Opportunities for disruption in the sustainability space are almost endless. That’s a good and bad thing.
It’s certainly not ideal to have so many climate-change issues to have to address through technology and startup creation. That said, new, transformative companies and tools continue to emerge to tackle the challenge head-on.
One such solution is Chuck.
The advantaged startup created by CMS Energy Corporation in partnership with High Alpha Innovation is already making strides to solve two big problems:
- Turn wood waste at construction sites into renewable energy.
- Support construction firms and other companies that are heavy users of wood product in adopting more eco-friendly practices.
We spoke with Chuck Co-founder and CEO Todd Thomas to get insights into his background as an entrepreneur, learn what led him to join the High Alpha Innovation portfolio company, and what’s ahead for Chuck’s AI-driven platform, as the business continues to grow and scale.
HAI: You’ve had an extensive career as an entrepreneur. What are some of the companies you’ve led? How did your work there impact your decision to join Chuck?
Todd: I have led a number of companies over my nearly three-decade career, and been a part of several different accelerators across industries over the years.
The common thread among each role I’ve had is being able to harness emerging technologies to drive new efficiencies and commercialization opportunities.
A couple years ago, I led the Stanley Black & Decker Radical Innovation Accelerator.
Our mission was to utilize artificial intelligence and connected technologies to help implement sustainability practices in manufacturing and construction.
We combined an agile-lean startup mindset with customer-centric design thinking and AI-connected technology to develop some truly novel and radical innovations that delivered real, tangible results.
That was a great primer for Chuck.
HAI: Share your thoughts on meeting with High Alpha Innovation and CMS Energy about Chuck and the founding CEO role. What convinced you the company was the right fit?
Todd: A High Alpha Innovation talent team member reached out to me on LinkedIn with a very well personalized and targeted message.
That got my attention, when he explained the company and opportunity:
Solve a sustainability-centric problem that no other organization had thought to solve yet.
Then, I met High Alpha Innovation Head of Talent Cate Mollett, who is awesome, to get further insights into the position and business. I immediately found the hypothesis for Chuck brilliant.
It became clear after these conversations with them and leaders at High Alpha Innovation that we could ultimately address two massive issues impacting the world at large by connecting them — using one to solve for the other.
I also love the High Alpha Innovation venture-building approach:
Launch a startup with a first investor and customer, provide all the initial back-office support, and let the founders and rest of the leadership team focus on building the product and business.
After chatting with the High Alpha Innovation team, I then met the team at NorthStar Clean Energy, a subsidiary of CMS Energy. They were not at all what I expected.
CMS is a 135-year-old, billion-dollar public utility. In my first meeting with them, I was honestly expecting old men who were mired in bureaucracy and risk-averse. Instead, they were young and energetic.
The CMS and NorthStar teams embraced and got excited by new, innovative ideas. It was evident they were truly looking to lead the sustainability charge in the U.S. energy space.
All in all, they’ve turned out to be a great partner and fantastic first investor and client that, along with High Alpha Innovation, have set me up for success since day one.
HAI: Chuck is disrupting the biomass space and has gotten the attention of major corporations. What have you been most proud of to date? What excites you about the future?
The global demand for energy isn’t just growing. It’s accelerating — rapidly.
And renewables are going to have to be the primary source for tens of millions of Americans sooner than later, given our domestic carbon-neutral goals.
NorthStar Clean Energy and other energy thought leaders are rightfully looking to solar, wind, and biomass to meet this growing need. At the same time, the need to reduce global waste is becoming critical. Both domestic and global enterprises are desperately seeking solutions.
Enter Woodchuck.AI, the core tech offered by Chuck.
Woodchuck.AI is a wood waste-diversion and clean-energy platform that elegantly addresses both of these issues.
The software identifies wood at construction sites, warehouses, and similar work environments that can be taken out of waste streams and turned into green, renewable energy.
It's a beautiful and simple solution, and its go-to-market timing was near-perfect.
Organizations like Ryan Companies, Barton Malow, IKEA, Amazon, Waste Management, and GM understand the problems all too well. That’s why we knew they’d love Woodchuck.AI.
What we actually underestimated upon launching the company was the sizable demand for a platform like Woodchuck.AI and the sense of urgency that many of these companies have to make progress with carbon emissions reductions.
It's amazing when you have huge, international enterprises asking this little startup, ‘How soon can you start?’
We got to revenue in the first three months after launch, and have continued to enjoy steady growth.
But what I am most proud of is that, in our first five months, as we were literally just getting started, Chuck has already diverted 100 tons of CO2. Not bad, in my opinion.
HAI: Can you speak about any new or upcoming product or strategic partnerships for Chuck? What’s on the horizon?
A top priority for us soon will be to stand up our first facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This facility will primarily serve as an innovation environment for our proprietary AI and platform.
In time, having this new space will allow us to compress our development cycles and accelerate the evolution of Woodchuck.AI.
What’s more, it will help us showcase how our tech can enable potential clients.
They can come in and see it in action first-hand, and even get sneak peeks into what we're building next.
The cool part is this innovation facility will not be a cost center. It will actually be a fully functional, biomass-processing facility that serves as an innovation house and a profit center.
We’ll be able to test and iterate on our platform in a real working environment that processes biomass, which is an exciting prospect to think about as we grow and scale.
