Columbia University2015 - 2016
M.S. Sustainability Management · New York
Solar project development, smart cities, energy markets. Capstone: reducing milk waste in NYC with WWF, rejected by all nine teammates, then selected for implementation.
Energy systems engineer and founder-operator. Distributed energy, physical ops, and software, built from first principles. I find inspiration in obscurity (we landed on the moon before inventing four-wheeled luggage) and get productively frustrated by design that makes no sense.
I am not proficient in all of these languages. But with closed captions, I am fluent enough to talk to the native speakers.
So I distrust frozen defaults. What constraint set this spec, and has that constraint changed since?
So I notice when field service sends the expensive licensed specialist for work that is 70% unlicensed. Ford took the assembly line from the slaughterhouses; decoupling the skilled from the unskilled labor is where the margin hides.
So I ask whether we should consume less before we store or generate more. Attic R-49, aerosol duct sealing, an ECM blower swap: a house becomes a thermal battery.
So I hedge volatile market revenue with bankable long-term contracts. Pair high-beta volatility with fixed capacity and the cost of capital drops.
So I see the split-incentive problem paralyzing whole sectors. Sweden solved it with warm rent. The U.S. has not even tried.
So I structure entities to match the vertical stack. Separate LLCs unlock R&D credits and grant eligibility the monolith forfeits.
Solar project development, smart cities, energy markets. Capstone: reducing milk waste in NYC with WWF, rejected by all nine teammates, then selected for implementation.
Thesis on geothermal power systems. Flew to the Stanford Geothermal Workshop and persuaded Ormat Technologies to share proprietary data our government did not have.
Timeshare subscription for a full-time housekeeper. Built a 180-person waitlist by cleaning houses myself for six months. First check from Jason Calacanis, breaking his no-solo-founders and no-service-businesses rules. Raised $90K, navigated the trough of sorrow, returned to energy.
Artisan home decor from Turkey. Days from a NYC retail lease when COVID hit, pivoted to e-commerce, first container hit by a crane in Spain. B2C failed, survived via B2B.
Medical IoT. Oversaw FDA clearance and launched on Amazon UK and EU as a Class II medical device in three months, against a typical 10 to 16 months and a 90% rejection rate.
Ran a program supplying industrial measurement devices to students for factory energy-efficiency analyses. Learned that bureaucracy takes a full year to launch a basic program.
Audited buildings for the LADWP CLIP incentive program. Replaced half the lightbulbs at the Jonathan Club, a 30% electricity-bill drop after a two-day LED upgrade.
On Deck #ODF17 (2023) · All-In Summit Volunteer (2023) · Angel Squad, Hustle Fund (2021) · Camp Lightbulb nonprofit (2024 - Present)