CleanFiber

Great news this week from the US Department of Energy! The DOE's Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains is providing $20M in grants to support CleanFiber's expansion. We plan to utilize these funds to expand production of our high performance cellulose insulation, which is made from recycled cardboard boxes, while supporting local economies and protecting our environment. https://lnkd.in/eZSnMeFh

Congratulations to CleanFiber's CEO, Jonathan Strimling for earning the well-deserved 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in New Hampshire! I have learned so much working alongside Jon in the past year to secure CleanFiber's Series B fundraising round, apply for various grants, and explore areas of strategic growth for the business. He is truly one of the most impressive entrepreneurs I have ever met. Drawing on my investment background, there are certain things investors typically look for in a founder/CEO - I look for some of the same things whether I'm looking to invest in, evaluate or join a company - tenacity, drive, grit, emotional intelligence, strategic vision, knowing when to get "in the weeds" and when to keep things high level. Jon has all of those. But working alongside him, I have come to really admire and appreciate the importance of two more traits in particular that a typical investor wouldn't see during a pitch -- two that are actually critical to running a successful business that's growing as rapidly as CleanFiber. 1) Mastery of context switching, and 2) the ability to build coalition. Jon is able to context switch extremely effectively - he is able to shift gears from an in-depth engineering discussion, to people management, to sales, to unit economics, to preparing for Board discussions faster than anyone else I've ever worked with. Most importantly, he is able to do this fully and presently, dealing with each new problem set anew, and without context hangover. As far as coalition-building goes, I believe this is an under-appreciated skill in an era where we idolize visionary founders who pay a social price for their genius (think Steve Jobs, Elon Musk). I've met many aspiring entrepreneurs who will never build great companies if they can't figure out how to get a team, a Board, and an investor base excited and on board. Not just on board, but actively rowing alongside in the same direction. If you are a founder or a CEO, it's not enough to create, think strategically or act massively. You must practice articulating your vision to others in a way that resonates. You must spark positivity and excitement in your team, provide clarity, and relentlessly confront and remove roadblocks. For this and so much more, Jon certainly has earned this award, and I'm honored to be learning alongside him! https://lnkd.in/gyG_rBwY

We are pleased to announce that Buffalo Business First honored CleanFiber and Jonathan Strimling in their recent C-Level Awards last night!

CleanFiber was just named the #1 Fastest Growing Manufacturing Company in America according to the Inc. 5000 Rankings! https://lnkd.in/esS7tsa5

CleanFiber was recently named "Most Outstanding Venture" among Growth Stage companies by the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) at their Industry Growth Forum. https://lnkd.in/e7PanWfH

Great to see CleanFiber recognized at NREL’s industry growth forum this week!

Our thanks to Tim De Chant for his excellent story in TechCrunch on “The Missing Middle” (capital for First-Of-A-Kind plants), which covered CleanFiber and our Series B lead investor Spring Lane Capital. https://lnkd.in/e3j8Pay6

We really appreciate the coverage of CleanFiber by Tim De Chant at TechCrunch today - and their broader interest in decarbonizing buildings! https://lnkd.in/efDTyahu

CleanFiber was just named a Startup to Watch - but with the growth we're experiencing, we're starting to wonder if "startup" is still the right moniker for us! https://lnkd.in/eN_fh7RY

Thanks to Tien Wong and The Big Idea CONNECTpreneur Community for the opportunity to speak with their investors next week in the DC area!