Inevitable

Rob Black is Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department, and Bruce Brown is Head of Strategic Climate Initiatives at the New Mexico State Investment Council, the state’s $72B sovereign wealth fund. Together, they are driving one of the most ambitious state-level strategies in the U.S. to turn energy wealth into long-term climate innovation and economic growth.

The conversation also features MCJ portfolio founders building in the state: Carrie von Muench, Co-founder of Pacific Fusion, developing modular fusion energy systems, and Carl Hoiland, Co-founder and CEO of Zanskar Geothermal, using AI to discover and scale geothermal resources.

Together, our guests explore how sovereign capital, policy, and startups intersect—from funding venture managers and attracting hyperscale projects to enabling first-of-a-kind (FOAK) infrastructure. The episode highlights what it actually takes to build (climate) companies in a new geography, and how New Mexico is positioning itself as a hub for advanced energy and climate tech.

This episode of Inevitable was recorded in front of a live audience on April 22, 2026 at the SVB Experience Center during SF Climate Week. (Published on May 12, 2026).

In this episode, we cover: 

(0:00) Overview of New Mexico’s development strategy

(2:06) Becoming a climate innovation hub

(4:31) An overview of the state's sovereign wealth fund: $72B capital

(6:27) Investing for returns while hedging energy transition risk

(10:34) Economic growth, poverty reduction, and workforce investment

(14:20) Why New Mexico is betting on climate and energy

(17:32) How the state supports startups: incentives and “white glove” service

(20:26) The shift in strategy: from local funds to global venture partners

(22:36) Scaling the model: billions into venture and new industries

(25:03) Transmission, infrastructure, and enabling energy deployment

(27:00) Building data centers, microgrids, and large-load demand

(35:11) Pacific Fusion: building modular, scalable fusion systems

(35:23) Zanskar Geothermal: AI-driven geothermal discovery and development

(40:23) Why New Mexico: resource potential vs. siting strategy

(45:29) What founders actually get from the state and what still needs work

(50:22) Lessons for builders: permitting, incentives, and scaling fast

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Eddy Chiang is Co-founder and CEO of Moment Energy, a company building commercial-scale energy storage systems from repurposed electric vehicle batteries. By testing, certifying, and remanufacturing second-life battery modules, Moment Energy is creating lower-cost alternatives to new lithium-ion storage while extending battery lifespans by decades.

In this episode of Inevitable, Chiang explains how a growing wave of retired EV batteries is reshaping the energy storage market—making recycling alone economically unviable. The conversation covers the technical and regulatory challenges of certifying second-life systems, how Moment Energy became the first company to achieve full UL certification, and why safety, not cost, is the real barrier to adoption. 

We also explore how distributed battery systems can replace traditional grid upgrades, why hyperscaler demand is accelerating deployment, and how Moment Energy is positioning storage not just as a product, but as long-term infrastructure designed to last 100 years.

MCJ is a three-time investor in Moment Energy. The company just closed a $40M Series B co-led by Evok Innovations and the Canadian Growth Fund — with the participation of Amazon, Liberty Mutual, Voyager and our fund. 

Episode recorded on April 14, 2026 (Published on May 5, 2026).

In this episode, we cover: 

(0:00) An overview of Moment Energy

(2:47) Moment Energy’s market evolution

(6:37) What certification means and why it’s the hardest part

(10:22) Are second-life batteries actually safe?

(12:15) Hardware + software: how Moment Energy builds safe systems

(15:39) Moment Energy’s product: modular, distributed battery systems

(19:06) Batteries vs grid upgrades: the core economic tradeoff

(25:35) Repurposed batteries and domestic supply chains

(29:49) The second life of EV batteries and why most still have value

(35:20) Designing battery systems to last 100 years

(42:53) Demands for AI, hyperscalers, and distributed storage

(47:55) Working with Amazon and scaling deployment

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Joel Gratz is Founding Meteorologist and CEO of OpenSnow, a weather platform used by hundreds of thousands of skiers, snowboarders, and outdoor enthusiasts to track snow conditions and forecast powder days. What started as a text thread among friends has grown into a profitable, bootstrapped business combining expert forecasting, data science, and increasingly AI-driven weather models.

In this episode of Inevitable, Gratz breaks down one of the worst Western snowpack seasons on record and why he believes it’s not as simple as blaming climate change. 

The conversation explores the role of atmospheric variability versus long-term warming trends, why temperature matters more than precipitation for snowpack, and how mountain weather forecasting differs from traditional forecasts. 

Finally, Gratz explains why emotional connection, not just accuracy, is what makes niche weather businesses work. 

Episode recorded April 9, 2026 (published April 28, 2026)

In this episode, we cover: 

(0:00) An overview of OpenSnow

(1:45) Weather conditions aren’t just a climate change story

(4:46) How warming temperatures impact snowpack quality

(7:20) What OpenSnow is and how it started

(12:46) OpenSnow’s business model and growth

(16:26) Why mountain weather is harder to forecast

(21:16) How OpenSnow builds better forecasts from shared data

(25:01) Powder quality vs snowfall: what actually matters

(30:01) Snowpack as a water “battery” for the West

(32:45) How ski resorts are adapting to climate variability

(37:46) The reality of cloud seeding and weather modification

(42:23) How emotional connection has helped OpenSnow succeed

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

Dave McColl is Executive Director of Stanford Climate Ventures (SCV), a program designed to help students build climate companies through rigorous go-to-market strategy and hands-on company building. SCV is a project-based course at Stanford University that has helped launch dozens of startups across energy, infrastructure, and industrial decarbonization.

In this episode of Inevitable, Yin Lu, General Partner at MCJ,  sits down with McColl to unpack the SCV playbook—from “earned secrets” to the importance of customer discovery.

The conversation also features three founders who came out of the SCV ecosystem:

Carla Pinzon, Founder of Expand Power, solid-state transformers for a more flexible grid

Raj Tilwa, Founder of Focal, personalized heating systems for commercial spaces

Nico Pinkowski, Founder of Nitricity, decentralized fertilizer with air, water, and renewable power

Together, they share how SCV shaped their companies, from early pivots and customer insights to product-market fit, and what it takes to build sustainable businesses. 

Episode recorded on March 13, 2026 (Published on April 14, 2026).

In this episode, we cover: 

(0:00) An overview of Stanford Climate Ventures (SCV)

(5:12) The origin of SCV and its community-driven model

(10:14) How SCV works: discovery, iteration, and “earned secrets”

(16:25) The biggest founder mistake: ignoring the customer

(18:56) What predicts success: discovery volume and team dynamics

(25:51) Carla Pinzon (Expand Power): solid-state transformers for a modern grid

(32:21) Finding product-market pull through customer discovery

(35:56) Raj Tilwa (Focal): personalized heating vs heating entire spaces

(44:21) 100+ interviews to find a real painkiller in hospitality

(52:10) Nico Pinkowski (Nitricity): decentralized fertilizer production

(58:31) How product-market fit can take years

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
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Cody Simms on LinkedIn
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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant

John Dean is Co-Founder and CEO of WindBorne, a company building next-generation weather balloons and an AI-powered forecasting layer to improve global weather prediction. WindBorne’s balloons can stay aloft for weeks — collecting critical atmospheric data across oceans and remote regions where traditional weather infrastructure doesn’t reach.

In this episode of Inevitable, Dean explains why weather forecasting has remained largely unchanged for decades and why better data—not just better models—is the key to improving weather predictions. Our conversation explores how WindBorne’s balloon constellation captures atmospheric data at a global scale, how AI models like WeatherMesh translate that data into more accurate forecasts, and why extreme weather and infrastructure gaps are creating urgency for better systems. Dean also shares how the company makes money across data, forecasting, and insights—and his long-term vision of building “a planetary-scale nervous system.”

Episode recorded on March 19, 2026 (Published on April 7, 2026)

In this episode, we cover: 

(0:00) An overview of WindBorne

(2:57) How weather forecasting actually works

(4:36) Why traditional weather balloons haven’t changed in decades

(12:50) What WindBorne is: long-duration balloons, global data collection and a weather intelligence platform

(14:14) What makes WindBorne different: better sensors, batteries, and communications

(17:35) Atlas: WindBorne’s global balloon constellation

(18:17) How better weather data improves hurricane predictions

(20:35) Airspace safety and the realities of flying balloons at scale

(24:35) WindBorne’s business model: data, forecasts, and insights

(29:30) Why weather data matters for energy markets and grid reliability

(32:09) The long-term vision: Building a “planetary-scale nervous system”

(35:41) Why AI + physical infrastructure is a “net good” for society

Enjoyed this episode? Please leave us a review! Share feedback or suggest future topics and guests at [email protected].
Connect with MCJ:
Cody Simms on LinkedIn
Visit mcj.vc
Subscribe to the MCJ Newsletter
*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant