James Kanoff – Terradot
James Kanoff, a Symbolic Systems B.S. Stanford University student, had always been drawn to solving critical problems. He had heard about the sought after “Hacking for Defense (H4D)” course on campus and was captivated by the idea of using the Lean Launchpad methodology to tackle real-world challenges. In the spring of 2022, he learned that a climate-focused version of the H4D course, “Hacking for Climate and Sustainability (H4CS)” (now known as Innovation for Impact™ under NobleReach), was being offered. His background in climate initiatives and his already strong belief in the Lean LaunchPad approach made this course a perfect fit.
Teaming up with Sasankh Munukutla, BS, MS Computer Science, James embarked on the challenging journey of addressing soil carbon sequestration. Initially, they knew they wanted to contribute to carbon removal through enhanced rock weathering (ERW), a method of soil carbon sequestration James had been researching before taking H4CS. They quickly realized that measuring, reporting, and verifying (MRV) the carbon sequestered in the soil was a critical component of the puzzle.
Through their rigorous customer discovery, James and Sasankh narrowed in on two primary stakeholders: project developers (farmers, mine owners, & agronomist groups) capable of generating carbon removal through ERW projects and private entities willing to pay for carbon removal to meet net-zero goals.
One assumption they heard during their interviews was that farmers and developers were not interested in learning new farming processes and were “hesitant to deviate from trusted processes because of the operational and financial risk it poses.” After finding a project developer interested in working with them, they put together a Facebook ad campaign targeting farmers in Mexico, and that assumption was quickly disproven after they received hundreds of WhatsApp messages from farmers. They knew the most important thing here was to have the highest quality MRV system, to ensure that when someone claims they remove carbon, it is verifiable. “If you can measure it, we will pay for it,” James said, summarizing his customer discovery to Terradot’s potential clientele.
All their hard work culminated in receiving a grant from the TomKat Center for Innovation Transfer. This funding allowed them to travel to Mexico to implement their very first project. There in Chiapas, Mexico, they collaborated with local developers and farmers to implement ERW and test their MRV prototype. They ended up enrolling 100 farmers across 250 hectares and recorded three to five tons CO2 equivalents in GHG removal and reductions per hectare.
Post course, the team incorporated into a start-up and successfully raised a pre-seed round to get them off the ground. The team is preparing to raise another round of funding to expand their operations and hire additional staff. Reflecting on the Innovation for Impact methodology and its influence on Terradot, James notes that
It’s just the way we operate. It’s in the DNA of our company. We use the [Innovation for Impact] approach in most things we do now.
James highly recommends the course to entrepreneurial students passionate about solving significant problems.
William Kosann, an economics student at Northwestern University, was drawn to entrepreneurial opportunities that could drive meaningful impact, leading him to enroll in the new “Innovation for Impact” course in Spring 2024. Alongside Environmental Sciences student Sam Rappin, William decided to work on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premieres’ (GSGP) problem of finding ways for commercial and tribal fishers to more productively use 100% of each fish in order to reduce waste and generate more value.
Early on, the team believed that they needed a two-pronged approach: to educate consumers on the impact of fully utilized fish, and help producers use more of each fish. However, through early beneficiary discovery, William learned that “if we can change the way [the fishermen and producers] act, we can change the whole ecosystem.” Narrowing in on their primary beneficiaries, they quickly realized that nothing would change unless the fishermen and producers were properly incentivized.
The team developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a survey and spreadsheet for fisheries. that collects data on current operations and the spreadsheet calculates and demonstrates to fishers and producers how much potential revenue is being left on the table. Now, two months after the course has finished, the team is working with GSGP to roll out their MVP, which they will use as an entry point into the industry to get more operationally involved, by connecting fishermen and producers with opportunities to make more revenue and use 100% of the fish. William and Sam plan to use the small grant funding they received to further their research and continue engaging with fisheries. The team will expand their outreach to the other side of the industry, such as fish food and collagen producers, to validate their concepts and scale their impact.
Looking back at the course, William recalls the most rewarding aspect of the course was the methodology itself.
The Innovation for Impact approach pushed me out of my comfort zone but ultimately honed my problem-solving skillsWilliam Kosann
Williams notes, recalling how he learned to use the skills he gained from prior sales experience in a completely new way to solve impactful problems.
The course solidified William’s interest in entrepreneurship, reaffirming that opportunities exist in available in every industry. He encourages other students, regardless of their specific interests, to take the course for its practical business insights and the potential to work on projects they are passionate about.
The journey of innovative ventures often begins with a spark of passion and a commitment to address pressing global challenges. For Fred Addy and his team, their journey started at Stanford University, where they embarked on a mission to prevent solar panels from ending up in landfills. What began as an idea born from their shared dedication to sustainability evolved into Sunkara, a pioneering venture focused on facilitating the repowering and sustainable disposal of solar arrays.
Fred’s journey into the realm of sustainable technology traces back to his early days at Stanford.“I wanted to be a part of the solution in the fight against climate change,” Fred mused. With a desire to effect meaningful change, Fred was drawn to a course called “Hacking for Climate and Sustainability”. The course offered a structured framework, adapted from the Lean Startup methodology, aimed at equipping students with the tools to tackle complex environmental challenges through innovation.
“I came into Stanford with a goal of starting a company in the sustainability space,” Fred recalls. “I had several ideas brewing, including solar recycling, which eventually became the focus of our venture.” Even before stepping foot on the Stanford campus, Fred had an entrepreneurial spirit, establishing ventures in high school like his own tutoring service and pioneering a toner package recycling initiative. Yet, it was his enrollment in the Hacking for Climate and Sustainability course that honed his abilities, equipping him with the essential skills to transform his ideas into a tangible business.
The journey truly began when Army veteran Fred Addy (MBA) and his team, including Stephen Beaton (PhD, MBA) from Stanford Business School, along with Matti Thurston (MS MatSci), Franky Barrera (PhD MatSci), and Luka Radosavljevic (MS MatSci) from the Engineering department, embarked on their exploration of solar panel recycling and repurposing. Aware of the imminent surge in solar power adoption and the consequent demand for recycling solutions in the next 5-10 years, the team was trying to understand how to make and keep solar power clean throughout its entire lifecycle and prevent solar panels from ending up in landfills. Armed with the methodology learned in the course, they delved into the problem space, conducting extensive discovery and engaging with stakeholders directly impacted by the issue.
“At the outset, we were determined to tackle all aspects of solar panel lifecycle management: upcycling, reusing, and recycling,” Fred explains. “However, as we progressed, we realized the need to focus our efforts and streamline our approach.”
Through interviews with key stakeholders, the team was able to rule out some of these pathways. In the first few weeks of the course, the team discovered that upcycling was not a viable path for their budding business model. With the significant drop in the cost of solar power and the growing demand in the resale market, it was now more financially beneficial to reintegrate the raw materials back into the supply chain.
However, their interviews up to that point unveiled a new trail to follow around solar panel recyclability – a polymer used in solar cells called ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA). The team took to Fred’s garage with a damaged solar panel with an idea for testing whether they could separate the elements in the solar panel using heat. After running current backward through the solar panel to heat them up and pull them apart, they were able to extract silver using a heat gun and a box cutter. Today, Fred is considering delving deeper into this process and pursuing a patent, but, at the time, the team ultimately determined that this pathway wouldn’t be a viable business, especially given the number of established companies already in the market.
Through this process of rigorous discovery and experimentation with key stakeholders, Fred and his team discovered a niche within related to reuse: repowering solar panels for off-grid applications.
“We recognized a growing trend in solar panel repowering, where older panels were being replaced with newer, more efficient ones,” Fred elaborates. “Our challenge was to find a viable solution for repurposing these panels, which were no longer suitable for on-grid installations.”
By the end of the course, the team had a minimum viable product (MVP) of a business that could address the residential sector’s repowering needs, and plans for a pilot program.
Through the course of the semester, Fred met a company that would eventually become a partner, Decom Solar, which has established itself as a leader on decommissioning and sustainable disposal of solar panels in the commercial and industrial sectors. Decom Solar had successful partnerships with non-profits who are actively reinstalling used solar modules in countries in need of free electricity, so the synergies between them were immediately clear. Over the summer, Fred worked with Decom Solar and together they successfully worked on several decommissioning projects, removing solar panels from commercial sites in the United States. They are currently collaborating to establish more robust overseas partnerships with developers and logistics groups that will allow them to send larger quantities of modules to other countries including Haiti and Tanzania.
His efforts culminated in the creation of Sunkara, a venture dedicated to saving solar panels from premature disposal and extending their lifespan through repurposing. In the aftermath of a surge in shipping prices due to global unrest, Sunkara has successfully created a new subset of their business: an online model that helps customers estimate when they can profitably replace their solar panels. Sunkara, with the partnership of Decom Solar, has completed 20+ megawatts worth of projects and aim to add another 30 MW this year. By 2027, they hope to reach the Gigawatt scale, moving the world closer to net zero.
Sunkara became more than just a business venture; it became a mission to bridge the gap between sustainability and defense. Our journey wouldn't have been possible without the guidance and structure provided by the course at Stanford.Fred Addy
As Sunkara continues to make strides in the realm of solar panel repurposing, Fred remains grateful for the transformative experience that shaped their journey. Looking ahead, he envisions further growth and impact, leveraging their expertise to address the pressing environmental challenges of our time.
“Taking the course was a turning point in my career,” Fred concludes. “To students considering it, I would say: treat it like it’s real, because the impact you can make is real. Embrace the journey, and you’ll emerge better equipped to confront the world’s most pressing challenges.”
From the classroom to pioneering efforts on the global stage, Fred and his team exemplify the power of student-driven innovation in shaping a sustainable future for generations to come.
Krish Mehta entered the Stanford Graduate School of Business with a clear objective: to launch a startup in the climate sector, focusing particularly on the decarbonization of concrete. Despite his initial lack of specific knowledge about the concrete industry, Krish was aware of its significant environmental impact, contributing to 8% of global CO2 emissions. With this problem in mind, Krish enrolled in Stanford’s Hacking for Climate and Sustainability (now known as Innovation for Impact™ under NobleReach Foundation). This course, recommended by peers, was designed to deep dive into environmental issues and foster innovative solutions. Here, Krish would have the opportunity to learn and practice entrepreneurial methodologies rooted in Lean Launchpad, a process for quickly testing and iterating ideas through customer discovery interviews.
Once enrolled in the course, Krish joined forces with fellow classmates Shilesh Muralidhara (MsX, GSB), Tony Cruz (MS, Sustainability), Manju Murugesu (Ph.D., ERE), and Ayaan Asthana (MS, Sustainability) and formed a team they named “Gremix” to address the concrete problem Krish identified. The rigor of the class offered substantial rewards. The teaching team would let the students know that they would need to conduct over 100 customer discovery interviews over the following quarter, and although this would be more labor intensive than many of their other courses, this customer discovery process would be critical in Krish’s eventual journey to start Phoenix Materials, the startup he spun out of team Gremix.
Team Gremix initially started out with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that consisted of a type of cement that required less processing, and thus less emissions. Through their discovery interviews with their future customer base, ready mix concrete makers, they quickly invalidated that idea as it produced a low-quality product that no one wanted. Their first idea was feasible and viable, just not desirable.
The methodology taught us to think first in terms of customers and value proposition, which is usually always second when it comes to CO2 emissions. It’s tempting to go in and say there is a product that has lower emissions and will help the world... but worthless if no one uses it.Krish Mehta
Phoenix Materials was born knowing they needed to source more fly-ash. As they continued their research and interviews, they realized that with the shutting down of coal power plants in the US, there was less fly-ash being produced as a byproduct. Phoenix Materials now understood that their challenge is to find a GHG friendly way to source fly-ash.
They knew their customer base, they knew the customers’ pain points, and they now figured out how they are going to address it. Phoenix Materials will go to landfills that contain fly-ash, process it, and extract multiple end products from the refining process, including fly-ash to be sold to ready-mix concrete makers. This refining process does take energy, but it still provides a 15% reduction in GHG emissions when compared to concrete.
Krish notes that, “by understanding the rest of the value chain, we understood the incentives of the rest of our customers. This mapping was extremely important.” Now, Phoenix Materials has a solution to a problem that is feasible, desirable, and viable, that also provided an environmental benefit. Phoenix Materials is looking to raise 2 million dollars in a pre-seed round to build their pilot and accelerate their go to market.
Innovation for Impact students are on a mission to reduce emissions and electronic waste (e-waste) by revolutionizing the repair process for electronics in Kenya. What started out as a course at Stanford has evolved into a company, Revivo, a business-to-business marketplace for consumer electronic spare parts based in Kenya.
Every year, humans generate approximately 50 million metric tons of e-waste, posing a threat to the environment and human health. While consumer electronics, like cell phones, can be life changing, enabling people to communicate with loved ones, run businesses, make payments, and consume media, these products are expensive and break easily. When they break, not only does it contribute to e-waste, but creating new products to replace them contributes to global emissions.
In Winter 2022, Sarah Johnson, an MBA student at Stanford University, embarked on a mission fueled by passion: to leverage her experience working on sustainable technology in East Africa to tackle the problem of e-waste. Sarah brought this problem to the Hacking for Climate and Sustainability (now known as Innovation for Impact™ under NobleReach Foundation) course at Stanford University, a transformative course designed to equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the tools to address critical challenges that our world faces through innovation.
Sarah was drawn to the course’s focus on addressing global issues and fostering collaboration across diverse academic disciplines. It gave her the opportunity to team up and collaborate with students from various backgrounds, including fellow MBA students Jon Karp and Wenxi Duan and Computer Science PhD student Anelise Newman. The team’s reach expanded beyond Stanford University, collaborating with Ritah Nabucha, a teammate based in Kenya. They chose the team name Revivo – a name that reflected their mission of renewal.
The team started with an idea that eventually transformed into a company: How can we create a better repair ecosystem to lengthen the use life of electronics? To maximize their impact, the team chose to focus on West Africa, specifically Kenya, due to the rapidly expanding market for consumer electronics and its status as a tech hub.
In this course, students leverage Lean StartUp, a powerful methodology which involves iterative testing bolstered by real-time stakeholder feedback to rapidly learn and get to solutions quicker and cheaper. The driving force behind this methodology is the “customer discovery” process, where students are challenged to “get out of the building” to conduct interviews with people directly experiencing the problem. Throughout the course, the Revivo team spoke to over 100 individuals, including potential customers, repair technicians, and spare parts dealers, and further validated the high demand for a repair market in Kenya.
This methodology wasn’t just about starting a business; it was about responding to real-world problems, adapting based on feedback from key stakeholders, and understanding our impact.Sarah Johnson
