The $1 Trillion 401(k) Problem Nobody Is Talking About | Alex Wright-Gladstein

There are $45 trillion in retirement assets in the United States. One trillion is invested in the US fossil fuel industry — one fifth of the entire market cap of the fossil fuel sector — propping up an industry that has delivered the worst returns of any sector for the past two decades. Most people have no idea. And until recently, there was nothing they could do about it.Alex Wright-Gladstein is a 2X founder and CEO of Sphere, a company making it easy for everyone to invest retirement savings in a climate-friendly way. Before Sphere, she was the founding CEO of IR Labs, a deep tech company spun out of MIT, UC Berkeley, and University of Colorado that is cutting the energy use of AI in half using light to move data between chips. She raised tens of millions in VC funding, successfully navigated five co-founders. Then did it again, solo, with a completely different kind of company.This conversation covers a lot of ground. We get into how she managed five co-founders. We talk about what changed for female founders after the Me Too movement, why the VC funding gap is still sitting at 2%, and what MIT and Harvard research actually says about where subconscious bias comes from and how it gets fixed.Then we get into the problem Sphere was built to solve. Why it took three years for a climate tech CEO to get a single fossil-fuel-free option in her own company's 401k. Why the big asset management firms won't fix this. Why the fossil fuel sector has underperformed every other sector for 20 years and your retirement plan is still defaulting into it. And how a two-sided go-to-market strategy targeting both employees and 401k advisors is moving the needle without a traditional ad budget.WHAT WE COVER:— The $1 trillion hiding inside America's retirement accounts— Why fossil fuels have had the worst returns of any sector for 20 years— How Alex managed 5 co-founders when a prior team declined a grant over equity splits— Why she went solo for Sphere and what she gained— Pitching as a female founder before and after the Me Too movement— Why the VC funding gap is still at 2% and what MIT research says about subconscious bias— Why big asset management firms won't launch climate-friendly index funds— Two-sided GTM: targeting employees and 401k advisors simultaneously— 200 million views on awareness campaigns without paying for a single ad— Equity crowdfunding and building a deliberately diverse cap tableCONNECT WITH ALEX:LinkedInSphereRESOURCES MENTIONED:FairBridgeSymphonic CapitalABOUT REVENUE REMIX:Revenue Remix is hosted by Summer Poletti, founder of Rise of Us. Feedspot Top Revenue Podcast 2025. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you get your podcasts.Subscribe: @RevenueRemix on YouTubeFollow Summer on LinkedIn.401k investing, retirement savings, climate tech, fossil fuel free 401k, Sphere investing, Alex Gladstein, female founder, women in VC, venture capital women, female entrepreneur, 2x founder, MIT startup, IR Labs, co-founder equity, solo founder, VC funding gap, diverse cap table, 401k strategy, two sided marketplace, Revenue Remix, Summer Poletti, Rise of Us, sustainable finance, B2B podcast