Invest in startups like Guidewheel alongside Climate Capital here.
Founders: Lauren Dunford & Weston McBride
Motto: Guidewheel is on a mission to empower all the world’s factories to reach sustainable peak performance.
Year Founded: 2017
Stage: Series B
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
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Climate Capital: What made you want to solve this problem?
Lauren: Weston and I have been passionate about climate since we were undergrads at Stanford more than a decade ago, where we met because we were leading competing sustainability-focused student groups. I was head of Students for a Sustainable Stanford, and Weston led Energy Crossroads.
We’re both inspired by the huge opportunity to have a big impact on climate within manufacturing. Because equipment in factories often lasts for decades, a large number of machines in factories worldwide remain unconnected to the cloud even today. Key metrics are often therefore tracked manually, holding many factories back from achieving their full potential productivity and efficiency.
Guidewheel provides a fast, accessible, and elegant solution to bring those assets into the cloud and drive bottom-line impact in a way that not only quickly pays for itself (a “negative green premium”) but also aligns to the manufacturer’s key business drivers and strategy.
Climate Capital: What are you building?
Lauren: Guidewheel is on a mission to empower all the world’s factories to reach sustainable peak performance. Inspired by the simple, universal truth that every machine on the factory floor has a power cord, our plug-and-play FactoryOps platform makes the power of the cloud accessible to any factory. Guidewheel clips onto any machine to turn its real-time “heartbeat” into a connected, actively learning system that empowers teams to reduce lost production time, increase throughput, and get more and more efficient.
Guidewheel’s FactoryOps platform presents an opportunity to achieve both large business benefits and dramatic reductions in energy and material waste across manufacturing, which contributes about one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. With real-time visibility, factories can lower their energy bills, drive more sustainable production, and have the data necessary for energy and Scope 2 and 3 emissions reporting.
But this is about more than just technology. What we’re building is part of a broader movement - a movement that puts the builder back in the spotlight and brings cutting-edge innovation to their fingertips. This was the core of my TED Talk this past May, which explored how FactoryOps is shining a light on the critical role of manufacturing in our world, and breaking the outdated stigma that it’s dull, dirty, or in decline. In reality, it’s one of the most powerful spaces for innovation, impact, and solving the biggest challenges of our time.
Climate Capital: What is next?
Lauren: Guidewheel already works with hundreds of manufacturers across eight countries and was recognized by the World Economic Forum in 2022 as one of 100 most promising companies globally poised to make a significant impact on business and society.
In addition to continuing to grow to reach many more of the world’s ten million factories, we’re excited about the many new developments in Guidewheel’s software and data platform. From new visuals to help teammates at every level—from machine operator to CEO—know if they’re on track to win the shift, day, and month, to leveraging AI to get smarter and smarter at both diagnosing production patterns and predicting problems before they become catastrophic, Guidewheel’s platform is getting smarter and better by the day to drive even more value for manufacturers.
Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?
Lauren: We are building a culture that values diversity, growth mindset, and results, aligned around our four core values:
Integrity matters. We are honest, straightforward, and sincere. With each other. With our investors. With our customers.
We (actually) care. About each other. About fighting climate change. About making a real impact.
Data-driven decisions. We possess the courage to accept hard truths and confront challenges head on.
Growth mindset. We strive to be the best we can be. To achieve this we are committed to embracing change and expanding our capabilities.
Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?
Lauren: When we first started, I didn’t expect how challenging and exciting it would be to build a truly global team. We’ve put a lot of energy into building an aligned, thoughtful, and fun remote-first culture, and it’s been awesome to see the team become more and more cohesive over time.
Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?
Lauren: As a founder, learning is key. As the quote goes, “If you’re not willing to learn, nothing can help you. If you’re determined to learn, nothing can stop you.” By bringing a learning mindset, you can turn every challenge into an opportunity for you and the company to become better and stronger.
Climate Capital: How can the broader climate community help you on your mission?
Lauren: Get the word out. If you know private equity funds with manufacturers in their portfolios, or manufacturers who might benefit from Guidewheel, connect us (info@guidewheel.com).
Or if you know top talent looking to join a fast-paced, mission-driven team and have a real, on-the-ground impact on the factories that are the backbone of the economy, let us know or follow us on LinkedIn to see the latest openings: https://www.linkedin.com/company/guidewheel/
If you want to learn more, visit https://guidewheel.com/!