Ep. 82 | Engineering Our Way Out of Single-Use Plastics: Troy Swope and the Footprint Story

You know when you get a food product like those Beyond Meat sausages and see that instead of plastic, it's in one of those biodegradable trays or bowls? Have you ever wondered how they do that? I mean, that bowl needs to repel oil and water from its surface without getting soggy, but still be actually biodegradable. Seems impossible. Well, it turns out that this feat isn't only a great technological innovation that helps replace plastics; it's also a great business, as Troy Swope has proven.  Founded in 2014, Troy's company Footprint grew from humble roots to now having 4,000 employees, $50 million in annual revenue, and production facilities around the world.  With all this success, the company is seeking to go public later in 2022, reportedly with a valuation of $1.6 billion. It's quite a story, and one that proves that some of humanity's most pressing problems, like plastic pollution, are also some of our best business opportunities.