Her Climate Fix Was Hiding Inside Cement Kilns | Jade Marcus, CEO of Mafix

Ag funding has fallen more than 50% since its 2020 peak, and a lot of the startups that burned through it failed for the same reason: the economics never worked. Jade Marcus designed her way around that problem before she started. Roughly 30% of the world's cement kiln capacity is already sitting idle — infrastructure that's built, paid for, and sitting in nearly every region on earth because cement is too expensive to truck very far. Mafix uses that spare capacity to run chemistry inside the kilns, starting with a climate-smart fertilizer made from cheap, abundant silicate rock.Jade shares:✨ Why she went looking for spare capacity instead of building new infrastructure✨ The 30% idle capacity on cement kilns worldwide — and why it may double✨ Developing the technology behind Mafix during her PhD at Stanford✨ What McKinsey's sustainability practice taught her about scaling climate tech✨ Why "better for the planet" can't mean "more expensive" for the customer✨ Why ag tech funding collapsed — and what those companies got wrong✨ Why you can't go direct to farmer, and who to partner with instead✨ Working with extension agronomists to prove yield in real fields✨ The food security math: staple crops down 3-7%, production needs to rise 60%✨ Her first 1,000-ton deployment inside a commercial cement kiln✨ Doing 100-200 customer interviews before you trust your own numbers✨ The 3:1 rule — for every dollar a farmer spends, they need three back✨ "If you don't need to build it, don't build it"✨ Why someone else's margin is your opportunity✨ Ten days a year in the backcountry, and why real fear beats invented stressWhether you're raising in a down market, selling into an industry that moves slowly, or trying to build something better that doesn't cost more, Jade's approach is a masterclass in using what already exists.About Jade Marcus: Jade Marcus is the CEO and co-founder of Mafix, a mineral conversion platform that runs on the world's spare cement kiln capacity, turning cheap, abundant silicate rock into carbon-negative fertilizer. A chemical engineer by training, she studied at Georgia Tech, worked as an engagement manager in McKinsey's sustainability practice, and developed the technology behind Mafix at Stanford.🌱 Learn more at https://www.mafix.ag/The growth engine for women who mean business.http://www.f5collective.com0:00 "Real Fear, Real Stress": Ten Days Off the Grid0:51 Welcome: Honoring California's Women Founders1:36 Meet Jade Marcus, CEO & Co-Founder of Mafix1:54 Georgia Tech, Oil & Gas, and McKinsey2:26 Why "Better for the Planet" Costs Too Much3:12 Hardware Is Slow. Software Is Instant.3:36 30% Spare Capacity on the World's Cement Kilns5:02 The Real Challenges: Geology and Deployment6:26 Beyond Fertilizer: Anywhere You Need Alkalinity6:46 Astronomer, Marine Biologist, Journalist, Archeologist7:50 Ag Funding Is Down Over 50% Since 20208:21 Why She Didn't Build New Infrastructure8:45 You Can't Go Direct to Farmer10:25 "Naively, I Thought I Could Do This"11:08 Running a Company While Finishing a PhD11:47 Crops Down 7%, Demand Up 60%12:31 How She Actually Handles Stress12:53 Ten Days in the Arctic With No One Around14:04 What's Next for Mafix (They're Hiring)14:56 Business Minute: Know Your Economics15:47 "If You Don't Need to Build It, Don't Build It"16:25 Rapid Five16:50 What She Wishes She Knew: Community