In this episode of the Techstars Climate Tech podcast, host Hannah Davis, Program Director of the Techstars Sustainability Accelerator in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, talks with Steph Speirs, CEO at Solstice, and Yoav Lurie, Founder of Simple Energy and now at Uplight, about their inspiration for founding renewable energy companies and the challenges and successes they’ve had so far. 

Renewable energy startups — and the entrepreneurs who found them — are crucial to the fight against climate change. These founders are smart, driven, and agile enough to see the opportunities in energy right now, and dive in. This is a fascinating time in energy, as renewable sources become cheaper and easier to democratize, reaching a more racially and economically diverse set of users, and big utility companies are also starting to see the need to get on board with sustainable initiatives. 

It wasn’t long ago that climate tech was unpopular. We’re grateful to see that changing. But here are some words of wisdom from Yoav to other entrepreneurs who are doing the right thing, even when no one else believes in their mission: “Don't be afraid to do the unpopular thing, because the rest of the world is just going to catch up.”

Listen to learn about community solar, energy savings at home, learning to work with utility companies, the importance of infrastructure, and more. 

Follow Solstice on Twitter @solarforgood

Follow Yoav on Twitter @yoavlurie