#19: Unlocking home decarbonization and a side of bluegrass, with Jeff Coleman

How do we get the money from climate legislation into the hands of someone buying a heat pump or solar? Between passing legislation, like the Inflation Reducaiton Act (IRA), and a homeowner getting new devices to run their homes there is a major coordination, paperwork, and financing problem to orchestrate. In this episode Ben interviews Jeff Coleman, founder and CEO of Eli Technologies, and fellow climate dad. Jeff’s career has a theme of building digital infrastructure to drive systemic change. He worked on the 2008 Obama campaign, numerous non-profits, and built the digital tools behind Access Clean California. This all led to founding Eli—a startup on a mission to make home decarbonization more equitable and affordable at scale. Side note—Eli is exactly the type of company that Stepchange is focused on--finding places where software-based products can accelerate the deployment speed of climate solutions. We're lucky to be investors in Eli and as always, nothing in this conversation is investment advice. Referenced: Node Collective Eli Technologies Hot Buttered Rum (Jeff’s Bluegrass band) Get connected: Jeff - LinkedIn | Eli Ben - LinkedIn | ⁠Climate Papa⁠ To get in touch, email ⁠[email protected]⁠ Today’s outro music: Hot Buttered Rum - No Reason Why Show theme music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix) 02:20 Jeff's Musical Background and Family Life 06:03 Jeff's Journey: From Musician to Climate Advocate 10:11 The Obama Campaign Experience 17:24 Transition to Climate Solutions 21:12 Challenges in Solar Installation 22:52 Building Access Clean California 26:51 Government's Role in Program Funding 27:48 Program Administration and Challenges 30:03 Equity and Incentive Structures 32:21 Decentralization and Local Needs 34:29 Eli's Mission and Approach 41:20 Building a Multi-Sided Platform 44:19 The Role of Software in Climate Solutions 50:15 Balancing Startup Life and Family 56:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts