It seems like the first or last question of every phone call is “What are you up to?”
It’s a great question and especially in the times of remote work, it’s often hard to figure out what people are up to? It’s probably the thing I wonder the most about people I read online. What are they up to? What do they work on?
So in the spirit of writing what I would want to read, I figured I would share what I’m up to as of now.
What I’m Up To
Ribbit Network
About 10 months ago, I started seriously exploring a question I had about climate change: “What don’t we have a detailed greenhouse gas emissions map that can be used to guide climate action and mitigation”.
That question grew into a project, then a community, and now finally an official 501(c)(3) not-for-profit building open-source hardware and software.
The sensors we build for Ribbit Network are the key first step to collecting this data and making it accessible through a public dataset one to ensure a just climate transition.
I’m the executive director and I spend my time managing volunteers, trying to raise funds for the org., and doing a lot of admin work behind the scenes.
I find the work very fulfilling, but I don’t get paid anything from it yet. Hopefully, soon we can figure out the correct and value-aligned funding strategy for the org to pay people for their work on what I think is a very important project.
You can check out more at ribbitnetwork.org.
Coaching
You’ve probably seen my past writing about why I think accelerators are a bad fit for early start hardware or hardtech startups.
To learn more about that problem, I started doing early-stage startup founder coaching for a select group of founders that I felt were on the path to do something excellent, but didn’t feel served by accelerator options. You can read a bit more here if you’re interested.
It’s been really rewarding and I’m enjoying the learnings from the process. I hope that most of the learnings from that process will end up in writing here!
Consulting
My main source of income right now comes from consulting work that I do. I work with a few companies that range from incredibly small startups (2 people) to fairly large corporations (2000 people), though mostly I prefer the smaller companies going through a growth phase.
I get to do all kinds of different work. Some of the things I do:
Technical engineering consulting - Building hardware and software products, mostly in the prototype phase
Technical leadership - Helping teams develop the skills to be excellent or coaching more junior engineers
Organization therapy - This one is the weirdest. A lot of companies know they have problems, but they can’t quite pinpoint exactly what the source of the problem is or how to fix it. There usually aren’t easy or simple answers and the work to dig in and unpack the situations is closer to the work of a therapist than anything else. Hence: organizational therapy.
Nonprofit Board Chair: Electric Potential
As part of the learning journey for starting a non-profit, I thought it was important to learn about how nonprofits operate. Before founding Ribbit Network, I was given the chance to join the board of another non-profit: Electric Potential.
Electric Potential is Gen Z's digital community and information hub for creating social change. I really dig the work they are doing and aligns with my values.
Though a somewhat random set of circumstances, I found myself voted in as an interim Board Chair for EP. It’s been interesting to learn by doing with great mentors and be in a position of servant leadership for the next generation.
Anyway, that’s what I’m up to! Feel free to chat me up in the comments or share what you are up to!
Great work, Keenan. Keep up the good work. Your work has been a source of inspiration. Am looking forward towards making some significant contribution in this area. Have a great day ahead :))