Invest in startups like unspun alongside Climate Capital here.
Founders: Beth Esponnette, Walden Lam, Kevin Martin
Motto/Mission: Reduce the global human carbon footprint by 1% by re-establishing a balanced, efficient, and thoughtful model for the textile goods industry.
Year Founded: 2017
Stage: Series B
Location: Oakland, California
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Climate Capital: What made you want to solve this problem?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: We were thrown into the chaotic world of climate in the wake of the financial crisis and shocked to find out that the apparel industry throws away >25% of garments every year because of the way we mass-produce.
Climate Capital: What are you building?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: unspun builds 3D weaving technology that can finish apparel production within 20 minutes, unlocking possibilities to produce locally and on-demand. The process saves 50% of emissions reductions on a unit-comparison basis.
Climate Capital: What is next?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: Thanks to great long-term partners and investors, we now have nine-figure contracts to deliver against. The focus is on delivering close to a thousand machines to fulfill the demand, and making a meaningful dent.
Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: Internally, we talk a lot about being relentless, intentional and human.
Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: Scale, scale and scale.
Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?
Beth, Walden and Kevin: Climate is still a difficult space to innovate in, and oftentimes multiple stakeholder groups need to enthusiastically buy in to meaningfully scale our innovations. Spending time to build those cross-party alliances becomes mission-critical.