The Business (of) Climate

Paul Robinson will join the Fervent Four Show to discuss his experience as the Executive Director of RISE. RISE accelerates innovation and business growth around solutions to coastal resilience challenges in the living laboratory of coastal Virginia. This week hosts Tim Ryan and Zack Miller sit down with Paul Robinson, Executive Director of RISE, to discuss RISE and the climate problem it's working to solve, how to spot 'optimist' founders, and why 'water' is the theme & opportunity of Hampton Roads.   Tim Ryan is the Executive Director of StartWheel, an organization dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with resources in Hampton Roads, Virginia.    Learn more at: https://www.startwheel.org    Zack Miller is a serial entrepreneur and recent author of his new book Anomaly, a guide on how to differentiate yourself and your business from the crowd.   Learn more at: https://www.zackmillersays.com   Enjoy what you hear? Listen to the Fervent Four Show LIVE every Thursday at 11AM.   Live: https://www.startwheel.org/live/ Past Episodes: https://www.startwheel.org/fervent-four-show/   Show notes:   (0:00) Introducing Paul Robinson, What is RISE?, + The idea of 'reverse pitching'   Learn More about RISE: https://riseresilience.org   (15:58) Paul Robinson's experience as a Founder + The market opportunity for startups in the climate space   Lowercarbon Capital: https://lowercarboncapital.com   Jason Calacanis' 'The Climate Syndicate': https://thesyndicate.com/climate   (32:25) Raising awareness for the climate industry, local projects in the climate space, + Defining the climate problem   (45:09) How to spot the optimist Founders? + Can Hampton Roads be a leader in climate startups?   Chesapeake Bay Watershed Nutrient Credit Exchange Program: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title62.1/chapter3.1/article4.02/   (51:23) What challenges does RISE face? + Why 'water' is the theme/opportunity of Hampton Roads?   Connect with RISE: https://riseresilience.org   About Paul Robinson and RISE:   "RISE is a non-profit, economic development organization with a mission to accelerate innovation and business growth around solutions to coastal communities' resilience challenges. RISE enables businesses to develop, demonstrate and scale innovations that help coastal communities adapt to changing climate."   "Dr. Paul Robinson is the Executive Director of RISE, and is dedicated to expediting the development of innovative technologies in the resilience sector. Funded at $10M, RISE grows resilience-related businesses in the coastal Virginia region and assists in access to the worldwide market for their technologies.   Dr. Robinson is the founder and CEO of AeroTech Research, a company specializing in weather hazard detection for aircraft. He is also Senior Advisor to Focus Investment Bank in the areas of government, aerospace and defense. He is also a member of a local angel investment groups 757 Angels and Abundance 360, and works with several startups in technical and managerial roles"   Learn More: https://riseresilience.org   The Fervent Four Show:   Did you know that only 4% of businesses hit $1M in revenue? Tim Ryan and Zack Miller are the creators of The Fervent Four Show, designed to help you get there. Check them out Live every Thursday at 11 AM.   Listen here:   Live: https://www.startwheel.org/live/   Past Episodes: https://www.startwheel.org/fervent-four-show/   Social Media:   Paul Robinson https://riseresilience.org   Twitter: @RiseResilience (https://twitter.com/RiseResilience)   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/riseresilience/   Instagram: @riseresilience (https://www.instagram.com/riseresilience/)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiseResilience/   Tim Ryan https://www.startwheel.org   Twitter (personal): @ryantnt (https://twitter.com/ryantnt)   Twitter: @StartWheel (https://twitter.com/StartWheel)   LinkedIn (personal): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryantnt/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startwheel-org/   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StartWheel   Zack Miller https://www.zackmillersays.com   Twitter: @zackmillersays (https://twitter.com/zackmillersays)   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zackmillersays   Thanks to our Sponsors:   The Hampton Roads Small Business Development Center – http://www.hrsbdc.org/en/   StartWheel – https://www.startwheel.org