The Capitalist Hippie

What if one of the biggest energy wins in your home is hiding in plain sight? In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Luke Winston-Almanzar, CEO and co-founder of Reservoir. Together, they break down why hot water is a surprisingly large slice of household energy use, how smart heat pump tech can deliver ~4x efficiency, and why "connected" home hardware...

Protein isn't just a fitness buzzword; it's the foundation of our food future. In this episode, Marco sits down with Thijs Bosch, CEO of The Protein Brewery, to explore how brewing fungal strains could replace factory farms. They unpack the company's recent $30M funding round and how that capital is fueling a new era of sustainable, scalable protein. Together, they unpack what this breakthrough in...

Agriculture isn't broken — it's misunderstood. In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Ali Cox, Olympian and founder of Noble West, to explore how storytelling is reshaping the future of food. From rice fields to pistachio ads, Ali reveals how farmers are reclaiming their place in the value chain by turning transparency into strategy. They dig into why...

The space race was exciting. The climate race is urgent.  In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel talks with former NASA engineer, Grant Gunnison, about how he founded Zero Homes to reimagine how Americans power their homes. With 20% of U.S. emissions coming from single-family houses, Zero Homes is using software, data, and design to make retrofits effortless, turning...

Can retired EV batteries help solve our energy crisis? In this episode, Nick Nesbitt, founder of Mapleview Energy reveals how they are transforming used electric vehicle batteries into commercial-scale energy storage solutions. By repurposing batteries with 70-80% remaining capacity, they're tackling critical grid capacity challenges, creating circular economy infrastructure, and turning waste int...

AI isn't just reshaping our digital world; it's rewriting the energy equation. As data centers surge and demand could reach 11% of global electricity by 2030, climate tech investors and founders face a stark choice: can we power the AI boom while staying on track for decarbonization? In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Nick van Osdol, who's both inv...

Wildfires don't sleep, so why should our firefighting technology? In this episode, host Marco Pimentel sits down with aerospace engineer and FireSwarm co-founder Alex Deslauriers, whose personal experience during Canada's worst wildfire season inspired a bold new idea: deploying AI-powered drone swarms to fight fires 24/7. With heavy-lift drones carrying 350kg payloads and flying when helicopters...

A third of all food produced never reaches our plates. Apeel set out to change that—with an idea and a $10,000 prize from a university venture competition that turned into a $2B food-tech disruptor. In this episode, Jenny Du reveals how a plant-based "second skin" is reshaping the global supply chain and keeping produce fresh without plastic, chemicals, or cold storage.

What if the key to fixing food security and boosting property value was hiding in plain sight, right above our heads? MicroHabitat co-founder Orlane Panet is turning unused rooftops into thriving urban farms across 14 cities, with over 400 farms and 3x year-over-year growth. In just 250 sq ft, she's proving you can grow more than vegetables; you can grow community, resilience, and profit. From cli...

This isn't just another swimwear startup - it's a $15K, single-SKU experiment that exploded into 300% annual growth. In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Londre Bodywear, a brand redefining fashion by embracing the philosophy of doing less, but doing it better. Here's how Ainsley Rose, co-founder and CEO of Londre Bodywear, turned plastic waste into cult classics and bootstrapped a climat...

This isn't planting trees—it's a return to the wisdom we clear-cut away. This episode delves into how Chestnut Carbon has raised $160 million to transform degraded land into climate-positive assets, reimagining carbon credits from the ground up. By buying land outright, restoring native forests, and building trust with enterprise buyers like Microsoft, Chestnut Carbon is proving that nature-based...

Success is designing for impact, not interruption. EcoCart built a carbon offset tool that meets consumers exactly where they are: at checkout. In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie, Marco Pimentel sits down with Dane Baker, founder of EcoCart , to explore what happens when climate impact becomes a default, not a disruption . You'll learn how brands like Walmart Canada, Cotopaxi, and Chamberlai...

Most food waste solutions focus on consumers. Freshr took a different path—embedding antimicrobial technology directly into packaging film to extend salmon shelf life by days without touching the food. In this episode, CEO Mina Mekhail shares how they pivoted from produce to proteins, turned customer objections into product breakthroughs, and built a biotech startup that's scaling faster than you'...

Price. Convenience. Taste. Can your brand deliver? Annalea Krebs, founder of Social Nature, joins the show to unpack the brutal balancing act every sustainable CPG founder faces. In a world where consumers demand it all — low prices, easy access, great taste, and environmental impact — building a brand that scales isn't just hard, it's war. With insights from over 3 million product reviews and a d...

For Earth Month, we're spotlighting a browser turning everyday internet use into climate action. Marco sits down with Neil Henderson and Mahum Azeem from Shift to explore how they're reimagining the web browser as a tool for reducing digital emissions. From email and streaming to Slack and beyond, Shift is tackling the hidden climate cost of our online lives—without compromising performance. A mus...

The Capitalist Hippie (Formerly Someone Like You) Photon is building electric propulsion systems for commercial boats—and unlocking a $16B market in the process. In this episode, founders Marcelino Alvarez and Alana Kambury share how a focused go-to-market strategy, real-world use cases, and deep hardware-software integration are driving adoption in one of the most overlooked sectors in electrific...

Lithium demand is skyrocketing, but traditional extraction methods are water-intensive, expensive, and slow. That's where  Lithios comes in. In this episode, founder Mo Alkhadra reveals how his breakthrough technology is making lithium extraction faster, cleaner, and more cost-effective—unlocking new resources to power the EV revolution. Tune in to learn how innovation is reshaping the global supp...

What happens when a Google engineer walks away from a high-paying career to fight the climate crisis? He discovers a massive, overlooked problem: there aren't nearly enough people working on climate solutions—yet millions want to be. In this episode, Eugene Kirpichov, co-founder and executive director of Work on Climate, shares how he's helping thousands transition into impactful climate careers a...

In this episode, we explore the cutting-edge science helping farmers fight back against extreme weather. Marco sits down with Sue Abrams and Jerome Konecsni of ABAzyne Bioscience, the brilliant minds behind a revolutionary plant-based solution that helps vineyards and orchards withstand cold temperatures and drought. With climate change putting our global food supply at risk, this conversation div...

Stripe, Shopify, and Google are some of the world's most innovative companies that are working with Carbon Run. Why? Because temporary solutions to climate change, like tree-planting credits, aren't enough anymore. Carbon Run has stepped up with a revolutionary approach that delivers permanent carbon removal, restores ecosystems and improves biodiversity through enhanced rock weathering and river...

In this eye-opening episode of Someone Like You, Mitchell, founder of The Better Butchers, opens up about his extraordinary entrepreneurial journey. Learn how he helped scale The Very Good Butchers to a near-billion-dollar valuation, only to face the harsh realities of rapid growth, public markets, and eventual insolvency. Now focused on The Better Butchers, Mitchell reveals his lessons learned, i...

This week, we're re-airing one of our favourite episodes featuring Felix Böck, Founder & CEO of ChopValue, a certified B Corp based in Vancouver, Canada, that creates high-performance circular economy designs made entirely from recycled bamboo chopsticks. Hailing from South Germany, Felix came to Canada to complete a PhD at the University of British Columbia in Innovation on Composite Materials wi...

In this episode of Someone Like You, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Kristy O'Leary, the bold founder of Decade, a consultancy that's turning traditional business models on their head. From growing up in a social enterprise to challenging the idea that profit and purpose can't coexist, Kristy shares her bold vision for the future of business. Kristy doesn't shy away from controversy. She calls...

In this episode of Someone Like You, Anie Rouleau, Founder and CEO of The Unscented Company, shares her inspiring journey of building a purpose-driven business reshaping the cleaning and personal care industry. From starting her company at 43 to challenging entrenched norms, Anie opens up about the struggles and triumphs of creating a brand that prioritizes sustainability, innovation, and social i...

Food sustainability is a critical issue in our society, so is there a way to sustainably build businesses that combat this issue? Corwin Hibert, best-selling author, co-founder of multiple businesses, and host of the podcast Aisle 42 explores the principle of sustainability in the food sector on a daily basis. As VP of Strategic Partnerships for the Ethical Food Group in Vancouver, Hiebert helps b...