Conscious Tech

Textile waste generates more greenhouse gas emissions than aviation and shipping combined, and most of what's produced ends up landfilled or burned. In this episode, Sera Tajima talks with Jean-Michel Scheuren, founder of Novobiom, about how fungi, nature's recyclers and chemists, can turn that waste into value. Jean-Michel breaks down how Novobiom uses fermentation, genomic modeling, and AI to separate cotton from polyester in blended textile waste, and how the same platform powers their bioremediation work decontaminating former industrial sites across Europe and their biotech partnership with L'Oréal. The conversation also touches on the shifting venture landscape for deep tech and biotech.
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00:00 – Intro
01:24 – How Jean-Michel got into mycellium
02:17 – Fungi as nature's recyclers and chemists
03:35 – Why fungi over chemistry
06:27 – The scale of textile waste
07:30 – Reframing waste as a resource
09:44 – Why cotton-polyester blends are "free food" for fungi
14:08 – The client request that started Novobiom's textile work19:06 – The L'Oréal partnership
34:39 – Expanding into bioremediation
36:16 – Why bioremediation is cost-effective but underused
52:40 – The shifting VC landscape for deep tech and biotech
53:04 – Lightning round
55:22 – The meeting that changed Jean-Michel's life
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Jinna Li and John Mairlot are the married GPs behind Endgame Capital — one of Europe's most commercially rigorous climate funds. In this episode, we get into their "climate denier proof" thesis, why they only back companies that win on economics alone, how they raised €8M in four months as first-time fund managers, and what European startups need to finally cross the chasm from lab to commercial contract.

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By 2035, cooling will consume more electricity than every data center on the planet combined. Yet, it remains one of the most underfunded problems in climate tech. In this episode, I sit down with Christian Hernandez, partner at 2150, one of Europe's leading urban tech funds, and Dr. Daniel Betts, founder of Blue Frontier, who spun his breakthrough cooling technology out of the National Renewable Energy Lab.

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[00:00] Christian's origin story: from Microsoft & Google to climate VC
[02:15] The contrarian bet: 50% of emissions, 11% of capital
[03:53] Why cooling? From comfort problem to survivability problem
[06:21] Daniel's story: from power generation to AC
[09:32] The technology was too good not to bring to market
[11:18] What actually happens to the grid during a heat wave
[13:50] What is a GigaCorn? Christian explains
[16:52] How Blue Frontier's technology works & liquid desiccant explained
[22:15] The refrigerant problem: 2,000x worse than CO2
[24:48] Why batteries aren't the answer: the California grid case study
[28:51] Cooling as a Service: Blue Frontier's business model
[31:56] What deep tech founders struggle with most
[37:11] "Ship what's on the truck," the no shiny things rule
[38:09] US vs. Europe: how 2150's pipeline has shifted
[39:36] Lessons from Fund 1: never underwrite subsidies
[40:36] Defense tech, dual use, and Article 9
[42:55] The unlock that would 10x the pace
[46:49] Lightning round
[48:04] Ichigo Ichie: the encounter that changed everything

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Andres Mitnik is the CEO of Strong by Form, a deep tech startup revolutionizing sustainable construction materials. With a background in civil engineering and advanced degrees from Harvard and NYU, Andres is tackling industrial decarbonization—responsible for 30% of global carbon emissions.
Strong by Form has developed Wood Flow, a next-generation timber composite that replaces steel, concrete, and aluminum at a fraction of the weight and, critically, at a price point competitive with traditional materials.
After seven years of development and over €5 million raised, the company has secured partnerships with industry giants including BMW, Deutsche Bahn, and Vinci. Now preparing for their Series A, Strong by Form is proving that climate tech can compete on both performance and cost in the $16 trillion construction industry.

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Chapters 📖
[00:00:00] Industrial Decarbonization & the Green Premium Challenge
[00:02:06] Why Hardware Matters: Beyond Software Solutions
[00:05:49] From Real Estate Consulting to Climate Tech
[00:08:11] Wood Flow Technology: 3D Wood Composites Explained
[00:11:21] Shape Optimization & Fiber Alignment Innovation
[00:13:44] Three Seasoned Founders: Dividing Technical & Business Roles
[00:17:16] Global Expansion: From Chile to Europe
[00:18:37] BMW Partnership & Mobility Applications
[00:19:25] The Holy Grail: Price Competitive with Concrete
[00:21:18] Finding Product-Market Fit in Deep Tech
[00:24:31] Building Visibility: Marketing a Physical Product
[00:27:27] Going to Market: Architecture, Mobility & Construction
[00:31:38] Product-Market Fit Research Insights
[00:36:41] The Catalog Strategy: Balancing Bespoke & Standardization
[00:38:34] Regulations, Durability & Fire Resistance
[00:42:18] Sustainable Wood Sourcing & Certification
[00:46:02] Cost vs. Sustainability: The Reality Check
[00:47:57] Seed Round to Series A: The Fundraising Journey
[00:51:38] Investor Milestones: Unit Economics & Production Costs
[00:54:01] Racing Through Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)
[00:56:23] Success, Challenges & Founder Lessons

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Sean Ellis is the OG growth hacker who built growth engines for Dropbox, Eventbrite, LogMeIn, and two other unicorns—shares the frameworks climate tech founders actually need to scale sustainably. Learn the one question that predicts product-market fit (his famous 40% rule), why 80% organic growth beats paid acquisition, how to architect your initial growth engine in 6 months, and the critical mistake that kills startups: scaling before PMF. Perfect for climate tech founders, VCs, and operators who want actionable growth strategies and pattern recognition from someone who's taken five companies from zero to billion-dollar valuations.

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Connect with Sean:
seanellis.me
seanellis.substack.com

Chapters 📖
[00:00:00] Meet the OG Growth Hacker
[00:00:15] From Budapest to 5 Unicorns: The Unconventional Path
[00:16:00] Why "Growth Hacking" Became a Movement
[00:26:48] Product-Market Fit: The 40% Rule
[00:26:48] The Lookout Story: 7% to 60% in 6 Months
[00:13:07] Freemium Strategy: The $4.3B LogMeIn Playbook
[00:38:20] How Dropbox Hit $1B Faster Than Any SaaS
[00:30:40] Growth Systems vs. Growth Hacks
[00:44:34] North Star Metrics: Avoiding Vanity Data
[00:54:44] When to Scale (And When to Wait)
[00:57:41] AI for Early-Stage Growth Teams
[01:01:21] Chemistry with Founders & Conscious Building

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