Climate Cowboys

The "climate" label might be under pushback, but the demand for energy, critical minerals, and resource security is skyrocketing. In this episode, Chad Rickaby from ClimateDoor breaks down how successful climate tech companies are reframing their value proposition around national security, capital efficiency, and supply chain resilience to close multi-million dollar deals.
Chad unpacks ClimateDoor’s acquisition of Standard Demand Partners, why AI investors are pivoting to energy, and how to build custom "company brains" to transform B2B sales—ditching cold email spam in favor of high-value human relationships.
🎧 Highlights
Climate as National Security: Why baseload power, data center energy needs, and critical minerals are driving the next wave of VC.
The "Show Me" Environment: What investors and enterprise buyers demand today (LOIs, traction, and unit economics over eco-narratives).
AI-Powered Sales: How to use custom LLM workflows to research markets and uncover "warm paths" without automated email spam.
Dual-Use & Sovereign Capital: Leveraging capital at the intersection of defense, energy security, and frontier tech.
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 — Winning in a market where the "climate" label is under attack
04:00 — ClimateDoor's Standard Demand Partners acquisition
09:19 — The Canadian advantage: Government funding & raw resources
12:52 — The shift from "tell me" to "show me" for VC investors
18:12 — Resource security as the new national security
25:16 — European supply chain vulnerabilities & waste-to-value
29:03 — The winning formula: Clear value props & capital efficiency
37:49 — Dual-use defense capital & Arctic sovereignty
45:54 — AI in B2B sales: Replacing email spam with a "Company Brain"
58:33 — Why Canadian founders lead in pragmatic innovation
🔗 Links & Sponsors
Guest: Chad Rickaby | ClimateDoor
Host & Show: Silas | Climate Cowboys
Lehmann’s Terms: Executive media and pitch training for high-stakes investor moments. ltmediatraining.com
Roosevelt Talent: Executive search built specifically for energy tech and frontier startups. Save 50% on recruiter fees at Roosevelt Talent.
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only. Not investment advice.


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In this episode of Climate Cowboys, host Silas Mahner sits down with Sampriti Bhattacharyya, founder and CEO of Navier, at their headquarters in Alameda, California.
While traditional maritime manufacturing remains antiquated and reliant on brute force, Navier is taking a fundamentally different approach: building all-electric hydrofoiling vessels that literally "fly" above the water—reducing drag by 90% and slashing operational costs by 15x.
Sampriti breaks down her journey from MIT roboticist to building a generational American maritime company, her vision for a "generalized marine vessel platform" (the Nvidia chip of the sea), and why she chose conviction over hype when VC investors doubted her timeline.
⚡ SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE MOVEMENT:
Become a Paid Subscriber: Unlock exclusive deep dives, founder insights at Climate Cowboys Substack.
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Intro & What is Navier? Building the Generalized Marine Vessel Platform
02:47 – Why maritime innovation stalled and how efficiency unlocks economies
07:54 – Computing, manufacturing, and robotics: Enabling hydrofoiling tech
11:45 – Sampriti’s origin story: High-energy physics to MIT underwater drones
16:54 – Go-To-Market Strategy: Gathering real-world data with recreational boaters
20:59 – The "Nvidia Chip" of the sea: Separating the base layer from the payload
27:07 – Overcoming VC skepticism and ignoring funding hype
35:03 – 3 Guiding Principles: Scale, Range, and Reliability
46:07 – The Video Game Analogy: Choosing to play on "level seven"
55:54 – Rebuilding American maritime and the frontier builder spirit
01:03:50 – Expanding the frontier with optimism over "hall monitor" energy
🤝 SPONSORS:
Lehmann’s Terms: Master your message for high-stakes media, investor pitches, and stage appearances. Learn more at ltmediatraining.com.
Climate Finance Solutions (CFS): Secured over $1.6B in grant funding with a 90%+ success rate. Discover grant opportunities at ClimateFinanceSolutions.com.
Roosevelt Talent: Headhunting and talent acquisition for frontier and CleanTech startups at half the price. Find your next hire with Roosevelt Talent.
🔗 CONNECT & FOLLOW:
Connect with Silas Mahner on LinkedIn
Follow Climate Cowboys on LinkedIn


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Silas Mahner previews NY Climate Week’s most exclusive event: the Climate Capital Summit by Equal Ventures.
Gathering over $1.3 trillion in climate capital and federal funding, this invite-only summit on September 24th features legends like Sophie Purdom, Leticia Webster, Jonathan Silver, and Jim Coulter. Space is strictly capped at 400 people.
Listen to this for the full scoop and discover how to request an invite.


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#291 Building Physical Infrastructure at the Speed of Software | Cole Ashman | Pila
How Pila is decentralizing home energy storage, cutting $7,000 in installation soft costs, and upgrading the grid one smart node at a time.
Listen: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts
Key Quotes
“We’re reinventing the home battery by spreading it out throughout the home... they automatically recognize each other, they communicate over this mesh network.” – Cole Ashman
“A whole home battery today is gonna cost like $15,000. About half of that is soft cost installation, design, permitting, like BS.” – Cole Ashman
“The power grid that we have is built around like the worst case. You know, like we’ve built a 10-lane super highway, but on most days the utilization is 40%.” – Cole Ashman
“Software is becoming so easy to replicate in the world of LLM-generated code... having a physical place in the world and a platform that’s generating new useful data is being so much more interesting and defensible.” – Cole Ashman
Episode Overview
Whole-home backup power traditionally requires $15,000 upfront, expensive electrical work, and months of permitting. As retail electricity prices skyrocket and outages multiply, home energy resilience remains out of reach for most people.
Cole Ashman, Founder & CEO of Pila (ex-Tesla, Span), is fixing this with modular battery nodes that plug straight into standard wall outlets. Operating over a wireless mesh network, Pila delivers instant outage protection and load balancing with zero installation costs—making energy storage accessible to renters and homeowners alike.

Key Topics Covered:

Positioning CleanTech: Why pitching safety, comfort, and savings beats leading with "climate."
Hardware Moats: How physical infrastructure protects against AI software replication.
Grid Economics: Using distributed batteries as shock absorbers to lower peak-demand costs.
Check Out Our Sponsors!
Lehmann’s Terms: Executive media training and message positioning for CleanTech leaders preparing for high-stakes investor pitches and national press. Learn more.
Climate Finance Solutions (CFS): Expert grant funding strategy. Secured over $1.6B in non-dilutive government funding for climate tech startups with a 90%+ success rate. Learn more.
Roosevelt Talent: Technical headhunting for frontier and energy tech companies. Delivering top 5% candidates at half the price of traditional recruiters. Connect with Roosevelt.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro & The Pila Solution: Modular batteries for every outlet
04:33 – Un-stealthing and fundraising against rising retail power rates
08:19 – Storytelling: Sell reliability and savings over climate anxiety
16:36 – Bypassing the $15K installation barrier and permitting bloat
18:40 – B2B Playbook: Deploying networks across multi-family real estate
21:54 – Smart Monitoring: Predicting appliance failures via outlet data
34:19 – HardTech Moats: Why physical infrastructure wins in the AI era
43:00 – Hardware Velocity: Tesla Energy takeaways on scaling manufacturing
54:07 – Grid Optimization: Distributed batteries as shock absorbers
Links & Resources
Guest: Cole Ashman | Pila Energy
Host: Silas Mähner on LinkedIn
Socials: Climate Cowboys on LinkedIn | YouTube
Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit climatecowboys.substack.com/subscribe

#290 Meet The Hottest Grid Solution... A Kitchen Stove? w/ Sam Calisch | Copper
How Copper is bypassing expensive electrical panel upgrades and grid bottlenecks by hiding smart battery storage inside beautiful induction stoves.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts
Select Quotes From This Episode:
“You could have free wind and solar out on the grid, and you’d still be paying about as much as you are today just to get it to your house.” – Sam Calisch
“Installing the best home batteries are like 1200, 1500 bucks a kilowatt hour... If we instead put batteries into an appliance that already has efficient sales channels... we cut out that extra 10x.” – Sam Calisch
“What you see is what you get. There’s an authenticity in material... It’s real California walnut. It’s not spray-painted plastic.” – Sam Calisch
“For too long homes have been just a consumer of electricity... We’re entering a world where homes have the opportunity to be bi-directional consumers and producers of power.” – Sam Calisch
What’s the solution to rising electricity prices? Kitchen stoves.
Despite dropping solar and wind generation costs, home electric bills continue to surge—with up to 70% of utility costs going toward delivery infrastructure.
In this episode, Sam Calisch, co-founder of Copper, breaks down how putting smart batteries inside induction stoves bypasses expensive 240V panel upgrades, avoids peak grid demand, and elevates the home cooking experience while turning homes into active grid participants.
Check Out Our Sponsors!
Lehmann’s Terms: Media and pitch training for clean tech founders and executives preparing for high-stakes media, TV, and investor appearances.
Climate Finance Solutions (CFS): Global consulting firm helping climate tech companies secure non-dilutive government grant funding ($1.6B+ secured with >90% success rate).
Roosevelt Talent: Specialized headhunting and recruitment for energy tech, battery, and frontier startups—delivering top talent at half the traditional recruiter cost.
📝 Show Notes & Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro & Sam’s background in math, physics, and early climate tech.
04:33 – The grid’s delivery problem: Why cheap solar doesn’t mean cheap electricity bills.
08:18 – The “Trojan Horse” Strategy: Why Copper put a battery inside an induction stove.
10:35 – Bypassing the electrician shortage and avoiding 240V panel upgrades.
14:00 – Building Emotional Value: Why a product needs to be more than just a spreadsheet ROI.
16:00 – The Design Philosophy: Authentic materials, California walnut, and the “walk-up test.”
24:47 – Expanding the Vision: Selling to apartments and licensing tech to legacy appliance OEMs.
33:21 – Timing the Market: Why legacy companies couldn’t build this 10 years ago (The battery cost curve).
38:43 – Escaping “throwaway culture” and building durable, high-quality hardware.
47:04 – The Bi-directional Home: Transforming houses from passive consumers to active grid participants.
51:06 – Manufacturing in the U.S. and reigniting the American builder’s spirit.
Links & Resources:
Connect with Sam Calisch | Copper
Connect with Silas Mähner on LinkedIn
Follow Climate Cowboys on LinkedIn
Disclaimer: This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit climatecowboys.substack.com/subscribe