one: Carbon Reform has raised over $3.5 million to date, and the future looks bright for us all. ➡️ https://carbonreform.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/jo-norris ➡️ Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer ➡️ Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 23, 2023
Ep. 165 – Nicholas Grundish: Sustainable Batteries That Charge Faster and Last Longer
Joining us today is Nicholas Grundish, who earned a Ph.D. in Materials Science and studied under a Nobel Prize recipient. Now he’s putting his battery tech to use for EnergyX, a company that’s secured tens of millions in funding with GM leading their Series B with 50 million. What does this mean for you and me? Batteries in our cars and everyday devices will soon charge faster, be more safe, and have dramatically increased capacity. I love people who are building a more sustainable future in eminently practical ways. ➡️ https://energyx.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/nicholas-grundish Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 16, 2023
Ep. 164 – Ahmed ‘Eddie’ Qureshi - Building Digital Health 2.0 to Create Access to Healthcare for Underserved Communities
Valorant Health was founded in 2018 after Founder and CEO, Ahmed Qureshi experienced the impact that lack of access had on communities from his early years in Pakistan. Through extensive global travel, Ahmed realized that large portions of our population lack the access to healthcare that others of us expect. He saw enormous inefficiencies in outdated systems that led to incredible waste (nearly $1 trillion in waste in the US alone!), often with the people who need the healthcare the most paying the highest price. His is a fascinating take on a problem that affects us all, and I just love anyone audacious enough to take on something as massive as healthcare. ➡️ https://www.valoranthealth.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/ahmed-qureshi Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer Subscribe on YouTube: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 09, 2023
Ep. 163 – Phnam Bagley: Her Agency Turns Science Fiction into Reality
Phnam Bagley designs the future of everything on and off planet Earth. She co-founded Nonfiction, a design firm that turns science fiction into reality for a better future. She's a TED speaker who has designed new food systems for astronauts and who really sees the bigger picture in everything that she does. Her company closely parallels the vision that I have for myself, for my own future and for my own company, so it was deeply fascinating talking with someone who has truly shaped an unusual life of exceptional meaning. ➡️ www.nonfiction.design ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/phnam-bagley
Fri, June 02, 2023
Ep. 162 – Audrey Wisch: Raised Millions for Her College Mentorship Business
Audrey Wisch is a powerhouse, a juggernaut, a wunderkind … Or maybe she’s just a cool person with a great idea. Audrey is the Stanford “stop-out” co-founder of Curious Cardinals, a company that’s redefining mentorship for K-12 students. They’ve raised millions in funding, and they did an astonishing $750k of sales in their first year in business, essentially linking passionate college mentors with younger mentees, in a time when children are in dire need of better education and human connection. ➡️ https://www.curiouscardinals.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/au drey-wisch
Fri, May 26, 2023
Ep. 161 – Charlie May: The Man Behind ‘Xpander’ — A Song That Changed My Life Forever
Today’s guest changed the trajectory of my life forever. When I was just 11 years old, I heard the song Xpander by Sasha for the first time. That EP opened me up to the world of electronic dance music which would change my career and my life for the next sixteen years and beyond. From that moment forward nobody ever saw me without wearing a pair of headphones, without my trusty little Sony Walkman, listening to all of these albums – Global Underground, Airdrawndagger—all of this deep house music from around the world. I didn’t know it at the time but the creator of this and many other world-changing electronic records was Charlie May, ghost producer extraordinaire. Over the years he’s made pivotal tracks with Sasha, Spooky, Junkie XL, and a who’s-who of top underground artists for the last several decades. You might not know his name but that’s exactly the point. You should. His works have shaped the current electronic scene, taking us from a time when DJs were uncelebrated and underpaid weirdos in the corner of a room to this massive celebrity industry that we see today. This week all the music in this episode is an original creation of Charlie May—I would strongly encourage you to check out Charlie's Bandcamp for more of his work. ➡️ https://charliemay.bandcamp.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/charlie-may
Fri, May 19, 2023
Ep. 160 – Zak Lefevre: Raising $30 Million for EV Charging Software
What would a future look like where wherever you go, you can plug in your car without worrying about who’s getting paid and how? Well it turns out, in addition to the vast hardware infrastructure requirements of electric vehicle charging, there’s a tremendous software need too. To balance power, to accept payments, to supply apartment buildings and more. And someone’s got to build that software. Well that someone is my guest today, Zak Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab. He’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 Founder who’s raised about $30 million for his company to date, they make software that runs about 80% of the EV chargers out there, so it’s a very cool concept from an extremely smart founder making a difference. ➡️ https://www.chargelab.co/ ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaklefevre/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/zak-lefevre
Fri, May 12, 2023
Ep. 159 - Tommy Linstroth: Building a $ Multi-Million Co. in Eco-Construction
Why should every building be green? Buildings, both commercial and residential, account for about 40% of annual CO2 emissions. It’s an enormously wasteful industry ripe for innovation. But how do we bring about the new era of eco buildings? My guest today is Tommy Linstroth, the CEO of Green Badger, an SaaS platform for automating sustainability. They make it much much easier for construction professionals to build sustainably. It’s a clever approach to an important sector we don’t often think about, oh, and these buildings can dramatically lower your monthly energy costs as well. ➡️ https://getgreenbadger.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/tommy-lin stroth
Fri, May 05, 2023
Ep. 158 - Tony Selvaggio: Recycling Old Tech to Make Computer Labs for Kids
Tony Selvaggio is a Social Entrepreneur and the Founder of eSmart Recycling, a social enterprise whose primary goal is to recycle old technology to set up computer labs for kids, worldwide. It turns out that all kids need to be competitive in today’s digital world is some Betamax tapes, a few laserdiscs, and a few old paddle’s from the 1972 version of Pong. Alright, maybe it’s not quite that, but the point is that a e-waste is an enormous problem, and tons of viable tech ends up in landfills or collecting dust in ole’ granny’s broom closet, when it could be used to give kids without access to computers a leg up. ➡️ https://www.esmartrecycling.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/tony-selvaggio
Fri, April 28, 2023
Ep. 157 - Carlos Meza: The Road to a Multi-Million-Dollar Content Marketing Company
Carlos Meza is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Crowd Content, a content creation service that does millions in revenue per year. Many of you out there are interested in SEO, digital marketing, and how to get more people to look at your s***, well it’s no secret that great content is the key. But making content is a grind, trust me. What if you could have pieces written for you at scale? That’s the idea behind Crowd Content. And more importantly, we’ll talk about Carlos’s journey from leaving finance behind to being caught by the entrepreneurial bug, a bug that in my opinion feels like a mixture between the flu and RSV. Or maybe I’m just sick, who knows. In any case, there’s lots of practical advice and inspiration in today’s episode! ➡️ https://www.crowdcontent.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/carlos-meza
Fri, April 21, 2023
Ep. 156 - Paige Peters: Turning Raw Sewage into a Multi-Million-Dollar Business
Paige Peters is the founder and CTO of Rapid Radicals, a company that is able to treat wastewater much faster than traditional methods. She developed this technology to tackle the massive problem of the over 850 billion gallons of untreated wastewater that go into our lakes, oceans, and rivers each year. What’s worse? When it rains, these outdated systems flood and overflow, causing massive damage. She’s built a thriving business solving a problem no one else wanted to solve. ➡️ https://rapidradicals.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/paige-peters
Fri, April 14, 2023
Ep. 155 - Alexander Olesen: Raising $8 Million for Self-Contained Vertical Farming
Alexander Olesen is the CEO & Co-Founder of Babylon Micro-Farms Inc. He’s a social entrepreneur, keynote and TEDx speaker, and urban agriculture expert. Today we talk about how he’s been building a successful business making produce much more sustainable than conventional methods. We get into the ups and downs of social entrepreneurship, and especially why this is such a timely concept for us all getting access to better food. ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-olesen-7aa4a16a/ ➡️ https://babylonmicrofarms.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/alexander-olesen
Fri, April 07, 2023
Ep. 154 - Masachs Boungou: Fleeing Civil War in the Republic of the Congo and Getting a Ph.D. in the U.S.
Masachs Boungou, a recent doctoral graduate of UMass Lowell, is a keynote speaker, Ph.D. holder, and Fulbright Scholar Alumnus. His childhood was completely upended when his village was ravaged and destroyed, forcing him into exile. He was forced to live in the jungle for a year, facing unimaginable circumstances. Somehow he never lost faith, educating himself and eventually getting an advanced degree in America. Now he’s a public speaker and author, and his jaw-dropping tale is inspiration for us all. ➡️ https://www.drmasachs.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/masach s-boungou
Fri, March 31, 2023
Ep. 153 - Eleonore Eisath: Using the Power of Nature to Recycle the World’s Most-Used Plastics
Can we get rid of all the plastic in the oceans? Like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1.6 million square kilometers of plastic trash floating in the Pacific Ocean. Some see this never-decomposing trash as one of the biggest problems facing our species, others like Eleonore Eisath see that plastic as a “locked resource” that can be tapped into. Her company Beworm is developing a biocatalytic recycling process that decomposes plastic waste into natural raw materials—it’s about as cool as it gets! ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleonore-eisath/ ➡️ https://www.beworm.org/ ➡️ <span style= "mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi
Fri, March 24, 2023
Ep. 152 - Jacob Foss: Eradicating Extreme Rural Poverty
How do we eradicate extreme rural poverty? What can we do to build up communities? Jacob Foss asked this question when travelling in Africa, and his answer was to co-found Agricycle—a brilliant start-up that connects women, smallholders, and youth in East Africa with global markets. Don’t know what a smallholder is? I didn’t either, but we’re about to find out! Jacob’s been on Forbes 30 Under 30, he’s received millions in funding for his work, and Agricycle is an official partner of the United Nations FAO. Join us as we talk about taking the road less traveled. ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-foss-/ ➡️ https://agricycleglobal.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/jacob-foss
Tue, March 21, 2023
Ep. 151 - Omar Abudayyeh & Jonathan Gootenberg: Manipulating DNA, RNA, and Cellular States to Cure Genetic Disease and Prevent Aging
What if you could program a cell directly to fight cancer? What if you could solve the 7,000 genetic diseases facing our species? This type of science fiction is now a reality, thanks to today’s guests on the Beat the Often Path Podcast. Joining me today are Omar Abudayyeh and Jonathan Gootenberg, creators of the AbuGoot lab at MIT, two people leading the way in gene therapy, gene editing, and CRISPR innovations. The AbuGoot lab combines natural biological discovery and molecular engineering to develop a suite of new tools for manipulation of DNA, RNA, and cellular states – the cellular engineering toolbox. In short, it doesn’t get more cutting edge than this. ➡️ https://www.abugootlab.org/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/omar-abudayyeh
Fri, March 17, 2023
Ep. 150 - Anieke Lamers: Create Meaningful Memories with Loved Ones Around the World
What if you could create meaningful memories with loved ones around the globe? My guest today Anieke Lamers has created Peekabond, a new app that makes it easier to not just connect remotely, but bond. She left a lucrative role as a VC to follow her passion and build her own company in a space she believed in. She created a kid-friendly platform with science-based activities, ethical games, and a bank to store all the memories made. Many of us have gone years without being able to see loved ones like grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc. This app is a way for people to create and store meaningful memories instead of just jamming YouTube Kids in front of your children and letting the algorithm raise them. (Who’s done that? You? Nope? Just me? Ok then!) ➡️ https://www.peekabond.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/anieke-lamers
Tue, March 14, 2023
Ep. 149 - Mai Shimada M.D.: Using Ketamine for Treating Depression and PTSD
Mai Shimada is a medical doctor, and the Founder & CEO of Isha Health, providers of ketamine-assisted therapy. She spent many years of her life as an ER doctor, and she came to understand that ketamine was a legal and underutilized treatment option for clinically-resistant depression, PTSD, and a wide range of other mental health disorders. In this episode, we are going to talk about DRUGS. Even though this treatment is completely legal, if that bothers you, turn it off right now. I’m going to preface this episode by saying that I am not a doctor, nor an expert, I’m just your local neighborhood idiot who doesn’t know anything about anything or anyone. So do yourself a favor, and never listen to a word I say. But, please do hear out Dr. Mai Shimada, because she’s an incredible human. ➡️ https://www.isha.health/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/mai-shimada
Tue, March 07, 2023
Ep. 148 - Brian Cook: Growing Local Produce with 90% Less Water
Brian Cook is the President of Local Bounti, a company that brings fresh local produce to the world using 90% less water and land than traditional agriculture. In a world that’s poised to hit 10 billion people not too long from now, we need all the help we can get finding innovative ways to feed our population food that isn’t just gruel, mush, mushy-gruel, or god-forbid, soylent green. Brian has dedicated his life to food production, and today we talk about not only what Local Bounti is doing and why it’s important, but also how we all need to educate ourselves better about where our food actually comes from. It’s a topic that’s near and dear to my heart. ➡️ https://localbounti.com/ ➡️ https://www.linkedin.com/in/4brianccook/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/brian-cook
Fri, March 03, 2023
Ep. 147 - David Dellal: Solving the Yearly $9.5 Billion Worth of Ice Damage to Rooftops
David Dellal is the Co-Founder & CEO of Floe Inc, a cleantech startup developing a smart solution to prevent the extensive, costly water damage caused by ice buildup on buildings' roofs in the winter. You know what I love? I love learning about amazing solutions to problems that I never knew existed, such as the fact that $9.5 billion in damage occurs due to ice on rooftops each year in the US alone. Not only that, de-icing as an entire industry is archaic, harmful, and wasteful, meaning that it’s a huge sector ripe for eco-disruption. David recently made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and his idea was conceived in MIT and perfected at Yale, so I’m looking forward to a great conversation with an extremely smart dude. ➡️ https://floesafe.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/david-dellal
Tue, February 28, 2023
Ep. 146 - Brett Thompson: Africa's First Cell-Based Meat Company
Brett Thompson is the CEO of Mzansi Meat Co, Africa’s first cell-based meat start-up. Using cellular agriculture technology, the company hopes to produce cruelty-free cell-cultured protein products. It’s something that I personally see as the future of meat consumption on our planet, and a necessary step towards a more sustainable future. Today we talk about taking an unpopular stand for something you believe in, building a company in uncharted waters, and how cultured meat represents a massive chance to make access to high-quality protein possible for millions or even billions of people. ➡️ https://www.mzansimeat.co ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/brett-thompson
Fri, February 24, 2023
Ep. 145 - Angela Wilson: Enabling Travel for People with Short-term and Long-term Disabilities
Angela Wilson is the creator of Exploryst, a start-up that seeks to create a more accessible world. Their motto is “explore EVERYWHERE, whatever your disability”, and they seek to add valuable accessibility information to travel, experiences, and business in Colorado and around the country. Angela’s son has intellectual and progressive physical disabilities, and this led her to understanding that many experiences simple aren’t catered to—or available for—people like her son. Today we explore how she built a business around a problem that she uniquely understood, getting the attention of local news, Forbes 1000, and thousands of people in need of what she provides. ➡️ https://www.exploryst.io ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, February 17, 2023
Ep. 144 - Michiel Vos: Why All Pallets Should be Made from Coconuts
Michiel Vos is the Founder & CTO of CocoPallet, a Dutch start-up that makes circular, affordable transportation pallets from coconut husks only. They’re helping to save an estimated 200 million trees from being chopped down needlessly, and their solution is not only more affordable but is itself biodegradable and re-sellable as a potting soil enhancer. It’s an ingenious solution that uses the waste from the coconut industry—material that would otherwise just be dumped or burned, and it’s exactly the kind of solution we need going forward. They’ve won the Heineken Award as well as the Accenture Innovation Award for their work, and it’s the start of an exciting new circular frontier for a massive industry. ➡️ https://www.cocopallet.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/michiel-vos
Tue, February 14, 2023
Ep. 143 - Beau Wangtrakuldee: Creating Inclusive, Sustainable PPE
Beau Wangtrakuldee, Ph.D., is a scientist, entrepreneur, and founder of AmorSui, a modern protective apparel company redesigning personal protective equipment (PPE) to empower women with greater function and protection in lab and medical settings. She’s tackling two massive problems: one that traditional PPE hasn’t taken into account diversity and the needs of women and marginalized groups, and two, that an enormous amount of waste is generated by an industry that has traditionally used single-use and ineffective options. Beau has been named to Forbes Next 1000, Forbes 2021 Female Founder to Watch, and Top 10 Women Leading Healthcare Startups. ➡️ https://www.amorsui.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, February 10, 2023
Ep. 142 - Darius Mora: Creator of A.I. That Detects Burnout
Darius Mora is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vitality Therapeutics, a start-up using artificial intelligence to solve mental health problems. You might not know this, but machine learning can be used to detect patterns in our speech that can help us diagnose mental health issues like depression and burnout faster. In a world where therapists are scarce and expensive, applying AI to the massive mental health problems facing our society today is an incredibly exciting frontier. We discuss the implications of emerging tech on some of our most pressing problems. ➡️ https://vitalitytherapeutics.co ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Tue, February 07, 2023
Ep. 141 - Andrew Amann: Scaling a Multi-Million Dollar App Development Agency
Andrew Amann is the CEO of NineTwoThree Venture Studio, an award-winning software design and engineering studio. His company helps launch start-ups and products, developing apps, IoT devices, and software. They’ve built several clients to over a billion-dollar valuation, and they’ve been featured in the Inc. 5000 two years in a row. I’m a digital agency owner myself, and for me, Andrew represents someone a few steps further in the process. In this episode, we’re going to talk shop about how you can go from a freelancer to a business owner, and how you can scale a business while still taking care of your family and having free time for yourself. This man has some great insights into practically building a multi-million dollar business building other businesses, so if you’ve ever had the entrepreneurial itch, this one is for you. ➡️ https://www.ninetwothree.co ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, February 03, 2023
Ep. 140 - Olugbenga Olubanjo: Bringing Electricity to Countries with No Access to Power
Olugbenga Olubanjo is the founder & CEO of Reeddi, a Nigerian start-up that seeks to bring power to the 70+ million Nigerians who don't have reliable access. Over 600 million people in Africa lack access to reliable power, but how do we solve the problem? Olugbenga created the Reeddi capsule, a rechargeable power bank that people can rent for just 50 cents per day. Olu has already impacted thousands of people with his work, and his product was featured in The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 by TIME. This is a remarkable tale of taking matters into your own hands. ➡️ https://www.reeddi.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/olugbenga-olubanjo
Tue, January 31, 2023
Ep. 139 - Saoud Khalifah: Using AI to Detect Fake Online Reviews
Saoud Khalifah is CEO, CTO & Founder of Fakespot, a tool that seeks to eliminate fraud and fake reviews in ecommerce. Have you ever tried to buy a supplement online with thousands of 5-star reviews only to find out that it’s actually sawdust capsules? That’s exactly what happened to Saoud, and this experience led him to understand that online reviews cannot and should not be trusted. Between bots, paid fake reviews, and influencers, it’s harder than ever to trust what you read online. Often there are money dynamics at play that influence every facet of online discourse. Well Fakespot is a free extension and phone app that uses AI to analyze millions of reviews and detect fraudulent reviews, meaning it helps you make purchases more confidently online. Fakespot seeks to bring trust to the internet, and he’s raised over 5 million dollars for his company, which is already being used by nearly 6 million users today around the globe. ➡️ https://www.fakespot.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, January 27, 2023
Ep. 138 - Kathy Hannun: Why Every Home Should Use Geothermal Heat/Cooling
Kathy Hannun is the co-founder and president of Dandelion Energy, offering affordable home geothermal energy solutions. We spend so much money heating and cooling our homes, and in a time of uncertainty surrounding natural gas and oil availability, getting off of fossil fuels in our homes has never been more important. Kathy left her job working at Alphabet’s prestigious X Lab to start her company, and they’ve raised over $130 million to date for the project. By homes switching to residential geothermal—heating and cooling their home using the earth below them—they can reduce their CO2 output by as much as 80% while cutting their energy costs in half. It’s a huge win-win. Kathy’s been named to MIT Technology Review’s 35 Under 35, she’s a TED fellow, and the recipient of the C3E Award from the US Department of energy. In short, it’s an honor to have Kathy Hannun with us today. ➡️ https://dandelionenergy.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Tue, January 24, 2023
Ep. 137 - Mike Pappas: Using AI to Make In-Game Voice Chat Safer (Stop the trolls!)
Mike Pappas is the CEO and Co-Founder of Modulate.ai, a start-up using cutting-edge machine learning to to make voice chat safe. In case you don’t play online games, there’s an entire universe of people out there who play games like Call of Duty, League of Legends, etc, and they use in-game voice chat to communicate with each other. The problem is, like other digital avenues, these spaces can be made toxic by bullies, trolls, and hateful people. For years, this toxicity has been seen as an unsolvable problem. Mike and his co-founder have created a product called ToxMod that is a significantly more effective and cheaper way to moderate voice chats, creating a better experience for the vast majority of players who aren’t bullies or jerks. They’ve raised over 30 million in funding and recently made TIME’s list of the 100 most influential companies. It’s a brilliant solution to a problem you might not have thought about. ➡️ https://www.modulate.ai ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, January 20, 2023
Ep. 136 - Anna Luísa Beserra Santos: Inventing Brilliant Clean Water Tech at 15!
Anna Luisa Beserra Santos is the CEO of Sustainable Development & Water For All, a Brazilian organization bringing water and sanitation to people who lack access. Proper water and sanitation have the power to reduce the number of deaths from waterborne diseases by as much as 65%, and Anna and her startup have already benefitted more than 15,000 people in 15 Brazilian states. Anna founded her startup in 2015 at the age of 17, and in 2019 she won the UN Champions of the Earth Award. She was also the youngest Brazilian graduate in Leadership for New Enterprises from MIT at the age of 18. ➡️ https://sdwforall.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Tue, January 17, 2023
Ep. 135 - Carrie Chan: Pioneering Lab-Grown Fish
Carrie Chan is the Co-Founder & CEO of Avant Meats, the first cultivated fish company in Asia. What is cultivated fish? If you assumed it meant fish that’s refined and well-educated, you’re wrong, but hey that’s what I thought, too! Instead, it means that they are able to create real fish using the cells in a process that’s not dissimilar to brewing beer. They can take the fish cells and multiply them in a controlled environment, bringing you real fish without the animal killings, without those yummy microplastic seasonings that we all love so much, and without toxic heavy metals like that mercury that gives fish its healthy, wholesome taste. Carrie has raised over 13 million dollars for her idea so far, and in my opinion, it’s the future of fish and meat. ➡️ https://www.avantmeats.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, January 13, 2023
Ep. 134 - Shiloh Johnson: Small Biz. Tax Tech at Scale
Shiloh Johnson is the founder and CEO of ComplYant, a digital tax assistant platform that’s raised over 10 million in funding to date. Shiloh’s personal journey is incredible, which you’ll soon find out, but the upshot is this: in her time as CPA, she noticed that many—most?—small business owners were making the same mistakes. She soon realized that there was a gap in the market and got to work building a platform to help business owners such as myself be a little less stupid. Ok, the stupidity part just applies to me, but everyone could use a little help. This episode is great for anyone who’s thinking about starting a business or bringing an idea into the world. ➡️ https://complyant.co ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Tue, January 10, 2023
Ep. 133 - Stefan Ytterborn: Making a Completely Fossil-Fuel-Free Motorcycle?
Stefan Ytterborn is the CEO & Co-Founder of CAKE, a Swedish tech company making light and totally silent off-road and commuter electric motorcycles. They’ve raised over $70 million in funding so far, and their ambitious goal is to create the cleanest dirt bike ever—striving to approach that magical “completely fossil-free” goal. CAKE was listed to Time Magazine’s 100 most important inventions award in 2021, and they’re reimagining electric transportation from the ground up. ➡️ https://ridecake.com/
Fri, January 06, 2023
Ep. 132: Tessa Callaghan: Sustainable Seaweed-Based Yarn & Fabric
Tessa Callaghan is the CEO and co-founder of Keel Labs, makers of a seaweed-based yarn they call Kelsun. In case you didn’t know, the textile and fashion industries are a mess, and they contribute enormous amounts of waste to our planet. Tessa and her co-founders set out to create a fully functional yarn with a significantly lower environmental footprint than conventional fibers. They’re harnessing a biopolymer from kelp to achieve this, and kelp is one of the most regenerative organisms on our planet. They’ve raised tens of millions in funding for their concept, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Here’s Tessa Callaghan of Keel Labs.
Tue, January 03, 2023
Ep. 131 - Susan Stone: The World’s First Electricity-generating Alternative to Traditional Windows
Susan Stone is CEO of Ubiquitous Energy, the world leader in transparent solar technology working towards a goal of helping solve climate change by creating truly transparent renewable energy for every surface across the globe. Ubiquitous Energy has developed transparent solar cells to create its ClearView Power windows, a kind of “solar glass” that can turn sunlight into energy without needing the bluish-grey opaque panels those cells are generally associated with. Ubiquitous Energy’s patented technology, UE Power™, is the world’s first invisible electricity-generating alternative to traditional windows. It’s something I can’t wait to see everywhere all around us, it’s just amazing stuff! ➡️ https://ubiquitous.energy ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, December 23, 2022
Ep. 130 - Krishna Manda: The Future of Augmented Reality Motorcycle Helmets
Krishna Manda is the Co-founder and CEO of Etho Inc., a start-up building augmented reality hardware and software for motorcycle helmets, including a voice assistant, navigation, and riding information displayed right on the inside of the helmet Soon you’ll be able to keep your eyes on the road as you ride and have access to more information than ever before. With 68% of daily commuters admitting to using their phones to navigate to places, these distractions can be fatal on motorcycles where every reaction counts. Learn how a life-changing accident set this aerospace engineer on the path to creating a revolutionary product. ➡️ https://etho.io ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Tue, December 20, 2022
Ep. 129 - Sahand Dilmaghani: A Better Way to Brew Coffee?
Sahand Dilmaghani is the Founder & CEO at Terra Kaffe, a coffee tech company that’s raised over 14 million in funding so far. Sahand has a remarkable story that led him down the path of entrepreneurship, and his company is making more eco-friendly coffee and espresso machines that look and taste incredible. Sahand made Forbes Next 1000 in the consumer tech category, which is good for him but bad for me, as I had to settle for 1,001, failing to make the cut YET AGAIN. Come on Forbes! In seriousness, Terra Kaffe estimate that they’ve prevented over a million pods from becoming garbage, and in the words of the immortal Martha Stewart, that’s a good thing. ➡️ https://www.terrakaffe.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, December 16, 2022
Ep. 128 - Paul Gross: Capturing Carbon from Diesel Trucks as They Drive!
Paul Gross is the Co-CEO & Co-founder of Remora, a start-up that captures carbon emissions directly from semi-trucks as they drive. This tech, called a “mobile carbon capture system”, is the first of its kind to be commercialized anywhere in the world. Remora’s system can be retrofitted onto existing diesel trucks, capturing and storing their carbon. And this is a big deal, because there are over 2 million semis in the US alone. They’ve raised millions in funding, and they’re already working with major brands to help reduce total carbon emissions globally. Paul himself was listed to Forbes 30 Under 30, and he has an inspiring story for us all.
Tue, December 13, 2022
Ep. 127 - Dinesh Tadepalli: Why Single-Use Spoons Should be Edible
Dinesh Tadepalli is the Chief Spoon Seller & Co-Founder of Incredible Eats, a start-up that’s attempting to replace single-use plastic cutlery with edible alternatives. How does that work? You might be asking. Well, they need both sweet and savory options (think ice cream vs. hot soup), and their products perform better than paper alternatives. Edible cutlery is something that’s never before been implemented at scale, and the company was featured on Shark Tank where they received multiple offers. The company is carbon-negative, and proof that the best way to avoid dealing with waste is to prevent it from ever reaching the landfill to begin with. ➡️ https://incredibleeats.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Fri, December 09, 2022
Ep. 126 - Kevin Martin: 3D-Printed Pants!?
Kevin Martin is the CTO and Co-Founder of unspun, a company making bespoke “3D printed” jeans. Using scanning and robotics technology, unspun creates personalized jeans just for you, and way way way faster than the traditionally wasteful pipeline of today’s fashion. Unspun has raised over 10 million in funding so far, and Kevin himself has been named to Forbes 30 Under 30. The company was listed on TIME’s best inventions and Fast Company’s World-Changing Ideas. Unspun is a truly brilliant approach to bringing robotics and tech to one of the most harmful, wasteful, archaic industries on the planet: clothing. ➡️ https://www.unspun.io/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/podcast
Mon, December 05, 2022
Ep. 125 - Mark Herrema: Making Biomaterials from Greenhouse Gas
Mark Herrema is the CEO and founder of Newlight Technologies, a company with an out of this world solution to climate change. By using nature as a guide, they’re able to pull carbon and greenhouse gasses straight from the air and create a physical, plastic-like material they call AirCarbon, which can be used to make everything from cutlery to straws to clothing and just about anything else plastic can make. There’s one huge difference… AirCarbon is biodegradable (even faster than paper), and is truly one of the most realistic, impressive solutions I’ve ever encountered to drawing down carbon. And it’s not just me who’s taking notice… They’ve raised over 100 million in funding, and they have partners like Nike, Dell, Amazon Web Services and more. ➡️ https://www.newlight.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/
Fri, December 02, 2022
Ep. 124 - Ellen Windemuth: Oscar-Winning Producer of "My Octopus Teacher"
Ellen Windemuth is the Founder and CEO of WaterBear Network, a free environmental content streaming platform that Fast Company called “Netflix for the Planet”. Ellen is well known for producing My Octopus Teacher, a documentary that one this year’s BAFTA and Oscar for best documentary feature. WaterBear has impressive partners, with over 100 charities and NGOs taking part, including WWF, Greenpeace, and more, they’re shining a spotlight on the most critical issues facing the planet today. Beyond that, Ellen’s personal journey is remarkable, as she embraced entrepreneurship as a way of building a life and career of meaning. ➡️ https://join.waterbear.com ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/ellen-windemuth
Tue, November 29, 2022
Ep. 123 - Jacob Flood: Headphones That Help You Focus and Become More Productive?
Jacob Flood is the founder and CEO of Eno, makers of Enophone headphones—headphones that can monitor your brain data just by wearing them. These headphones help you become more focused and productive, giving you a deeper understanding of how your mind actually works during the day. If you’ve been working from home, you know how important productivity is, especially when there’s no one to keep you on track but yourself. Jacob has spent over 10 years in the mental productivity space, and he’s the author of the book Study Smart. Today Eno has received millions in funding and has shipped their headphones to over 80 countries. ➡️ https://enophone.com/ ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/jacob-flood
Fri, November 25, 2022
Ep. 122 - Eduardo Del Signore: Visualizing Climate Change Data with Music
Eduardo Del Signore is a 2020 Grammy-nominated and Award-winning Musician and the founder of the A Call 2Peace Foundation. He leverages technology, science, and music to spur climate action. Through The ClimateMusic Project, Eduardo uses data visuals from climate scientists for his musical interpretation of the fight against climate change. He just got back from a performance at the World Economic Forum, and we discuss the clarity of vision he had that brought him to this highly unusual and rewarding path. Connecting the dots between seemingly unrelated things is my favorite part of this show, and I know you are going to be deeply inspired by Eduardo Del Signore. ➡️ https://www.signoremusic.com/bio/bio ➡️ Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/eduardo-del-signore
Tue, November 22, 2022
Ep. 121 - Taylor McCarten: A Non-toxic Indoor Composting Powder & Dragon's Den Success Story
Taylor McCarten is the Co-Founder & CEO of BinBreeze, a Dragon’s Den success story start-up. The idea is this: BinBreeze is the world's first all-natural and non-toxic indoor composting powder that is on a mission to reduce the impact of food waste. Their innovative and sustainable product reduces wood waste that’s currently burned for lack of a better alternative while improving customer composting abilities at home. It’s a win-win that’s now in over 500 retailers in Canada. Today we talk about what it takes to get funding for your eco business and much more. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://binbreeze.com
Fri, November 18, 2022
Ep. 120 - Jacob Pechenik: An Easy New Way to Grow Produce at Home
Jacob Pechenik is the co-founder of Lettuce Grow, a company he co-founded with Zooey Deschanel. The idea is profound: they’ve created a device that lets people grow a significant quantity of produce either inside their home or outside, with a self-contained hydroponics system that’s basically foolproof. This system represents one of the easiest ways to dramatically improve the quality of home produce while greatly reducing the carbon footprint of getting leafy greens and veggies. As we love on this show, it really is a win-win. Just as interesting is Jacob’s own, highly unusual career path, which saw him go from trading to MIT to producing dozens of Hollywood films to founding this company. It’s a deeply inspiring tale that I know you’ll enjoy. Here’e Jacob Pechenik, of Lettuce Grow.
Tue, November 15, 2022
Ep. 119 - Raffael Jovine: Sequestering Carbon at the Gigaton Scale Using Algae?
Raffael Jovine is the founder & chief scientist of Brilliant Planet, a company unlocking the power of algae as an affordable method of permanently and quantifiably sequestering carbon at the gigaton scale. Brilliant Planet has raised tens of millions in funding from major partners like Toyota Ventures, and when you hear his innovative solution, you’ll understand why. But beyond that, Raffael’s personal story is so incredible—learn how he made massive changes in his personal life and career that led to his biggest breakthroughs later in life. Now he’s a published author and leader extraordinaire.
Fri, November 11, 2022
Ep. 118 - Tom Green: Making a Natural Carbon-removing Sand?
Tom Green is joining us today, and he’s the CEO of Project Vesta. Project Vesta is harnessing the natural power of the oceans to remove excess CO₂ from the atmosphere. The Earth has long sequestered carbon through the oceans, and Tom has found a way, based on decades of prior scientific research, to accelerate this process using a common mineral. Tom Green has a BA from Oxford and an MBA from Harvard, and his personal career journey is remarkable. Today Project Vesta has received millions in funding and is one of the most exciting and novel solutions to climate change I’ve heard of yet.
Tue, November 08, 2022
Ep. 117 - Erick Went & Venkat Kode: Pulling Drinking Water from Thin Air
Erick Went is the CTO of Genesis Systems, and he’s together Dr. Venkat Kode, a research scientist on the team. I’m not going to lie, Genesis Systems is one of the most exciting product ideas I’ve ever become aware of yet. Genesis Systems manufacture the world's first and only sustainable air-to-water systems that can carbon (CO2) capture. That’s right, they are generating fresh-water from air using integrated technologies never before conceived. They’ve received several grants from the US Air Force and Army, and they are partnered with Google, Siemens, and more. They’ve raised tens of millions to date, and this is something I personally can’t wait to buy. ➡️ http://genesissystems.global
Fri, November 04, 2022
Ep. 116 - Max Rye: Building an Identical Replica of Cow's Milk?
Max Rye is the co-founder and chief strategist of TurtleTree, the world’s first sustainable lactoferrin made with precision fermentation. Don’t know what any of that means? Great! Because I didn’t either! Essentially they’re able not just to emulate real milk but actually produce identical proteins—the ones that give cow and human milk its nutritional value. We’ll learn how Max decided to embrace the kind of change he wanted to see by founding this futuristic company that has the potential to change so many industries around the world. They just closed 30 million in Series A funding, so it’s game on time.
Tue, November 01, 2022
Ep. 115 - Anthony DiMare: Mapping the Ocean Floor with Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
Anthony DiMare is the CEO & Co-founder of Bedrock Ocean Exploration, a vertically-integrated ocean exploration company that’s built proprietary robotics and software to explore the oceans quickly and cheaply. Basically, none of the world’s seafloor is mapped, and this knowledge has far-reaching implications for weather predictions, global shipping, and many other things vital to our survival. Learn the multiple businesses and models Anthony has pursued, how he’s gotten millions in funding, and how he was named to Forbes 30 Under 30. Bedrock has been featured in Fast Company, TechCrunch, CNN, CNBC and more, and when you hear this man speak, you’ll know why. ➡️ https://www.bedrockocean.com/ ➡️ Ep. Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/anthony-dimare
Fri, October 28, 2022
Ep. 114 - Phoebe Gardner: Transforming Food Waste Into Protein and Fertilizer with Insects
Phoebe Gardner is the co-founder and CEO of Bardee, a truly novel solution to climate change. Well have ya heard of composting? It’s a neat idea to take food waste that would otherwise generate methane gas in landfills and repurpose it for fertilizer. The trouble is, it takes a long time to do it. Bardee has taken that process one step further. They use Black Solder Fly larvae to turn food waste into a usable product in just seven days, while actually being carbon positive. Honestly, it’s a remarkable solution to a huge problem, and her team has raised millions in funding so far. ➡️ https://www.bardee.com/
Tue, October 25, 2022
Ep. 113 - Andre Menezes: $100 Million Raised for Plant-Based Meat
Andre Menezes is the Co-Founder & CEO of Next Gen Foods. Andre broke a record for plant-based meat companies when his company TiNDLE raised $100 million in Series A funding. Tindle makes a plant-based chicken alternative that’s sold around the world and championed by world-class chefs and fast-food chains alike. But more importantly, Andre’s personal journey took him from working directly in the meat industry for many years to realizing the problems with that industry and why plant-based meat alternatives are the future of “meat”. It doesn’t get more exciting and inspiring than this, so I apologize in advance for nerding out. Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/andre-menezes ➡️ https://tindle.com/
Fri, October 21, 2022
Ep. 112 - Kaylin Marcotte: Turning a Passion for Puzzles Into a Multi-Million-Dollar Company
Kaylin Marcotte is the CEO and founder of JIGGY Puzzles—sustainable, artistic, bespoke jigsaw puzzles sweeping the world. Kaylin took her unlikely passion and turned it into a multi-million dollar business. What was her brilliant idea, that got her 500k in funding from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank? If you guessed “boutique jigsaw puzzles”, you are correct! We’ll learn how Kaylin made a series of super smart decisions at exactly the right time to catapult her business forward during the pandemic, a time that saw many businesses close their doors. Her story represents everything that I love and value on this show, so buckle up for a great conversation full of inspiration and laughy-laughy good times. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://jiggypuzzles.com/
Tue, October 18, 2022
Ep. 111 - Paul Evers: Carbon-negative Energy Drinks from Coffee Waste?
Paul Evers is the Co-Founder & CEO of RIFF, America's first certified carbon-neutral energy drink. Paul did some research and discovered a massive problem, 70% of the fruit that surrounds our beloved, sacred coffee beans goes to waste. And this fruit? It’s a superfruit (if such a term exists) that also happens to be caffeinated. Paul discovered a way to make a carbon-neutral energy drink from this, helping out farmers, the planet, and consumers in the process. It’s the exact kind of idea that I love so much, and it’s hard to believe that no one has done it until now. His Oregon-based start-up has already raised several million in funding and has been featured on many of the world’s top media outlets. ➡️ Episode Highlights ➡️ https://letsriff.com/
Fri, October 14, 2022
Ep. 110 - Hans De Neve: Award-winning Carbon Capture Tech
Hans de Neve is the CEO and founder of Carbyon—a groundbreaking company capturing excess CO2 from the air. Today we discuss how going against conventional wisdom and the advice of his peers in the science community led to a breakthrough technology that could help us pull carbon from the air and reverse climate change. It’s no pipe dream, Hans has already received the prestigious XPRIZE Milestone Award with his company Carbyon, and his work towards helping us achieve negative emissions couldn’t be more important. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://carbyon.com
Tue, October 11, 2022
Ep. 109: Naveen Sikka: Planting Millions of Trees to Feed Billions
Naveen Sikka is the CEO of Terviva, an agtech company that’s transforming the food landscape. We rely on just a few crops for our survival, think corn, wheat, etc. But we know that there are many issues with modern agriculture as it's been performed. Naveen and his team have created a true win/win/win company by creating a regenerative food system based on the Pongamia tree, a tree that grows where many other crops can’t. In addition to reclaiming “bad” farmland, this tree produces both oil and protein with far-reaching positive implications for our health and the planet. Terviva has received somewhere in the ballpark of 100 million in funding, and they've been recognized as one of the 25 most innovative ag-tech startups by Forbes several years in a row. ➡️ https://www.terviva.com ➡️ Ep. Highlights: https://rosspalmer.com/naveen-sikka
Fri, October 07, 2022
Ep. 108: Lizanne Falsetto: Creating Game-Changing Dairy Alternatives
Lizanne Falsetto is the CEO, Founder, and Chairman of betterland foods™, and the founder of thinkThin®. Long before she became an entrepreneur, Lizanne Falsetto had a career as a model. She developed food for herself on the job, and quickly discovered that her peers were interested in what she was making. She went on to create thinkThin®, the gluten-free protein bars you’ve seen on the shelves of grocery stores since the 90s. She sold that company a few years ago, and now she’s building game-changing, cow-free dairy alternatives. Just as importantly, Lizanne's career has taken a series of unexpected twists and turns that are genuinely inspirational. She’s been decorated with an impressive array of awards and accolades, and she is well-known for her philanthropy. I'm deeply honored to have her here.
Tue, October 04, 2022
Ep. 107 - Aliénor Salmon: Leaving a Good Career to Dance Around the World
Aliénor Salmon is an author, speaker and consultant. She's the creator of the book Finding Rhythm Bailando Journey. If ever there was a story that fit the premise of this show, it’s hers: She graduated from King’s College In London with a master’s in War Studies, then she worked as a field researcher in Mongolia and landed her dream job studying happiness for UNESCO in Bangkok, where she lived for many years. As if that wasn’t wild enough, she decided to drop her job in pursuit of her own happiness, setting out to learn the local dances of 8 Latin American countries in 8 months. She called this her "Bailando Journey", and she ended up learning 18 dances over 10 months, forever changing her life. ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://bailandojourney.com/
Fri, September 30, 2022
Ep. 106 - Dr. Scott Fulbright: Carbon-Negative Ink from Algae?
Dr. Scott Fulbright is the CEO and Co-Founder of Living Ink Technologies, a company that’s developing the next generation of ink and coatings from algae. His innovative business model replaces the ubiquitous petroleum inks that are all around us, from packaging to clothing tags, to shirts—you name it. Their inks and pigments are carbon negative, and by switching to their product we can save pounds and pounds of petroleum while removing carbon dioxide from the air. It’s a true win/win/win that’s gotten him millions in funding, several honors, and partnerships with brands like NIKE, Adidas, Patagonia, and more. ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://livingink.co/
Tue, September 27, 2022
Ep. 105 - Dr. Klein Ileleji: Solar Dehydrating Made Easy
Dr. Klein Ileleji is the CEO of JUA Technologies International, and he has dedicated his life to agriculture and engineering. Discover how his curiosity led him down multiple career paths, ultimately leading him on a journey from his home in Nigeria around the world. He is a professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Purdue University and the co-founder of JUA Technologies, a company that makes solar-powered food dryers for small farmers in the developing world. He distilled his decades of experience into a meaningful product to combat food insecurity, and he has my deep admiration for that. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://juatechnology.com
Fri, September 23, 2022
Ep. 104 - Quinn Fitzgerald: A Discreet Tech Exit from Unsafe Situations
Quinn Fitzgerald is the co-founder and co-CEO of Flare, a smart, fashionable bracelet that provides 24/7 safety without drawing attention to itself. The product was designed to prevent sexual assault, but its features are perfect for a range of unwanted situations. The bracelet can call 911, notify friends/family that you’re in distress, help you receive an incoming phone call/text message, and more. By tapping into an unfortunate but very real need, Quinn has seen her business explode, getting her millions in funding and placement in TIME, Fast Company, Forbes, and more. I’m humbled and honored that she’s here with us today to share her story. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ getflare.com
Tue, September 20, 2022
Ep. 103 - Lizia Santos: Creating Better Travel Experiences with Tech
Lizia Santos is the founder of CityCatt, a tech start-up that provides more unique and authentic travel experiences. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Lizia switched careers from journalism to start-up founder, all while raising three children, making her accomplishments all the more impressive. Her unique perspective on life and travel all led to her founding a better way for us to get connected using technology and explore new destinations. She’s been featured on CNBC and was recently ranked #33 in a list of the 100 best CEOs disrupting tech, so here’s Lizia Santos, founder of CityCatt.
Fri, September 16, 2022
Ep. 102 - Christina Merrill: Founder of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation
Joining me today is Christina Merrill, President & CEO at the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com For the last 30 years, Christina has dedicated her life to improving health outcomes and quality of life for transplant and cancer patients. Her foundation has helped more than 100,000 patients and their families, they specialize in people with a cancer diagnosis and those in need of a transplant, and they provide financial assistance, educational information, and emotional support programs at no cost. She’s committed herself to a truly noble cause, so I’m honored to have her on the show today.
Tue, September 13, 2022
Ep. 101 - Arnold Leitner: Make Your Home Energy Independent
Arnold Leitner is the founder, CEO, and president of YouSolar. His innovative approach to solar power and battery storage has gotten him millions in investments. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com He’s spent two decades innovating in solar, founding two prominent companies in the space called SkyFuel and ReflecTech before his latest endeavor. YouSolar’s modular battery grid and solar panel combo allows you to dramatically reduce your need for grid power (or eliminate it), and it can keep your house running in the case of a power failure. It’s tech I hope someday all of us can have in our homes.
Fri, September 09, 2022
Ep. 100 - Alvaro Silberstein: Making Global Travel Wheelchair Accessible
Alvaro Silberstein has a remarkable story to tell. Born in Chile, Alvaro’s life was turned upside down in a car accident that left him paralyzed. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com He soon witnessed the ways in which the world can be inaccessible to people with disabilities, making travel difficult or impossible. He made a personal journey to Torres del Paine national park in Chile, and his feat attracted media attention, leading him to the idea of starting a service to help others with more accessible vacation, travel, and adventure tours. His company, Wheel the World, has received millions in funding and has been featured on major media outlets. He helps people like him reach destinations they never thought possible, and found meaning and success in his own life in the process.
Tue, September 06, 2022
Ep. 99 - Cullen Schwarz: Building an "Ethical Amazon"
Cullen Schwarz is the co-founder of DoneGood, an e-commerce platform that is like a more ethical version of Amazon. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com They only work with vendors who have vetted their supply chains and offer quality products—products that are better for the planet and for their customers. They only work with companies committed to human rights, fair wages, worker empowerment, and the protection of wildlife and the environment. Cullen is an alumnus of the Harvard Innovation Lab, and his B Corp is a “Best in the World” award-winner for excellent social and environmental impact. We talk about how he left behind a profitable career in big-league politics to pursue what really mattered to him and lead a more authentic life.
Fri, September 02, 2022
Thank You for 100 Interviews.
We are on a break from the interview today, so I wanted to squeeze in a quick thank you before the 100th interview drops next week.
Tue, August 30, 2022
Ep. 98 - Collin White: Co-Founder of Tootles Gas Filtering Underwear
Today we get a bit silly on the podcast, showcasing a product that made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Collin White is the co-founder of Tootles, flatulence suppressing underwear made from activated carbon fiber. You might think this is just a gag gift (a number of people have already discreetly given me pairs, apparently trying to drop a hint), but actually it’s based on the field medical work of Collin and his father, Dr. Robert White. They co-created Stitches Medical, a line of science-backed garments for hospitals, to suit the many awkward and unusual clothing needs of patients.
Fri, August 26, 2022
Ep. 97 - David Cutler: Plastic Coolers Should be Made from Coconuts
David Cutler is the founder of Fortuna Cools, an innovative start-up that’s going to completely change the way you think about coolers. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Ok, you might not be thinking about coolers on a daily basis, per se, but if you want to head out and bring some drinks with you on a hot summer day, odds are good that you’re putting your drinks into a plastic cooler. But what if there was a better way of both keeping things cool and, you know, not creating throwaway products that will never decompose, forever polluting our oceans and land such that future generations will likely only know us as the “plastic era” people? Too far? You love plastic that much huh? Ok, well, I’m deeply inspired by David’s Story. His optimism and determination led him to found a company that will have a profound impact on how foods are kept cool around the world, on an industrial and consumer scale.
Tue, August 23, 2022
Ep. 96 - Jay Giraud: Jaw-Dropping Futuristic E-Motorcycles
Jay Giraud is the CEO & Founder of Damon, and he’s an award-winning mobility entrepreneur, speaker, and inventor. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://damon.com You might not know this about me, but I got roped into motorcycles by a good friend who convinced me to watch MotoGP. I’ve always enjoyed watching the sport, and the future of electric motorcycles is just so exciting. Damon builds all-electric motorcycles that feel like they come straight from the future. They’ve raised tens of millions in funding and won numerous awards from Popular Science, CES, and more. But most importantly? Learn how he found a life and career of meaning for himself, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.
Fri, August 19, 2022
Ep. 95 - Gustavo Rubacha: Life-Saving Medical Alert Watches
Gustavo Rubacha is the CEO and Founder of LutiBand and LutiKey, two life-saving devices that he invented after having a heart attack at 37 that changed everything. ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com ➡️ https://lutiband.com LutiBand is the world’s First smartest emergency Wearable. of its kind that helps you stay active, connected, safe, and healthy. It is a state-of-the-art medical alert device that uses the most advanced technologies to keep people connected and aware of one another's safety at all times.
Tue, August 16, 2022
Ep. 94 - Ross Blum: The Future of Automated Window Cleaning
Ross Blum is the president and COO of Skyline Robotics, makers of Ozmo, the world’s first high-rise window cleaning robot. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com All those windows you see downtown? Someone’s gotta clean ‘em. And apparently it’s a $40B industry. Skyline Robotics have already received millions in funding, and Ross has had a meteoric rise to the top that I find fascinating. He’s innovated his way to success in an unlikely category, so there’s lots of gold to be found in this episode.
Fri, August 12, 2022
Ep. 93 - Mick Ebeling: Using Tech to Solve the Unsolvable
Today my guest is Mick Ebeling, a man who’s been named one of Fortune’s 50 greatest leaders, and his organization is the only one ever honored twice by TIME Magazine for top invention of the year. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com His incubator is called Not Impossible, and through it he tackles enormous problems that affect us all, like food insecurity. 50 million people are food insecure in the US, and through Mick’s work, he’s been able to distribute hundreds of thousands of meals with his innovative technology-based solutions. We’ll learn how Mick transformed his career from film and film production into making a meaningful impact around the world.
Tue, August 09, 2022
Ep. 92 - Praveen Penmetsa: Super Cool AI-Powered Electric Tractors
Praveen Penmetsa is the CEO of Monarch Tractor, all electric, driverless tractors that are going to revolutionize the way all commercial farming takes place. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com The importance of Praveen’s work cannot be overstated, the very future of humanity depends on developing smarter solutions to manage our farmland. Praveen has gotten over 80 million dollars in funding for his company, and his personal story is so inspiring. Learn how he left India to come to the US, where his talent for engineering led to him building a number of exciting products, ultimately creating his game-changing new company that will change how farming takes place around the world. When you learn what these tractors can do, you’ll be as blown away as I was.
Fri, August 05, 2022
Ep. 91 - Andrea Demichelis: Selfless Tech to Provide Drinking Water
Andrea Demichelis is the founder of Elliot for Water, a mission-driven enterprise to give access to water to millions of people. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com How does it work? Simple. Instead of setting your search engine to Google, set it to elliotforwater.com , and search as you normally would. The ad revenue and search revenue is diverted to organizations providing drinking water and building solar and other renewable energy sources. In 2020, Elliot for Water hit the goal of donating 1 million liters of fresh water. It’s an approach to doing good I’d never considered, and that’s why I know you’ll be fascinated by Andrea Demichelis.
Tue, August 02, 2022
Ep. 90 - Gary Oppenheimer: An App to Eliminate Food Waste
Gary Oppenheimer is the founder of AmpleHarvest.org , an organization that links millions of amateur gardeners to local pantries. ➡️ Watch this episode on YouTube ➡️ Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Have you ever had a few too many tomatoes in your garden? Know someone with an extra basket of zucchini? AmpleHarvest.org makes it incredibly easy to make sure that your excess food doesn’t go to waste. Food waste is one of THE defining problems of our era, and Gary Oppenheimer has made it his life’s work to solve it. His efforts have landed him on CNN, in the White House with 2 sitting presidents, on TEDx, and more. I support everything about this man’s journey.
Fri, July 29, 2022
Ep. 89 - William Santana-Li: Raised Tens of Millions for Robot Security Company
William Santana Li is quite the remarkable individual. Through incredible grit and determination, he rose through the ranks of the Ford Motor Company to become the youngest senior executive at the company at the age of 28. Watch this episode on YouTube Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com He was given a $250 million budget to build a Ford subsidiary called Greenleaf, which led to him getting bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. He was recruited by SoftBank Venture Capital, made famous recently by WeWork & the show WeCrashed, and funded or worked on a series of startups before landing on his current start-up, Knightscope. Knightscope is a publicly traded company that’s raised millions and millions in funding and makes autonomous security robots in silicon valley, to assist with security and law enforcement around the country. Needless to say, in this episode, I’m about to get schooled.
Fri, July 22, 2022
Ep. 88 - Daniel Tonkopi: You've Never See E-Bikes Like This
Daniel Tonkopi is a Ukrainian serial entrepreneur who has forged his own, eco-friendly and thoroughly unique path through life. Watch this episode on YouTube Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com He’s traveled extensively in his career, and now he has a business based in Los Angeles and Kyiv, Ukraine. A series of business ideas led him to founding his current company, Delfast bikes. But this isn’t your ordinary e-bike. Delfast has the Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled on a single charge, with a range of 200+ miles. The bike also has a max speed of 50mph, making it far and away the most powerful in its class. In light of the current situation, they’re also donating 5% of all sales to support Ukraine. Daniel has such an inspiring story of triumphing over failure and staying true to his roots.
Fri, July 15, 2022
Ep. 87 - Edward Soffer: ESG Manager at Interactive Brokers
Edward Soffer calls himself an “intropreneur” at Interactive Brokers. Heavily involved in finance, Edward saw a few years back that he wasn’t focusing his attention on what really mattered to him: sustainability. Watch this episode on YouTube Episode Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com With 20 years of experience in financial services, Eddy initiated the IMPACT app at Interactive Brokers, a publicly traded company with billions in capital. Eddy works in what’s called ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance. He has spearheaded technology that makes it easier for consumers to understand exactly what they’re investing in, so they can only support companies and missions they believe in. He’s proof that you can facilitate change within your company, and I think you’re going to really get a lot out of this conversation, I know I did.
Fri, July 08, 2022
Ep. 86 - Scott Whittle: Birder & Co-Founder of the Terra Project
On this show, I’ve given you boatloads of examples of people who turned their unique passion into a career. Today we tap into the wide world of birding with my guest, Scott Whittle. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Scott has turned his passion for birds into a start-up with far-reaching implications for conservation and human wellbeing. His company, Terra, allows you to listen to the birds outside your home and identify them, including migratory patterns and more. Through his device, you can enjoy the sounds of nature in your own home or learn a ton more about the world all around you. If I’m underselling this just wait until you find out the full scope of his idea.
Fri, July 01, 2022
Ep. 85 - Andres Avello: Automated Kayak Rentals
Andres Avello grew up in Florida, where the water was a big part of everyday life. Discover how his life took a series of unexpected twists and turns, leading to him leaving a great and stable career to build a business. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Andres knew he was meant to build a company, and he knew he was meant to do something with the water. Now he’s built a company called PADL that offers first-of-its-kind paddle board and kayak rentals all over Florida and soon the world. Just subscribe, and unlock the board at any location, take it out, return it, and lock it back up. It’s a novel twist on the model you might have seen for scooters around your city.
Fri, June 24, 2022
Ep. 84 - Skye Blackburn: Why We All Need to Eat Bugs
Skye Blackburn has made an enormous impact in her native Australia with a truly innovative idea: edible insects: Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com She combined a lifelong passion for insects with a degree in food science to create a groundbreaking edible insect company. Today, she’s educated over a million people about the future of food and the importance of adding new sources like insects to our diets. Her products are already in grocery stores and her insect farms are a marvel of AI, solar power, and general awesomeness. She’s proof that the thing that makes you strange might just be your greatest asset.
Fri, June 17, 2022
Ep. 83 - Kyle Rand: Virtual Reality for Seniors
Kyle Rand is the co-founder and CEO of Rendever. He grew up volunteering at a senior living community and later went on to study cognitive decline in the aging population at Duke University. He was recently named to Forbes 30 Under 30 and his company was just listed on Time’s list of 100 most influential companies in 2022, outstanding achievements both. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com When you meet him, you’ll understand why. His company has raised millions in funding pursuing a truly noble cause, empowering the elderly to form communities through virtual reality. In case you didn’t know, loneliness and isolation are two of the biggest problems facing us as we age, and he’s found a life and career of meaning solving that challenge.
Tue, June 14, 2022
Is Google Sentient?
Google's new chat bot LaMDA might have just crossed a threshold—the most major in our lifetimes. Whether AI is currently conscious isn't the question we should be asking. Read the full transcript with LaMDA here: https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917
Fri, June 10, 2022
Ep. 82 - Dane Baker: The #1 App for Sustainable E-Commerce
Dane Baker is the founder of EcoCart, an inspiring way for businesses and ecommerce customers to offset their carbon footprint. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Dane is a serial entrepreneur who’s always seen the world a little bit differently. He wanted to find a win/win/win for businesses to offset their carbon footprint, right at the checkout stage. What does this mean? It means that if you install his Chrome extension, you can automatically offset the carbon of your own purchase by adding a small amount to the purchase price. It’s a really innovative way to help solve the problem of ecommerce waste. Dane is a very smart dude, and his passion for making the world a better place is palpable.
Fri, June 03, 2022
Ep. 81 - Saasha Celestial-One: A Social App to Combat Food Waste
Saasha Celestial-One is the COO and co-founder of Olio, an eco-conscious start-up that’s raised over 50 million dollars in funding. Her concept is simple: we throw away so much good food. In fact, up to 40% globally. Her app makes it easy to give away leftover food, both for individuals and companies like supermarkets. Going on a trip? Just take a picture of the food in your fridge, upload it, and it won't go to waste. Saasha has received numerous awards including a UN Momentum for Change Award. More than that, she has a really unique path to success that I just know you’ll find deeply inspiring. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, May 27, 2022
Ep. 80 - Nely Galán: Media Executive & Emmy Winner
Nely Galán is one of those guests that makes me feel like the scene in Wayne’s World… I’m not worthy! Her story is everything this show represents. She came to this country as an immigrant from Cuba when she was just five years old, and through her own grit and determination worked her way up to become the president of entertainment of Telemundo, one of the most well-known brands in all of television. Nely Galán has produced hundreds of hours of television, and appeared on most major networks and shows like The Apprentice. Always an entrepreneur at heart, she has done very well in real estate and built multiple successful businesses. She’s now a best-selling author, a media mogul, and the creator of a non-profit called the Adelante Movement. In short, I’m in awe. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Bonus · Mon, May 23, 2022
Melitta Bentz: Inventor of Paper Coffee Filters
If you love or need coffee as much as I do, you'll appreciate what Melitta Bentz has done for us all.
Fri, May 20, 2022
Ep. 79 - Johnny Crowder: Heavy Metal Singer & Founder of Cope Notes
Johnny Crowder is an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in some tattoos. Ok, not that exactly, but he is a perfect example of the kind of story I’m looking for on this podcast. He’s a touring death metal singer, a public speaker and TEDx presenter, and the founder of Cope Notes, a tech start-up that provides a positive-psychology text message a day to people who are struggling with mental health. His business has helped tens of thousands of people and has been featured on CNN, Forbes, and more. We talk about the problem with labels when it comes to people and how you can find your own unique path in this world, improving your own life and the lives of others in the process. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, May 13, 2022
Ep. 78 - Dustin Feider: Making Treehouses for a Living
Dustin Feider is one of those rare individuals who makes work that will blow you away. He’s a professional artist who took a highly unusual, earth-forward twist. He put years of design experience into the work of creating out-of-this-world, custom tree-houses. These aren’t your average tree-houses. They look like a cross between Apple’s vision of the future and Avatar—these things are freaking incredible. Not only that, he’s actually joining me on the call today from one of his incredible creations. Discover how he made a career out of his remarkable passion. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, May 06, 2022
Ep. 77 - Marina Tran-Vu: Creating a Plastic-Free Product Business
When it comes to an outside-the-box success story, Marina Tran-Vu's is incredible. She worked for years as a corporate marketer, working for and with major brands. She was supposed to just be visiting Vietnam from her native Canada, but then the pandemic happened effectively trapping her in another country. Rather than give up the fight, she doubled down, building a pandemic business for eco-friendly straws and eco-friendly alternatives to other everyday single-use plastic items. Marina’s story is proof that fulfillment can sometimes come from events that seem negative at the outset. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, April 29, 2022
Ep. 76 - Luc Houle: Biodegradable Shoes that Sprout Apple Trees
Luc Houle just had a successful Kickstarter, getting funding for his eco-friendly, biodegradable shoes. It’s no secret that the billions of shoes around the world mostly end up in landfills, where they will take more than 1,000 years to decompose. How many pairs of shoes do you own? Yep, that should tell you how big of a problem this is. Rather than just bitch about it, Luc created a fully biodegradable, cruelty-free shoe with a twist: Not only will the shoe completely biodegrade if you bury it, it will also grow an apple tree in its place! Inspired by Johnny Appleseed, let’s hear how Luc turned a truly novel idea into a reality. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, April 22, 2022
Ep. 75 - Faye Wilson: Creating Eco-Friendly Toothpaste
Today’s guest is Faye Wilson, a fascinating woman who constructed a career plan that saw her slingshot from the corporate world to her own, eco-friendly toothpaste and dental care brand. We discuss how she brought her idea to market, changing her own life in the process. She’s been featured in Vogue, Glamour, and a bunch of top-shelf media outlets, and her story is a great template for how you can build a business that serves both you and the planet. Watch this episode on YouTube All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, April 15, 2022
Ep. 74 - Christie Lagally: Plant-based "Chicken" at Scale
Christie Lagally’s path toward starting a company should be deeply inspiring for anyone who cares about our planet. With a background in Aerospace Engineering, working at Boeing and other top-tier firms, she decided to put her brilliance and global perspective to work on tackling the problem of processed food and industrial food production. She used her expertise to create innovative new machinery that will make it fundamentally easier to scale plant-based chicken alternatives with her company, Rebellyous foods. If you know me at all, you’ll know how excited I am to share her story. She has truly Beaten the Often Path. Watch this episode on YouTube Rebellyous Foods: rebellyousfoods.com All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, April 08, 2022
Ep. 73 - Masami Sato: A Brilliant Model for Corporate Giving
Masami Sato is one of the coolest people you’re likely to meet out there. Seldom in my life have I had a conversation where I found myself so whole-heartedly agreeing with everything that was said. Masami has used her extensive life experience to build and improve a number of businesses, bringing care and humanity to everything she’s touched. 14 years ago, she got the brilliant idea to find a way to inject giving into EVERY company out there, creating here company B1G1. Through it, she makes it painfully easy for companies to do good, without drastically changing what they’ve been doing. She’s facilitated hundreds of millions in giving around the world and been recognized by major media and more. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Watch this episode on YouTube
Fri, April 01, 2022
Ep. 72 - Joel Tasche: A Genius Way of Cleaning our Oceans
Joel Tasche is the founder and CEO of CleanHub, a startup that aims to preserve and protect the world’s oceans by collecting and managing multi-layer packaging. This nasty packaging is a type of plastic that is almost impossible to recycle using traditional technologies. 80% of the plastic waste that ends up in the oceans is so-called flexible packaging or multilayer packaging, like chip packets, sauce sachets, etc. He’s raised over 4 million Euros for his concept, getting the support of many big brands along the way. He’s recovered hundreds of tons of waste from the ocean, and more importantly, he’s built a life and career that brings him satisfaction and joy. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Watch this episode on YouTube
Fri, March 25, 2022
Ep. 71 - Javeno Mclean: From Professional Cricketer to Gym Owner
Javeno Mclean is a former professional cricket player who changed everything about his life to become a professional trainer and gym owner. His life is proof that our dream can come true and still leave us with a feeling of emptiness, and that helping others might be the thing we’ve been missing all along. Get ready to rethink everything with the energetic and charismatic Javeno Mclean, 2021 National Fitness Award Winner and 2X winner of gym of the year. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Watch this episode on YouTube
Fri, March 18, 2022
Ep. 70 - Lucy Jeffrey: Socks that Save Endangered Animals
All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Watch this episode on YouTube . When the pandemic hit, Lucy did what any sane, rational, intelligent person would do: she quit her stable job and founded a bamboo sock company to help save animals around the world. No? Not everyone did that? Huh. Welll… Lucy Jeffrey did, and that’s why she’s not your typical person. In just a few years, her company’s saved hundreds of acres of rainforest, helped thousands of turtles, saved dozens of rhinos and a whole lot more. She’s been able to do an enormous amount of good while building a company that has changed her life personally for the better.
Fri, March 11, 2022
Ep. 69 - Brianna Kilcullen, Founder of ANACT Hemp Towels
Brianna Kilcullen worked in the clothing industry for big brands, and she was disappointed in what she saw. So she built her own eCommerce company selling hemp towels. It turns out that towels have historically been a pretty wasteful product, so she created an eco-friendly alternative. She did 100k in sales in her first year, and she got big press coverage from outlets like Good Morning America and more. Started in 2018, her carbon-neutral company has already saved 6 million days worth of drinking water with more sustainable practices. Her story is that sweet spot of personal satisfaction and changing the world, so I just know you’ll love our chat. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Follow me on YouTube .
S6 Enull · Wed, March 09, 2022
Mr. Beast: The Brilliance of Using Popularity for Good
Here's a great success story for your inspirational pleasure. Let's hope that Mr. Beast continues on this incredibly inspirational path. He's proof that you can succeed, wildly, without being a d*ck. More episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, March 04, 2022
Ep. 68 - Abigail Harrison: The First Woman on Mars?
Abigail Harrison is known as “Astronaut Abby”, and she set a goal at a very young age to be the first person ever to set foot on Mars. Her path has led her to becoming a major advocate for STEM and particularly STEM education for girls and marginalized groups—people historically left out of the space conversation. She's built a following of over a million, and I could spend a long time singing her praises. Follow me: @therosspalmer Watch this interview on YouTube . See all episodes: beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, February 25, 2022
Ep. 67 - Spencer Burleigh: Founder of Rent the Backyard
Spencer Burleigh is the founder and president of Rent the Backyard, a Y Combinator-backed startup that’s aiming to solve the housing crisis in the Bay Area and beyond. His innovative approach involves building pre-fabricated ADUs (or additional dwelling units) in the backyard of people who have them. The result? Affordable housing for the people living in the backyard, greater population density, less wasted space, and extra income for homeowners. It’s a really cool win/win/win that’s taking off, and it just might be coming to an area near you soon. Let’s learn how this man saw a big problem and came up with a solution, getting the attention of Silicon Valley’s top brass. Show Notes/Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer Subscribe on YouTube .
Fri, February 18, 2022
Ep. 66 - Rebecca Eyre: HEALing for People with Eating Disorders
Rebecca Eyre has a remarkable story that led to her becoming the CEO of Project HEAL, an organization dedicated to providing eating disorder treatment to people historically denied access. In this episode, I learn the true scale of eating disorders, and it’s shocking. But just as importantly, I learned how Rebecca didn’t truly “come alive” until she attached herself to a cause that she truly believed in. Very inspiring stuff!
Wed, February 16, 2022
What Beaumarchais Can Teach Us About Becoming Successful by Being Weird
Beaumarchais: A Biography by Maurice Lever is one of the most fascinating biographies I've ever read. As you know, I seek out unusual success stories to provide us with better templates for our own life, especially if we feel weird, misunderstood, or like we "missed the boat". There is SO much to learn from this man's story. I give you my take in this special episode. Follow me on YouTube . Follow me on Instagram .
Fri, February 11, 2022
Ep. 65 - Dr. Sara Murdock: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Expert
Dr. Sara Murdock has made it her life’s mission to bring diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to companies and organizations around the world. She works with executives and organizations to either proactively create a better workplace or to bounce back from PR disasters and rebuild in more conscientious ways. In her career she’s worked with 10,000+ people over 20 years, doing consulting, seminars, training, and sessions for 200+ people at once.
Fri, February 04, 2022
Ep. 64 - Adam Hewett: The Future of Brain-Controlling Audio
Adam Hewett is quite literally revolutionizing music as we know it. It turns out that music can interact with our brains in a way that is completely unique to humans—no other animal on the planet is impacted by music the way we are. Adam has dedicated his life to using science and brain data to create brain-influencing audio—audio that can put the brain into states such as a “flow” state, deep sleep, productive spaces, and more. No, this isn’t snake oil. It’s extensively researched, and now scientifically accepted.
Fri, January 28, 2022
Ep. 63 - Stefanie Sword-Williams: F*ck Being Humble
Stefanie Sword-Williams is the founder and author of F*ck Being Humble . Stefanie created a business to encourage individuals to be unapologetically proud of their achievements and overcome the fear of self-promotion. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe, she has delivered workshops for global brands. Her story of how she turned her expertise into a mission is profoundly inspiring.
Fri, January 21, 2022
Ep. 62 - Jamey Mossengren: Professional Unicycling Unicorn
Jamey Mossengren quit a lucrative 9-5 job to become a professional unicycling unicorn. Now he enjoys a life of greater fulfillment and freedom than he ever had before, and he gets to make thousands of people happy everywhere he goes.
Fri, January 14, 2022
Ep. 61 - Dr. Kyle Grant, Ex-NASA/SpaceX, Founder of Oxwash
Dr. Kyle Grant is an ex-NASA scientist who created a venture-backed start-up called Oxwash. His company has raised millions of dollars from Silicon Valley VCs like Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter) and more. Dr. Grant has developed groundbreaking new methods for reducing microplastics from laundry, dramatically reducing energy and water consumption, and just generally transforming and disrupting this horribly polluting industry.
Fri, January 07, 2022
Ep. 60 - Harrison Broadhurst and Chris Rännefors, Co-Founders of BatBNB
Harrison Broadhurst & Chris Rännefors are Co-Founders of BatBNB, a highly innovative and unique start-up saving the bats. If ever there was something or someone in need of a massive PR campaign, it’s bats. Bats and their role in our planet have been so profoundly misunderstood, and things have only gotten worse for them in recent years. My guests today created a start-up around bats that saw them succeed on Shark Tank, get big backing and create a highly successful company around something they are passionate about.
Wed, December 22, 2021
Fast vs. Slow Content: How We Can Be Truly Productive
Juggling between keeping the content treadmill running and our bigger goals can be a challenge. This is especially true as we need to put out more and more content just to "keep up". In this original article, I share some thoughts on how we can achieve a better balance in our lives.
Fri, December 17, 2021
Ep. 59 - Ryan Mckenzie: Pioneering Eco-Friendly Laundry
Ryan Mckenzie has one of those stories that makes you feel that anything is possible. He co-founded a business (Tru Earth) based on a patented, eco-friendly laundry strip. Laundry is a sneaky but incredibly wasteful industry, and his company Tru Earth has already eliminated nearly 6 million plastic jugs from landfills while donating nearly 10 million loads of laundry to those in need.
Fri, December 10, 2021
Ep. 58 - Ann Makosinski: Child Prodigy Inventor to Renaissance Woman
Ann Makosinski has been on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, on Time Magazine and Forbes lists, won the Google Science fair, and more. Today we talk about dealing with the expectations of being labeled a child prodigy, about having and pursuing multiple interests in our lives, and about being true to our authentic selves. In short, this 21st-century renaissance woman is a perfect guest for this show. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, December 03, 2021
Ep. 57 - Ben Christensen: Genius Circular Economy for Wood Waste
What’s the best part about an amazing entrepreneur story? You hear what they’re doing, and you think… Really? No one’s ever done that before!? Well we’ve got such a tale today. For so long, we’ve internalized the idea that you can’t build a business without harming the planet, or that doing something sustainable isn’t good business sense. Ben Christensen is out there proving that win/win/wins are truly possible, and in my opinion, these are the kind of solutions we need if we’re going to survive as a species. Ben Christensen is the co-founder and CEO of Cambium Carbon, a company creating a ground-breaking new ecosystem for locally sourced, carbon-smart wood. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 26, 2021
Ep. 56 - Raby Gueye: Founding Teach for Senegal
Raby Gueye is the founder and CEO of Teach For Senegal, which seeks to raise educational outcomes in Senegal so that one day every Senegalese child feels seen, loved, and liberated. She has a remarkable story that brought her from her native Senegal to the United States as a refugee. She dedicated her life to social justice issues, and a series of career choices and observations led her to returning to Senegal to create a program called Teach for Senegal, that gives young Africans the room to finally solve their own issues—without aid—and prepare children for the real world. Hers is an inspiring tale of following your heart and your intuition. Full episode: https://rosspalmer.com/raby-gueye
Tue, November 23, 2021
The Vehicle vs. The Destination: Why Crazy Career Changes Aren’t as Crazy as We Think
If your life hasn't taken a straight and obvious path, you're not alone. In fact, many people you admire have taken crazy detours before arriving on the right path for them. For the full article: https://rosspalmer.com/the-vehicle-vs-the-destination/
Sun, November 21, 2021
What is Beat the Often Path!?
The old models of success are broken and won't work in the new world. If you’re not sure how your unique skills and interests add up to a meaningful career you love, then this is the podcast for you. I interview people who have forged their own path in life, defying conventions and finding something bigger than money to believe in. Find show highlights, research notes, videos and more at beattheoftenpath.com .
Fri, November 19, 2021
Ep. 55 - Isabel Medem: Disrupting Sanitation on World Toilet Day
It's World Toilet Day! Isabel Medem is the co-founder of Sanima, a social startup that took on the challenge of providing sanitation to Lima, Peru, a city where 850,000+ people are denied access to basic sanitation, something most of us take for granted every day. World toilet day raises awareness of the fact that roughly 3.6 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation.
Fri, November 12, 2021
Ep. 54 - Andrew Tarvin: Professional Corporate Humorist, Author + Keynote Speaker
Andrew Tarvin is a seasoned public speaker and author, with a TED talk called “The Skill of Humor” that’s garnered over 11 million views as of this taping. He’s the author of 3 bestselling books on humor, and he’s delivered over 500 talks on humor to some of the largest companies in the world. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, November 05, 2021
Ep. 53 - Debra Fine: Bestselling Author + Keynote Speaker
Debra Fine went from feeling uncomfortable in social situations to building an impressive solo career as an author and keynote speaker. She turned her greatest weakness and fear into her greatest strength and asset. She’s now a multiple bestselling author, speaker, coach, and mentor to other authors, my own father among them. Her story is proof that with grit and determination (and sometimes our backs up against a wall), we can persevere and achieve remarkable things. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Sun, October 31, 2021
A horrifying Halloween tale...
It's Halloween... A time for scary stories that will rock you to your core. Take heed, so that you don't follow the example of this chilling tale. And also -- eat some candy. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 29, 2021
Ep. 52 - Dr. Ramses Alcaide: The Future of Wearable Neurotechnology
Dr. Ramses Alcaide is the co-founder and CEO of Neurable, a company creating wearable brain control interfaces. Their flagship product is a pair of headphones that can respond to your brainwaves just by wearing them as normal. Suffice it to say, few people out there are as on the bleeding edge of what’s to come as Dr. Alcaide, so today we talk about how he was able to build his company, follow his passion, find his "why", and shape the future of human technology along the way. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Wed, October 27, 2021
Investing in Your Mission [The Ugly Truth]
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." - Hunter S. Thompson. So you've decided to become a professional weirdo like me! You're ready to cast aside the shackles of an ordinary life and leap into the unknown. Great! So what now? Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 22, 2021
Ep. 51 - Celia Pool: Creator of Award-winning Period Products
Commercially sold tampons and feminine hygiene products are horrible for both your body and for the environment, leeching tons of harmful toxins and contributing greatly to plastic waste. This “small” issue affects half of the planet, and all of us indirectly, so it’s about time we started to have an open conversation about topics that were stupidly previously taboo. Celia has received several awards for her groundbreaking, carbon-positive start-up DAME, and she really embodies the spirit of the social entrepreneur. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 15, 2021
Ep. 50 - 50th Episode Spectacular!
I can't believe the incredible people that have sat down with me on the show so far. When I look back at the first 50 episodes, it's hard to believe how many truly remarkable people have shared their stories. I wanted to take this time to reflect on where we've come from and where we're going. Here's to 50 more! Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 08, 2021
Ep. 49 - Catalin Voss: A Better Way to Teach Reading
Catalin is one of those rare individuals on the absolute bleeding edge of tech, who puts social entrepreneurship first. He’s been named Forbes 30 under 30, his startup Ello uses machine learning to teach children how to read, he’s used AI to look into criminal justice reform in the US, and he’s used augmented reality to help give people with autism emotional cues. We talk about mentorship in silicon valley, getting your ideas off the ground, and how you can make a difference in our modern world. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, October 01, 2021
Ep. 48 - Becca Hume: Founder of TapSOS, Helping People with Disabilities in Emergencies
Becca Hume is the founder of TapSOS. If you’re able to speak or hear, you take for granted that you can pick up the phone and dial 911 here in the US, or 999 where she’s from. But for deaf people and the 650 million people with disabilities around the world, these critical moments are not easy or even possible. She made it her life’s mission to change the outdated emergency support systems, fundamentally improving the way we all get access to help.
Fri, September 24, 2021
Ep. 47 - Beeing: The Game-changer of Urban Beekeeping
Beeing is an Italian start-up revolutionizing the way bees are kept and tracked. As it turns out, bees are so much more remarkable than we’ve ever known, and I think you’ll agree after this episode that this small company, founded by Roberto Pasi and Gabriele Garavini, is really doing something worthwhile. Their share their knowledge and passion for bees, and I express my ignorance -- it's a win/win! Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 17, 2021
Ep. 46 - Babar Ali: The Man Who Brought Education to His People
Babar Ali is an inspirational story like you’ve never heard before. When he was just 9 years old, he started his own school. Many children in his village were unable to get an education due to extreme poverty, and he took everything he learned from his own education and taught it to other children in his backyard. 19 years later, he has his own school with 400 students a year, he’s been recognized by the BBC, TED, Forbes, and more. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 10, 2021
Ep. 45 - Aaron Baker: Motocross Spinal Cord Injury to Author and Activist
Have you ever had a moment… where without warning, the path of your entire life was irrevocably changed? That’s what happened to my guest today. Aaron Baker was a professional motocross rider, with sponsors and a promising career. His bike stalled mid-air, leaving him with a career-ending spinal cord injury. He was given a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of ever regaining function. He’s turned that all around, using entrepreneurship and extreme dedication to build a center for people in similar situations, becoming an advocate and ambassador for the cause. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, September 03, 2021
Ep. 44 - Mitch Schols: Why We Need Biodegradable Golf Balls
300 million golf balls are lost in the US alone each year. They take between 100 and 1,000 years to decompose. We NEED a better solution. Mitch Schols is a founder of biodegradablegolfballs.com, a fledgling company with goals to make a high-performance, eco-friendly golf ball. I dream of a day when we can shank our ball into the lake and not cause an environmental catastrophe! Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 27, 2021
Ep. 43 - Lisa Lindahl: Inventor of the Sports Bra, Writer & Activist
Lisa Lindahl is the inventor of the sports bra, or as it was known back then, the Jogbra. Her invention has changed the world of women’s sports forever, earning her a place in the Smithsonian and in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Washington alongside legendary inventors like Thomas Edison. She’s also an author, a champion of epilepsy education and empowerment, and the inventor of a device for people recovering from breast cancer. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 20, 2021
Ep. 42 - Ben Stern: An Empire of Plastic-Free Consumer Goods
Ben Stern is the CEO and founder of Nohbo, Inc., a high-growth start-up that eliminates single-use plastic in a variety of consumer-facing products, like shampoo, bath products, and more. At a young age, Ben was featured on Shark Tank, where billionaire Mark Cuban invested in his company. Now he’s on a meteoric rise to greatness, with a mission that’s really worth rallying behind. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 13, 2021
Ep. 41 - Sharon Rowe: Why a $2 Million Business is the "Sweet Spot"
In 1989, Sharon Rowe built a business with no outside funding called ECOBAGS. She helped pioneer the greater shift away from single-use plastic and towards more sustainable business packaging and practices. She’s also the author of The Magic of Tiny Business, and she’s built an amazing life for herself, her employees, and her family. Oh and she also has a background in theater, so we’ve got that in common too! What an inspiring story we have today… Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, August 06, 2021
Ep. 40 - So You Want to Work Remotely?
On your quest for unusual success stories and inspirational tales, I’m sure you’ve noticed that many coveted jobs are all remote. From Tim Ferriss’s iconic-if-possibly-misleading 4-hour Workweek to the DJs I’ve interviewed to record label managers to songwriters to thought leaders à la Simon Sinek, Marie Forleo, and more -- many of the world’s most coveted jobs/businesses are remote or at least, location-independent. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 30, 2021
Ep. 39 - Leah Bonnema: Stand-up Comedian and Writer
Leah Bonnema is a stand-up comedian and writer who recently moved from NYC to LA. She’s done performances on network television and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (a personal hero of mine), and she’s also written full-length books and scripts in addition to co-hosting a weekly podcast, Were You Raised by Wolves with Nick Leighton. Today we talk about making it as a comic in this crazy world. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, July 23, 2021
Ep. 38 - Vidjay Beerepoot: Composer for Disney
Are your goals big enough? Are you chasing after something that you could consider your life’s work? Or are you like me, still searching for that unique combination of awesomeness? Tune in either way, because today’s guest is Vidjay Beerepoot, composer for Disney and TV/Film in Hollywood. We’ll talk about how he set the right goals and chased them down with relentless persistence, setting his targets in spans of 20 years, not 20 days. It’s such excellent stuff for someone who’s as impatient as me. His story is nothing short of remarkable. He packed up and moved to LA with a dream, and now he’s making that very big dream a very big reality. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Sat, July 10, 2021
Ep. 37 - Season 3 Highlights
That's a wrap on season 3 of the podcast! We've had some remarkable guests this season, from entrepreneurs to charitable organization founders to social media experts to a reporter for the NHL and so much more, the range of talent and skill this season has been immense. I'm beyond honored that these fine people have shared their wisdom with me! Follow me: @therosspalmer on Instagram
Fri, July 02, 2021
Ep. 36 - Vikrant Shaurya: How to Write a Bestseller
Once upon a time, Vikrant was down to his last dollar. He wrote several books—even though he doesn’t consider himself a writer—trying to get a bestseller. From there the idea was born to create an “angel writing” service for people who want to create a bestselling book but aren’t writers, and that idea has blossomed into a successful business for him. This episode talks about what it takes to sell a book if you want to make one, and we also talk about how he created a successful business. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 25, 2021
Ep. 35 - Nicola Cavanagh: From Corporate Director to Entrepreneur and Bodybuilder
Nicola Cavanagh had her life all planned out. She was succeeding in the corporate world, she fought hard to attain that coveted “director” status. But the further she climbed, the more she realized the corporate world wasn’t for her. So she set out on her own to build her own recruitment company. Oh - did I mention she also became a medal-winning bodybuilder? We talk about that critical moment when a person decides “enough is enough” and sets out on their own. If you’ve considered making the leap, this episode is for you. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
S3 E34 · Fri, June 18, 2021
Sepncer Kitson: From Creative to Entrepreneur
When I started this podcast… Spencer Kitson was exactly the type of person I was hoping to find. You’ll notice that this is one of the longer episodes we’ve had on this podcast, because this South African man hasn’t just lived one story, he’s lived four or five. He built a career in music from the ground up, then completely switched gears to get into mining and mineral trading. But that was just the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey… Truly this is a fascinating tale that almost defies belief… It’s like the story you’d find in a movie, but it’s proof of all the many different “seasons” one life can have. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 11, 2021
Ep. 33 - Ferreck Dawn: Producer/DJ
Freek Coppens, otherwise known as Ferreck Dawn, is a Dutch musician and DJ with millions of streams per month. Before COVID, he was touring the globe continuously. In this episode, we talk about how he was able to achieve his goals by staying determined and never losing sight of what he wanted in life. It’s such an inspiring tale of triumphing against all odds. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, June 04, 2021
Ep. 32 - Why I Created This Podcast
Aside from being a brilliant play on words, (kidding), Beat the Often Path was born out of my own desire for better input. I wanted to share some insights into the "why" of this podcast, to help you put a context around what you're hearing.
Fri, May 28, 2021
Ep. 31 - Kara Hammer: Reporter for the Nashville Predators on Bally Sports
Kara Hammer is a reporter for the Nashville Predators NHL hockey team on Bally Sports. When you discover how Kara stuck with a dream with single-minded focus, I know you are going to be as impressed with her story as I am. We’ll learn how she worked her way up the food chain to a coveted spot as an NHL reporter, fulfilling a childhood dream. This episode is perfect for anyone looking for validation that yes, you CAN achieve what you set out to, as long as you approach your unusual path in the right way. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, May 21, 2021
Ep. 30 - Lori Tierney: Cycling for Charity After Retirement
Lori Tierney worked for many years at one of the top language institutes in the Netherlands. When she retired, she was left with the question, as so many are, of what comes next? Never one to back down from a challenge, she began a series of long-distance bike treks around the world - a journey that led her to set up a foundation in Kenya. Now she’s using her talents to make the world a better place, and her story contains deep wisdom on life and making big changes for anyone willing to hear it. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, May 14, 2021
Ep. 29 - Norman Lenden: From Trance Music Pioneer to Marketer
Norman Lenden was half of the successful DJ group “Mark Norman”. For nearly a decade, he played some of the world’s largest festivals - Tomorrowland, Trance Energy, and he toured the globe professionally. Now that he’s a father, he’s transitioned into his new role as marketing manager for RAI Amsterdam, one of the largest events centers in the Netherlands. We talk about following your passion(s), career transitions, and coming out on top. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, May 07, 2021
Ep. 28 - John Vuong: Building an SEO Company from Scratch
John Vuong created an SEO company in Canada - before he knew anything about SEO. He worked in sales for many years before making the leap to business owner, starting a company and flying by the seat of his pants. Now, he's thriving and built a successful team and business! This story is so relevant to anyone looking to start a business, especially if they are unsure of the next steps to take. There’s so much inspiration in here and practical advice that I know you’ll appreciate. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 30, 2021
Ep. 27 - Maruja Retana: Creator of Vocal Psychology®
Maruja Retana has a fascinating success story. She started out as a psychologist, then became a professional singer, becoming a finalist in Dutch X-Factor, getting a few radio hits under her belt, and performing routinely for thousands of people each weekend. A few years ago, she realized that many singers and songwriters suffered from the same problems, both internal and external, so she became a coach for artists, creating her Vocal Psychology® program. Now she’s a public speaker and mentor. This episode is for you if you’ve ever thought about switching careers or if you aren’t sure how seemingly different aspects of your life can fit together into a new vision. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, April 23, 2021
Ep. 26 - Chongor Goncz: On Creating Pensado's Place, a Haven for Audio Engineers
Chongor Goncz was responsible for running and building the award-winning YouTube show, Pensado’s Place, for many years, doing hundreds of episodes. This show has long been THE staple of the audio engineering world, and it has achieved impressive notoriety. Chongor is a multi-talented digital expert - he’s a music producer, an audio engineer, and videographer, editor, show producer and so much more. Follow me on Insta: @therosspalmer For more episodes visit beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, April 16, 2021
Ep. 25 - Will Boyajian: A Selfless Non-Profit for the Homeless
Will was inspired to start performing music in New York City subways, but with a twist — instead of playing for money, he told his listeners to leave money if they had it and to take it directly from his guitar case if they needed it. He’s expanded this simple concept online during the pandemic, where he’s now able to help people in need from all around the world via live streaming his music and donating all proceeds. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 26, 2021
Ep. 24 - Joshua Torrans: General Manager for Unicycle.com
The old saying is “it takes twice the person to ride half the bike”. So today we’re representing unicyclists everywhere with my guest, the general manager of unicycle.com , Joshua Torrans. Unicycle.com is where I bought my first unicycle many many years ago - I was *always* super cool, didn’t you know?? - and today they are a thriving e-commerce store that serves the unicycling community. Joshua is extremely passionate about what he does, and this episode is proof that you can build a sustainable business around your hobby and passion! Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 19, 2021
Ep. 23 - Kendra Richardson: The Founder of Funky Town Fridge Fights Food Deserts
Kendra Richardson is the founder of Funky Town Fridge - a community-driven fridge with the goal of reducing food apartheid in Fort Worth, Texas. I was immediately drawn to her story, because she saw injustice in her community and made that crucial step to do something about it, investing her own money and time to build something for the greater good. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 12, 2021
Ep. 22 - Benton Crane: Hilarious Advertising that Works
Benton Crane is the CEO of Harmon Brothers, one of the most exciting marketing/ad agencies in the digital space today. You may not know the company, but you’ve probably seen their work. With clients like Kodiak Cakes, Squatty Potty, Poopourri, Lime Deodorant, Purple Mattress, and more, Harmon Brothers have generated hundreds of millions in sales for start-ups with funny, long-form digital advertisements. Follow me on insta: @therosspalmer
Fri, March 05, 2021
Ep. 21 - Natalie Cola: Social Media Strategist for Goalcast
Natalie Cola has managed the social media accounts of everyone from big-league DJs to record labels, and now she does social media for Goalcast, one of the most impressive media companies in the digital world. If I’m not mistaken, Goalcast has some 44 million followers across all their channels, so suffice to say, Natalie knows what she’s doing!
Fri, February 26, 2021
Ep. 20 - Maren Brombeiss: Artist and Label Manager of Last Night on Earth
Today’s guest is Maren Brombeiss, A&R and label manager for Last Night on Earth, record label of legendary house music DJ Sasha - a long-time personal favorite of mine since childhood. She’s also an artist manager of Weval, JP Enfant, and Sasha himself. I’m a religious listener to LNOE, so I’m truly honored to have her here to discuss both her work and how she started her career on the management side of music. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify! beattheoftenpath.com
Fri, February 19, 2021
Ep. 19 - Canyon Castator: Life as a Thriving Artist & Studio Owner
Canyon Castator is an enigma wrapped in a mystery packed in a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. He is a successful independent artist, which also makes him a successful entrepreneur. His story is so inspiring, because he's taken a passion and turned it into not only a thriving career for himself, but he's also built his own co-working space where he helps bring up other artists in Downtown LA as well. Follow me on Instagram - @therosspalmer!
Fri, February 12, 2021
Ep. 18 - David May: Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
David May is the Director of Marketing for the Los Angeles Regional food bank, one of the most impressive food bank operations in the world. Sadly, each month, his organization needs to feed 900,000+ people. In this episode, he shares deeply troubling statistics about the food insecurity epidemic not just in LA, but around the US and world. The silver lining? He has found personal joy and career satisfaction through working for and supporting a truly noble cause. I know you will love this episode! Follow me on Instagram - @therosspalmer!
Fri, February 05, 2021
Ep. 17 - Raven Faber: Should We Discuss Important Issues on our Social Media?
Raven Faber is the founder of an increasingly-successful CannaSexTech company, with several national distributors. Watching her entrepreneurial journey has been an inspiration! Recently, I asked: "With so much crazy s*** happening in the world, should we speak up on social media or not?" This episode is her response.
Fri, January 29, 2021
Ep. 16 - Connor Clerx: Reporter for Dutch National Radio Station
Connor Clerx is a reporter for Dutch national radio station BNR. He's had a lifelong passion for radio, making his first appearance on local airwaves as a teenager. Now he's worked his way up the ranks to be the on-air talent for a major radio station, where he is heard by tens of thousands of listeners daily. We get into this fascinating line of work in this episode, and you can learn more about how one can become a radio presenter. Most importantly you get to listen to a professional at work! (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, January 22, 2021
Ep. 15 - Victoria Breckhoven: Expat Special! EU Public Affairs & Communications Expert
EXPAT SPECIAL! Because when we are thinking outside the box, we have to be open to entirely different living situations. Victoria is an American-born European Union public affairs and communications expert who has been living in Brussels, Belgium for over 12 years. We cover a lot of the nitty-gritty details of choosing to live your life in another country, and Victoria is a great example of someone who has risen to success in a different culture, learning new languages along the way. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
S2 E14 · Fri, January 15, 2021
EveAnna Manley: Owner Manley Laboratories (Pro Audio / Hi-Fi)
EveAnna Manley is, quite simply, a powerhouse. She's the owner of Manley Laboratories, an industry-leading professional audio and hi-fi audio company in California. They are best known for building high-end audio equipment, including their famous microphones which gained popularity after being used by major artists such as Etta James, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Shania Twain, and many of the world's top pop stars and voiceover talent - including Don LaFontaine, who was known for his “in a world” trailers.
Fri, January 08, 2021
Ep. 13 - Dror Tamir: CEO of World's First Comercial Grasshopper Farm
Dror Tamir of Hargol FoodTech in Israel has an incredible story. He built the world's first commercial grasshopper farm, with the goal of creating a new and more sustainable protein to meet the challenges of the future. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, December 18, 2020
Ep. 12 - Dustin Barnett: Entrepreneur, Musician, and Filmmaker
Dustin Barnett founded a chain of successful vape shops in Colorado called Vapor Core. Vaping is clearly a controversial subject for many, so we approach this talk from both inspirational/entrepreneurial standpoints as well as ethical. One thing is for sure, Dustin Barnett has a very inspirational story and personal life, and his journey will give you plenty of food for thought on how to structure your life and business for maximum happiness! (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, December 11, 2020
Ep. 11 - Mollie Engelhart: Founder of a Regenerative CSA Box Company and Restaurateur
Mollie Engelhart represents what a positive vision of the future can look like. She's opened successful vegan restaurants with Woody Harrelson, she's the founder of Sow a Heart Farm, and she's a mission-driven, regenerative food entrepreneur. When the pandemic hit, she started a new CSA box to distribute organic food from her farm directly to the community - this is an episode you won't want to miss. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, December 04, 2020
Ep. 10 - Evan La Ruffa: Mixing Art & Entrepreneurship with a Non-Profit
Evan La Ruffa founded an awesome, mission-driven non-profit for art called I Paint My Mind, and this episode dispels myths about building a non-profit (as well as explains how you CAN make *good* money doing it). He shares why many more entrepreneurs should consider starting a non-profit instead of a business to enact the change they want to see. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, November 27, 2020
Ep. 9 - Jacob Abrams: The Most Subtly Awesome Career in Hollywood
Jacob Abrams has built a highly profitable career in the film business through a combination of expertise in lighting and equipment rentals. He's crafted a very unique business model that is highly inspirational for those looking to break into the film industry. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, November 20, 2020
Ep. 08 - Ben Allman: Finding Happiness Through Working with the Differently Abled
Ben Allman has built a start-up called 4abilities (4abilities.org) to help the differently-abled. And he's found happiness and meaning through a life of serving a greater purpose with an entrepreneurial spirit. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, November 13, 2020
Ep. 07 - Isabel Galupo: Children's TV Writer for Nickelodeon
Isabel Galupo is a children's TV writer for Nickelodeon, published author, and activist. She's worked on iconic Nickelodeon properties such as Dora the Explorer, The Fairly OddParents, SpongeBob SquarePants, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Casagrandes. Now she's a current staff Writer on an unannounced Nickelodeon action-comedy show (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, October 30, 2020
Ep. 05 - Scott Frankfurt: Grammy-winning Producer, Musician, and Recording Engineer
Scott Frankfurt is someone I admire deeply, and in the music business, he's done it all. If anyone is living my dream life right now, it's him! From decades of hit records to being the VP of Spectrasonics to winning Grammy's to working with some of the literal top musicians in the game, to say that Scott has "made it" is an understatement. And more importantly, he's a great human being and a true friend. I'm deeply humbled and honored that he sat down for a chat with me, and I know you're going to love this episode. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, October 23, 2020
Ep. 04 - Tienus Konijnenburg: World class songwriter, artist, and performer.
Tienus, otherwise known as Goldkimono, is a world-class songwriter and musician. He's racked up hundreds of millions of plays on Spotify, writing songs for some of the world's biggest artists, like Kygo, Robin Schulz, and many more. A truly gifted multi-instrumentalist, Tienus' authenticity and unique approach to creative business makes him one of the most unique and inspiring success stories I know of. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, October 16, 2020
Ep. 03 - Raven Faber: CannaSexTech Is a Real Thing?
Before this interview, I didn't even know "CannaSexTech" was a word! But apparently, it's a thing. It's a highly unusual thing, from a highly unusual, highly intelligent person. And that made it ripe for the picking for my podcast. Raven is an awesome person with an awesome story, and there's so much to learn about building your own business without compromising and exploring new terrain. (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Fri, October 09, 2020
Ep. 02 - Marwen Tlili: Golden Boy A&R and Independent Music Industry Entrepreneur
In this episode, my guest is a self-made music industry entrepreneur, who was one of the bright young A&R stars of Armada Music in Amsterdam. He's got a knack for unearthing "hits", and he knows how to spot great acts and artists from a mile away. He got his start in the world of dance music/EDM/house music and has since moved onto pop music, racking up Spotify plays like nobody's business! Most importantly for our show, he's someone who's NEVER been afraid to go against the grain, and he has lived his life in a very authentic and unique way that I think you will appreciate. Lots of gold in here! (C) 2020 Aloa LLC, All Rights Reserved
Mon, September 28, 2020
Ep. 01 - Mental Theo: The Crazy Path of a Dutch Hardstyle Legend
In this episode, I have a conversation with one of the fathers of Hardstyle and Happy Hardcore music, DJ Mental Theo. Theo is a guilty pleasure of Dutch and European audiences, and he still plays over 100 shows a year after all these years. A multi-millionaire DJ you may not have heard of, there's a LOT in his story to be learned for creatives who wish to succeed at business.
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