Cruz Foam: John Felts
🏄Surfing, 🌱Styrofoam, ♻️Circular Economy, and 💥More
Fellow Climate Warriors, welcome to another episode of Climate Tech Cocktails.
We’re in a Manhattan state of mind this week as John Felts, Co-founder & CEO of Cruz Foam, bends an elbow, sharing the waves Cruz Foam is making in the sustainable packaging. Propelled by a deep connection with the ocean, powerfully forged in childhood, John’s journey from surfer to scientist and entrepreneur has inspired a mission to provide a natural, sustainable, and easily integrated alternative to styrofoam. Cruz Foam is setting ‘a new standard for what it means to be a sustainable product.’
📻 Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Audacy and Substack👉
We’re grateful to have you with us, fighting the good fight with a cool beverage in hand.
⚡️ New to CTC? Sign up here!👉
📲 Follow us on Twitter 👉
📝 Show Notes Below👇
🎧 New podcast episode:
“When you look at how connected we are to such a force as the ocean…for me surfboards [are] that representation of change.” - John Felts, Co-founder & CEO at Cruz Foam
What we drank during the episode: Manhattans - one with 🍸Powers Whiskey and another with🍸WhistlePig Whiskey.
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:
People/places/things mentioned during the show:
🧑💻Tom Chi
🧑💻Marc Benioff
🧑💻Kelly Slater
🏛️The Irish Emigration Museum - Irish Family History Centre
📍Maui
🏫USC
🏫UCSB
📖How Soccer Explains the World
-TIMESTAMPS-
[0:00] Introduction
[0:16] Meet John Felts
[1:43] What are we drinking?
[5:41] Discovering Irish genealogy
[6:48] A Moment for Lahaina
[12:38] A Deep Ocean Connection
[15:09] UCSB Impacts
[18:46] Catalyst Moments: Family
[22:00] Post-Grad Experience
[25:53] Surfing, Marco Rolandi, and starting a company
[35:41] Fun, rapid prototyping
[40:47] ‘Surfboard Science’
[43:38] Tom Chi enters the picture
[46:29] The Last Frontier: Alaska
[50:31] A Solution for Styrofoam
[53:21] What’s chitin?
[56:38] Compostability
[58:43] The economics of it all
[1:01:41] Partnerships in place
[1:06:13] Recyclability
[1:07:21] The Future of Cruz Foam
[1:10:10] Rapid Fire Questions
[1:21:30] Outro