Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey

Dec 03 2024 11 ep. 31 mins 18
Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey Podcast artwork

Tackling climate change is a serious business.

This is the award-winning story of a startup that wants to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help reshape our relationship with the planet. Ideally without burning to the ground in the process.

It was a good few years back when Tom Previte stumbled across biochar. That was during the first season of a podcast he co-hosts - ‘The Carbon Removal Show’. And it turns out that this biochar stuff… it's not just an ancient technology but also a cutting-edge solution for today’s climate problems. 

Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey captures the highs and lows of a green startup - from sharp learning curves to unlikely breakthroughs. Listen in as Tom digs deep into the realities and complexities of setting up a carbon removal project, and gets to grips with the science, the money, and everything it takes to build an environmentally (and financially) sustainable business.

Because if we’re going to save the planet, we’re going to need a lot more businesses like this one.

Restord is grateful for financial support for this podcast from UKRI's Greenhouse Gas Removal Hub (grant ref: NE/V013106/1)

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Episode 10: 'Wrapping It Up'

Dec 03 2024 43 mins  
As he nears the end of the year, Tom starts thinking about what lies beyond his biochar pilot. He reflects on everything he’s learned, talks to some others who’ve walked this path before, and dares to imagine a life less smoky. But is he finally ready to start answering some of the big questions he grappled with in his first days? And has his time in the country changed him –

Episode 9: 'Getting It Out'

Nov 26 2024 36 mins  
Tom’s been making biochar for a few weeks now, and while he’s got the basics down, he’s also learning some hard lessons. Lessons like: Fresh wood isn’t very dry. Six weeks isn’t very long. And one pair of hands isn’t very many hands. But making biochar is only half the battle – he also needs to figure out how to use it. So, can he make up any lost time and get this pr

Episode 8: 'The Big One'

Nov 05 2024 37 mins  
‘Twas the night before machine delivery, and Tom’s about to discover what running a biochar business really involves. If the last seven episodes were the world’s longest preamble, this is where the real story begins: and it involves elbow grease, experimentation, and a healthy dose of good humour. But how will he fare against the highest highs and lowest lows of his startup j

Episode 7: 'Got Wood?'

Oct 29 2024 31 mins  
After months of physical and emotional labour, the stars are beginning to align and the prospect of actually making biochar is now tantalisingly close. But Tom’s recipe is still missing one crucial ingredient: wood, and lots of it. So, while he pores over his cashflow projections and awaits delivery of his machine, he sets about trying to find some. And as he soon discovers, this

Episode 6: 'Going Cornwall'

Oct 22 2024 30 mins  
Tom’s baaack! That’s right – after basking briefly in the glow of his new-found ‘fame’, Tom’s returning to your ears for the next chapter of his biochar journey. And he’s ready to leave the city behind and move full-time to the farm. But with funding still uncertain, he’s doing everything he can to keep things on track: from honing his pitch and making contingency p

Episode 5: 'The End of the Beginning'

Jun 04 2024 34 mins  
It’s the fifth and (for now) final episode, and Tom finds himself facing the challenge that all founders will face: how to make the numbers work. So he whips out his calculator, picks up the phone, and starts sending off those grant applications. Amidst it all, he’s dealing with a cold workspace, grappling with contracts, and taking his first foray into filmmaking. Sure, he’s

Episode 4: 'Putting A Label On It'

May 28 2024 32 mins  
Tom is four episodes into his biochar journey, but he’s still facing one big challenge: will the machine he wants allow him to turn his climate dreams into business reality? Meanwhile, he has other things to tick off his to-do list: to incorporate a business, to keep his electric car charged… oh, and to start making a podcast. Amongst it all, he takes the train to Oxford, gets

Episode 3: 'Lean, Mean, Charring Machine'

May 21 2024 33 mins  
It’s episode three, and Tom has begun his search for a machine to make his biochar. But he soon learns that this particular shopping trip is going to be a lot more complicated (and potentially expensive) than he expected. Along the way, he meets a founder who’s been down this road before, encounters the messy world of ‘standards’, and gets lost in an extended baking metapho

Episode 2: 'Location, Location, Location'

May 14 2024 29 mins  
In our second episode, Tom starts to grapple with the realities of his startup mission and addresses the first big hurdle: where to build his business. He learns what he’ll need nearby to support a sustainable and impactful biochar company, revisits his family roots in Cornwall, and attempts to answer the eternal question: how much is a tonne of wood? But is the UK the right plac

Episode 1: 'Scr*w It, Let's Do It'

May 07 2024 28 mins  
Grounded is the story of a startup that wants to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help reshape our relationship with the planet. Ideally without burning to the ground in the process. In this, our first episode, Tom catches the carbon removal bug, makes a bold promise to himself, and receives some work news that nudges him towards a big decision. Along the way, he learns a