Arjen Vrielink - Getting to Zero Deforestation with Satellite Images - MBM #22

Arjen Vrielink is the Director & co-founder of Satelligence, dedicated to stopping deforestation by leveraging satellite imagery. They work directly with commodity companies who sell things like cacao or coffee to understand the causes of deforestation and how alternatives can be found.About Arjen:TwitterLinkedInSatelligence---Episode Sponsors:Radiant Earth Foundation: Apply for the 2022 Radiant MLHub Impact Award for agriculture-related applications for Africa - with a $5,000 cash prize.Element84Dan Pilone’s appearance on the podcast---Shownotes:Zero to One by Peter ThielKate Raworth’s Doughnut EconomicsPlanet Acquiring VandersatRange by David EpsteinSteve BallmerUp and Down the Ladder of Abstraction by Bret Victorxkcd: Adjective FoodsSuperforecasting by Philip E. Tetlock, Dan GardnerBook recommendations:Man’s Fate (La Condition Humaine) by André MalrauxThe Stranger (L’Etranger) by Albert CamusThe Plague (La Peste) by Albert CamusThe Mandarins by Simone de BeauvoirTimestamps:00:00 - Introduction02:55 - Conversation Begins07:56 - Arjen quoting me to describe work environment13:02 - The origin story of Satelligence17:45 - What Satelligence does19:05 - Remote Sensing to solve deforestation: Solution looking for a Problem?26:48 - Data comes in to convince bosses34:38 - Financial incentives & shareholders40:27 - How Satelligence makes money & long term vision45:02 - Why Satelligence decided to raise a first round after a few years51:25 - Downsides to raising55:14 - What happens to the mission after an exit?59:30 - Creating a work culture1:03:43 - Lunch is more important for your culture than your Strategy day1:13:17 - Hiring1:17:47 - Why Arjen hired me as an intern1:29:48 - Open Source in Geospatial1:42:28 - Importance of technical knowledge in leadership roles1:44:36 - Layers of Abstraction1:51:16 - Committing to one specific thing1:57:18 - Why maps aren’t (always) the best way to communicate insights2:06:43 - Geospatial is incredibly niche2:12:57 - Book recommendations2:21:15 - Asking for adviceFeel free to reach out!My TwitterFor news about the podcastWebsite