How do we get the money from climate legislation into the hands of someone buying a heat pump or solar? Between passing legislation, like the Inflation Reducaiton Act (IRA), and a homeowner getting new devices to run their homes there is a major coordination, paperwork, and financing problem to orchestrate. In this episode Ben interviews Jeff Coleman, founder and CEO of Eli Technologies, and fellow climate dad. Jeff’s career has a theme of building digital infrastructure to drive systemic change. He worked on the 2008 Obama campaign, numerous non-profits, and built the digital tools behind Access Clean California. This all led to founding Eli—a startup on a mission to make home decarbonization more equitable and affordable at scale.
Side note—Eli is exactly the type of company that Stepchange is focused on--finding places where software-based products can accelerate the deployment speed of climate solutions. We're lucky to be investors in Eli and as always, nothing in this conversation is investment advice.
Referenced:
Hot Buttered Rum (Jeff’s Bluegrass band)
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Today’s outro music: Hot Buttered Rum - No Reason Why
Show theme music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix)
02:20 Jeff's Musical Background and Family Life
06:03 Jeff's Journey: From Musician to Climate Advocate
10:11 The Obama Campaign Experience
17:24 Transition to Climate Solutions
21:12 Challenges in Solar Installation
22:52 Building Access Clean California
26:51 Government's Role in Program Funding
27:48 Program Administration and Challenges
30:03 Equity and Incentive Structures
32:21 Decentralization and Local Needs
34:29 Eli's Mission and Approach
41:20 Building a Multi-Sided Platform
44:19 The Role of Software in Climate Solutions
50:15 Balancing Startup Life and Family
56:42 Conclusion and Final Thoughts