The Capitalist Hippie

Hosted by Marco Pimentel

Business Entrepreneurship

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Dec 2025

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About the show

Capitalist…Hippie. Two words that weren't meant to mix. One worships growth, disruption, and bottom lines. The other? Earth, equity, and a future worth believing in. For decades, they stood in opposition. Not anymore. What was once radical—decarbonization, plant-based proteins, climate-focused investing—is now the biggest economic opportunity of our time. The Capitalist Hippie is a podcast for changemakers rewriting the rules of business. Not as rebellion, but as strategy. Because the world needs founders who push for more. Not just profit, but purpose. Not just scale, but systems change. Hosted by entrepreneur and marketing expert Marco Pimentel, this show gives you the bold ideas, market trends, and go-to-market playbooks proving that sustainability is the future of business. The counterculture is now the blueprint. So… are you building what's next, or clinging to what's broken?

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60 recent

December 17, 2025Episode 9043 min

The Hidden Climate Opportunity Sitting in Your Basement

What if one of the biggest energy wins in your home is hiding in plain sight? In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Luke Winston-Almanzar, CEO and co-founder of Reservoir. Together, they break down why hot water is a surprisingly large slice of household energy use, how smart heat pump tech can deliver ~4x efficiency, and why "connected" home hardware can become a real grid resource.

November 26, 2025Episode 8938 min

Brewing the Future: How Fungi Could Feed 8 Billion People

Protein isn't just a fitness buzzword; it's the foundation of our food future. In this episode, Marco sits down with Thijs Bosch, CEO of The Protein Brewery, to explore how brewing fungal strains could replace factory farms. They unpack the company's recent $30M funding round and how that capital is fueling a new era of sustainable, scalable protein. Together, they unpack what this breakthrough ingredient means for the future of food, sustainability, and profit.

November 12, 2025Episode 8837 min

The Stories We Eat: How Agriculture Communicates

Agriculture isn't broken — it's misunderstood. In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Ali Cox, Olympian and founder of Noble West, to explore how storytelling is reshaping the future of food. From rice fields to pistachio ads, Ali reveals how farmers are reclaiming their place in the value chain by turning transparency into strategy. They dig into why sustainability messaging often fails, how small farms can still win, and what it really takes to turn a crop into a brand consumers care about.

October 22, 2025Episode 8740 min

He Quit NASA to Fix the Way You Power Your Home

The space race was exciting. The climate race is urgent. In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel talks with former NASA engineer, Grant Gunnison, about how he founded Zero Homes to reimagine how Americans power their homes. With 20% of U.S. emissions coming from single-family houses, Zero Homes is using software, data, and design to make retrofits effortless, turning what used to take weeks into a one-hour digital experience. Marco and Grant unpack how better tech and smarter systems can accelerate climate action, lower costs for homeowners, and make sustainable living the new standard.

October 8, 2025Episode 8636 min

The Circular Economy's Next Big Opportunity

Can retired EV batteries help solve our energy crisis? In this episode, Nick Nesbitt, founder of Mapleview Energy reveals how they are transforming used electric vehicle batteries into commercial-scale energy storage solutions. By repurposing batteries with 70-80% remaining capacity, they're tackling critical grid capacity challenges, creating circular economy infrastructure, and turning waste into essential infrastructure.

September 24, 2025Episode 8544 min

How AI's Energy Demand Could Accelerate $2 Trillion Climate Solutions

AI isn't just reshaping our digital world; it's rewriting the energy equation. As data centers surge and demand could reach 11% of global electricity by 2030, climate tech investors and founders face a stark choice: can we power the AI boom while staying on track for decarbonization? In this episode of The Capitalist Hippie Podcast, host Marco Pimentel sits down with Nick van Osdol, who's both investing in and telling the stories of climate tech's next wave as founder of Keep Cool. Join us as we dive into how AI and clean energy are colliding and converging to shape our future.

September 10, 2025Episode 8440 min

How AI-Powered Drones Could Save Billions in Wildfire Damage

Wildfires don't sleep, so why should our firefighting technology? In this episode, host Marco Pimentel sits down with aerospace engineer and FireSwarm co-founder Alex Deslauriers, whose personal experience during Canada's worst wildfire season inspired a bold new idea: deploying AI-powered drone swarms to fight fires 24/7. With heavy-lift drones carrying 350kg payloads and flying when helicopters can't, FireSwarm's technology could transform wildfire response and reshape a $200B disaster market.

August 27, 2025Episode 8345 min

How a $10K Prize Grew Apeel Into a $2 Billion Food Waste Unicorn

A third of all food produced never reaches our plates. Apeel set out to change that—with an idea and a $10,000 prize from a university venture competition that turned into a $2B food-tech disruptor. In this episode, Jenny Du reveals how a plant-based "second skin" is reshaping the global supply chain and keeping produce fresh without plastic, chemicals, or cold storage.

August 13, 2025Episode 8237 min

From Tiny Plots to Triple Growth: The 250 Sq Ft Farm Model

What if the key to fixing food security and boosting property value was hiding in plain sight, right above our heads? MicroHabitat co-founder Orlane Panet is turning unused rooftops into thriving urban farms across 14 cities, with over 400 farms and 3x year-over-year growth. In just 250 sq ft, she's proving you can grow more than vegetables; you can grow community, resilience, and profit. From climate adaptation to corporate engagement, this is the blueprint for building a purpose-driven business that scales.

July 2, 2025Episode 8133 min

Turning $15K and Plastic Bottles Into a Cult Brand

This isn't just another swimwear startup - it's a $15K, single-SKU experiment that exploded into 300% annual growth. In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Londre Bodywear, a brand redefining fashion by embracing the philosophy of doing less, but doing it better. Here's how Ainsley Rose, co-founder and CEO of Londre Bodywear, turned plastic waste into cult classics and bootstrapped a climate-first brand consumers can't stop talking about.