#189 Sustainable Building Materials, Mycelium, Scaling Production, Navigating Market Acceptance & More w/ Ilya Gindin (COMU Labs)

Why does the mushroom always get invited to parties?Because they are such a fungi!BTW - today, we have a new, shorter episode format for you. If you like it, please let us know in the comments below! 👇🏽 Okay, let’s do this… 🚀🌎 Welcome back to CleanTechies, Founder edition. We are The #1 Podcast For ClimateTech entrepreneurs. Each week, we publish 2x hour-long conversations with leading Founders, Investors, Operators, and Thinkers in ClimateTech to share their insights and tips for you. On top of that, we publish other written content like our Companies to Watch series, where we highlight early stage startups operating in the spaces of our guests. That way, if you find yourself bullish on a space after an episode, you might find a deal you can chase! Whether you’re an active ClimateTech entrepreneur, an aspiring one, an investor, a service provider…anything that touches supporting early stage climate tech, this is the place for you. Subscribe today.Today, we are talking to Ilya Gindin from COMU Labs.Mycelium is an emerging decarbonized building material due to its sustainability, biodegradability, and strength. It is cultivated by growing fungal networks, also known as mushrooms. Mycelium-based products can be used for insulation, bricks, and packaging. Today, we have a ClimateTech Entrepreneur making waves with Mycelium. Ilya is CEO & Co-Founder of COMU Labs, bridging the gap between sustainability and affordability in furniture materials. They utilize fungi to transform agricultural waste into robust, machinable and fire-retardant material that looks and behaves like plywood.Some of what we chatted about:* How Mycelium can be pressed into high-density boards * Why their material is substrate agnostic (and what the heck that means 🤔)* Challenges that still exist with market acceptance* Building a sustainable and healthy company culture & more. 🍄📺 Watch on YouTube | 🍎 Apple Podcasts | 🎧 Spotify | 🗣️ Join the Slack Channel🚨Attention! 🚨 We interrupt your regular programming for an important message.ClimateTech founders are taking on a huge challenge. Building a climate startup is highly complex but also SO NECESSARY if we are going to save the climate. Founders not only need to understand how to build a startup, but you also need to understand how to deal with hardware, have a strong handle on climate policy, know how to fundraise from diverse investor types, etc. etc. etc…It’s a lot.That’s why we make CleanTechies, the #1 Podcast for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs.In addition to our jobs, we devote all of our spare time to producing this podcast for you. This way, you can learn from others’ mistakes, successes, and gain insights on navigating the complex ClimateTech world.If this mission resonates with you, we are asking for your support. It takes a lot of effort, and it’s not free. Your support helps us keep this going.If you’re already a subscriber and want to contribute financially, click “Upgrade to Paid” at the top right of your screen.If not, follow the steps once you click “Subscribe Now” below to help us out. Thanks for helping us help all the climate entrepreneurs like you. 🙏 🌎The Guest: Ilya Gindin* Ilya Gindin is the CEO & Co-Founder of COMU Labs* Before starting COMU Labs, Ilya spent over a decade in the startup world, primarily in software, where he held roles as a product lead and startup founder* His transition into the world of sustainable materials began after experiencing burnout and developing a passion for crafting and learning about furniture and materials* Ilya's co-founder, Ilia Litvak, initially sparked his interest in mycelium by exploring the potential of growing edible mushrooms using restaurant waste* This exploration led to the innovative idea of creating high-density pressed boards from mycelium, which aligned with Ilya's values of reducing deforestationThe Company: COMU LabsOne Liner: Sustainable, waste-based mycelium lumber alternatives for eco-friendly furniture and construction materialsCOMU Labs bridges the gap between sustainability and affordability in furniture materials by addressing a growing demand in a multibillion dollar market where 80% of products contribute to deforestation and 40% of consumers are having to pay more for sustainable alternatives. They utilize fungi to transform agricultural waste into robust, machinable and fire-retardant material that looks and behaves like plywood. It’s sustainable because it’s local, toxin-free and compostable and. It’s affordable as it’s produced from the local waste.Do you have suggestions on future guests or topics? Leave a comment!Unable to support financially but still want to help? Share this post w/ 3 ClimateTech (or aspiring) entrepreneurs. Sharing is super helpful to us, and it costs you nothing.📝 Show Notes:Topics* 01:31 Intro* 02:49 Discovering Mycelium* 09:09 Advantages of Mycelium as a Building Material* 11:43 Common Misconceptions about Mycelium* 20:31 Scouting New Talent* 24:58 Challenges Ahead for Comu LabsLinks* Ilya Gindin | COMU Labs* Connect with Somil on LinkedIn | Connect with Silas on LinkedIn* Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn* @Silas & @Somil_Agg on X * This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.Asks 👋👉 Listeners Survey* We would love to hear how we can improve the show and what you like most.👉 Fundraising for Founders* If founders are looking for funding in the ClimateTech space, reach out & schedule a chat here!👉 Early-Stage Founders Hiring* Silas just started his own recruitment consultancy tailor-made for early-stage ClimateTech startups. He does this by offering heavily discounted headhunting services for companies at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A companies. If you need a hand finding the best talent on the market, and you don’t want to sell your kidney to pay for it, let’s chat. (booking here)👉 Meet Top Founders* Interested in getting in front of hundreds of ClimateTech VCs and Founders each month, reach out to [email protected] to learn more about becoming a sponsor.If you couldn’t already tell, we care a lot about ClimateTech founders 😂🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see y’all next episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe

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