Gradient: Vince Romanin
The 🧊Ice King 👑 and the history of thermodynamics, why thermostats are sexist, how 🍸 cocktails and movie theaters popularized cooling, the + and - externalities of ACs and oh so much more!
Fellow Climate Warriors,
This episode I drink 🥃Whiskey Smashes with Vince Romanin, Co-founder and CEO of Gradient.
Join us as we discuss the 🧊Ice King 👑 and history of thermodynamics, why thermostats are sexist, how 🍸 cocktails and movie theaters popularized cooling, the + and - externalities of ACs, how economic growth and climate change will drive demand for heating and cooling, and, most importantly, how Gradient is solving this problem.
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Please see below about the newest podcast episode and keep an eye out for an exciting lineup of Climate Tech Cocktails Happy HourS coming in 2022!
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Thank you for your continued support, and keep up the good fight with a cool beverage in hand.
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📝 Show Notes Below👇
🎧 New podcast episode:
Vince Romanin, Co-founder and CEO of Gradient on turning the expected increase in demand for ACs into an opportunity:
“If the next 4 billion ACs are all heat pumps, they can also decarbonize heating while we’re expanding access to AC. If they have low carbon refrigerants we can solve the refrigerant problem. Lastly, if we make sure they’re all smart and WiFi connected we can help modernize the grid at the same time and have more solar and wind on the grid.” -Vince Romanin, Co-founder and CEO of Gradient.
Vince Romanin is the CEO of Gradient (@GradientComfort), which is on a mission to cool the world sustainably. Gradient plans to achieve this by removing harmful refrigerants and electrifying the heating sector. Gradient’s first product is an easier-to-install and easier-to-use heat pump that is quiet and gives you your window back.
🥃 What we drank during the episode: Whiskey Smashes
Enjoy the show!
📻 Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Audacy and Substack
Interested in sponsoring?
Please reach out to m@climatetechcocktails.com
Companies/Startups mentioned during the show:
🐣 Abengoa
🐣 Otherlab
🐣 ARPA-E
🐣 Activate
🐣 Insight
🐣 Nest
🐣 Remora
People/places/things mentioned during the episode
🧠Assisination of President James Garfield
🧠Chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs)--i.e. freon
🧠International Energy Agency (IEA)
🧠Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer
🧠Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air
🧠Thermal Delight in Architecture
-TIMESTAMPS-
[0:00] Intro
[3:42] Drink of the show
[5:09] The Ice King and the first ice machine (#floridaman)
[7:00] The history of thermo dynamics
[9:30] Ice → Air Conditioning
[11:12] The first AC and the popularization of air conditioning
[14:00] The popular externalities of air conditioning
[15:00] The negative externalities of air conditioning
[25:30] Demand and projected demand for air conditioning
[27:30] Climate change’s impact on demand for heating and cooling
[29:00] Vince’s background
[33:30] Vince’s pre-Gradient work experience
[39:00] Founding Gradient
[42:00] Securing Gradient’s pre-seed capital from government funding
[44:30] Raising first round of institutional funding
[47:00] Gradient Product
[52:30] Transitioning from a hardware focused company to a consumer focused one
[56:00] Currently raising a Series A round of financing--and going global Series C+
[56:50] What success looks like for Gradient’s product launch
[1:01:00] Gradient’s impact on the climate
[1:04:00] 3 startups
[1:08:00] 3 books
[1:11:00] How thermostats are sexist
[1:13:00] Conclusion
🤝
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