The Impact Economy

In this episode of The Impact Economy, Varan Pathmanathan takes us through his journey founding make!mpact and how the next generation of investors will pur their money where their heart it. We cover make!mpact's startup journey, the challenges which Varan faced as an impact-oriented founder in the traditional world of finance, and their current experience raising capital. 

Today on the show we have Alisa Murphy, the founder and CEO of cleantech communications agency Life Size Media. With offices in Berlin and London, Life Size builds brands, shares stories and grows businesses for cleantech clients across Europe. In this episode of The Impact Economy, we discuss all things cleantech communications, the benefits of brand storytelling for sustainable businesses and as an avid advocate for storytelling, especially in this technical, jargon-filled impact industry, I can safely say that Alisa’s approach is a breath of fresh air.

Today on the show is Teague Egan, an American businessman, entrepreneur, investor, inventor, and philanthropist. He’s the CEO of EnergyX, a sustainable energy company focused on lithium extraction, separation, recovery, and refinery technology, as well as solid-state battery storage. By Combining these technologies, Energy X is creating a process that dramatically lowers the cost of lithium resources. The company’s goal is to develop technology and assets that turn it into one of the premier, low-cost lithium providers for the growing lithium-ion battery industry. In this episode, we discuss the advent of the lithium industry, the opportunity which sustainable transformations in the economy brings as well as his practical advice for hardware solution founders raising capital. 

James Ellsmore is a social entrepreneur with a key focus on renewable energy and sustainable development for remote, rural and island communities. He's the founder of Island Innovation a strategic consulting agency focused on creating resilient and sustainable island communities around the world, the co-founder of NGO Solar Head of State and a virtual events consultant. In this episode, we discuss the challenges which islands face from climate change as well as the economic challenges of a monoculture economy, how islands can be perfect incubation ecosystems for sustainable technology and how James started Island Innovation from the ground up whilst living the digital nomad life in Medellin.

Tom Breunig is the founder & publisher of Cleantech Concepts and a leading authority on business development in the rapidly expanding Californian cleantech sector. In this episode, I talk to Tom about how he works alongside some of the most exciting clean technology startups in the Valley, about the practical steps which impact-driven founders can take to establish themselves as thought leaders in the emerging ecosystem and how founders can communicate better to scale their impact. This episode is the second in the Impact Economy series, a podcast that bridges the gap between sustainability and entrepreneurship.

David Hunt is the founder & CEO of Hyperion Executive Search and a prominent figure and thought leader in the cleantech sector. Hailed as a leading green entrepreneur by the Financial Times, David also presents at industry events such as EcoSummit, Energy Storage Europe and Fully Charged Live. In this episode, I talk to David about his journey into the cleantech sector, becoming a founder and how others can follow in his footsteps. This episode is the first in the Impact Economy series, a podcast which bridges the gap between sustainability and entrepreneurship.