–Life as an Eco-Capitalist and Entrepreneur–
It’s often said that in order to solve problems, you have to wholly understand the issue at hand first. This is a seemingly obvious statement and line of reasoning.
However, within this day and age challenges we face are bountiful and usually quite nuanced. Both the identification of challenge and then the gaining of a deep-seated understanding can require significant amounts of time and effort.
To add, sometimes other more glaring or publicly visible matters steal away our attention and leave lesser known issues unchecked and allowed to rage unabatedly simply due to our lack of band-with.
Need an example to make sense of all this? Take our dependence on ink for all sorts of printing needs. Think about how much of that product you encounter on a daily basis whether it’s on a sheet of paper you received or a document you yourself created.
Consider the amount of ink used in newspapers or prints for clothing, or even tags for said clothing. Now, consider the volume of that product being used around the world.
The amount of ink that a single person uses and or encounters in a day is a lot. Extrapolating numbers makes this figure almost unfathomable.
Yet, this is not a problem on most people’s minds, despite the reality that ink is a petroleum product made from crude oil and is most certainly not serving our environmental interests.
Are there better ways to tackle this issue? Should we care about this issue? You betcha!
Our guest on this episode will fill us all in on why this particular issue is problematic and what opportunities are out there for us to take a step forward when it comes to working towards more sustainable and responsible models for commerce and industry.
Introducing
Scott Fulbright is a scientist, eco-capitalist and entrepreneur using algae to make positive impact on our environment. Scott is the CEO and Co-Founder at Living Ink Technologies, a biomaterials company turning waste-algae into sustainable pigments and inks.
Background & Accomplishment
Scott was born and raised in Michigan, but spent summers in California with his grandparents. His grandfather taught him to sail in his early years in Long Beach CA. This led him to become a life-long sailor and more importantly a sailing instructor on Catalina Island, CA and Block Island, RI. Being on the water made him instantly fall in love with marine biology and resultantly he ended up changing his major at Michigan State University from engineering to Marine Biology.
During college Scott ended up working in an ecology laboratory studying the effects algae have on our ecosystems. After graduating he was hired at an Algae Biofuels company in West Texas. After two years of turning algae into oil, he was accepted into a PhD program at Colorado State University studying cell and molecular biology.
Entrepreneurial Beginnings
During graduate school Scott became interested in entrepreneurship. The idea of developing a sustainable product and scaling it to make impact was extremely exciting. He skipped an MBA and co-founded Living Ink with the mission of replacing petroleum-based products with algae-based materials for a more sustainable world. In doing so, his pathway to becoming a fully fledged eco-capitalist and entrepreneur was cemented.
Living Ink has developed a carbon negative black pigment made from algae that replaces traditional carbon black petroleum. His company has printed hang tags for Patagonia, boxes for Adidas and shirts for Nike amongst others. His company has even put the pigment into cosmetics packaging for beauty counters and a bioresin for an electric motorcycle called Taraform.
Reasons to Listen
In this rich conversation listeners will surely acquire and or recharge levels of hope pertaining to humanity getting things right environmentally speaking.
Scott’s own description of his business and his sharing of industry chatter relating to cyclical economies and regenerative approaches provide much of this optimism. The chat is a solid reminder that there are pathways forward which incorporate both capitalistic models and sustainable approaches to managing our place on this planet.
Scott also dives into the weeds as he shares his early beginnings as a scientist and how he transitioned into business as an entrepreneur. In doing so he offers up tips and insights for startups just entering this world as far as messaging and strategic steps to increase the likelihood of success.
Not only that, listeners will be able to share in the excitement of a company on the cusp of even bigger things through Scott’s stories of working with major brands and all that he learned in doing so.
Summing things up, the talk will be of value to anyone looking to transition from academia to entrepreneurship or those looking for a punch of both inspiration and optimism relating to the future.
A Memorable Quote from the Episode:
“I remember thinking that one day I want to turn this stuff (algae) into something that is valuable for society and makes our world a better place. I never thought I would be talking about ink, or packaging or textiles with brands. However, that is the fun part about career paths.”
-Scott Fulbright
Check out the Video Conversation:
For those who desire to view the full video conversation of this discussion on eco-capitalism and entrepreneurship, you can do so via Youtube.
Words of Wisdom:
Hear from Scott as he shares advice to those looking to get into the world of eco-capitalism and entrepreneurship.
Discover More
For those interested in learning more about Scott and his work, you can find out more about his company at Living Ink. You can also follow him here:
Keep Listening!
I hope you enjoyed the episode. For more, check out additional episodes here!
