Listen Here

| |
Subscribe

Conversation
Highlights

 

Welcome to another episode of Category Visionaries — the show that explores GTM stories from tech’s most innovative B2B founders. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Chris Hare, CEO of PRTI, a waste-to-energy company that has raised over $25 Million in funding.

Here are the most interesting points from our conversation:

  • Chris’ diverse background in technology and industrial businesses, including roles at Northrop Grumman, an MIT spin-out acquired by Microsoft, and Sony Ericsson, where he led the procurement of components for 100 million mobile phones per year.
  • The massive global problem of waste tire disposal, with over 300 million tires discarded annually in the US alone, and the limitations of current solutions like landfills, incineration, and asphalt mixing.
  • PRTI’s proven, automated, and modular technology for converting tires into gas, oil, solid fuel, and steel through a thermal process, validated over 10,000 runs and 100,000 operating hours.
  • The company’s journey from acquiring the core technology from an Italian team in 2013 to building a multi-site operation focused on localizing the waste tire supply chain.
  • The challenges of automating a manual process and refining algorithms to achieve robust performance, requiring a return to basics and perseverance through setbacks.
  • Chris’ lessons learned in fundraising, including the importance of authentic storytelling, transparency with investors, and enabling the entire team to communicate a unified but personalized narrative.

 

Actionable
Takeaways

Look for "Too Obvious" Problems That Lack Solutions:

Chris frames the waste tire challenge as a "largely unsolved and unknown problem" that elicits disbelief when people encounter the staggering statistics. He advises founders to be alert for pain points that seem so glaring, most assume they must have already been addressed. Where conventional wisdom says "of course somebody's solving that," there may be a ripe opportunity to be seized by questioning that assumption.

Prioritize Proving Before Scaling:

PRTI invested years in demonstrating the repeatability, reliability, and efficiency of its tire conversion technology before shifting focus to expansion. Chris emphasizes the importance of achieving robust performance through extensive iteration cycles before attempting to scale. Founders bringing new innovations to market should define clear success criteria and focus on fully validating their solution prior to accelerating growth.

Cultivate a Multidisciplinary Team to Navigate Pivots:

Chris highlights the value of PRTI's diverse team, spanning backgrounds from the space program to real estate, in adapting to challenges and finding common threads across industries. When early automation efforts fell short, this multifaceted expertise enabled the company to reset and ultimately succeed. Founders should intentionally build teams with varied skill sets to enhance resilience and creative problem-solving, especially in uncharted domains.

Master the Art of Authentic Storytelling:

PRTI's fundraising success has hinged on its team's ability to craft and continuously refine a resonant narrative. Chris stresses that while storytelling is a science, it must be authentic to each team member to build trust and credibility with investors. Founders should empower their teams to internalize and personalize the company story, while ensuring key messages remain aligned.

Communicate Proactively and Transparently with Investors:

Extending the theme of authenticity, Chris emphasizes the importance of frank and proactive communication with investors, even when the news is mixed. By openly sharing challenges alongside successes, PRTI has cultivated trust and empathy among its backers. Founders should resist the temptation to sugar-coat updates and instead aim for consistent transparency to forge durable investor relationships.

Recommended Founder
Interviews

Allen Kramer

Co-Founder & COO of Crux

Allen Kramer, Co-Founder and COO of Crux: $27 Million Raised to Power the Future of Sustainable Finance

Listen now

Alisa Valderrama

Co-founder and CEO of FutureProof Technologies

Alisa Valderrama, Co-Founder and CEO of FutureProof Technologies: $10 Million Raised to Translate Climate and Weather and Financial Risk with Unprecedented Accuracy

Listen now

Ali Javidan

Co-Founder of Range Energy

Ali Javidan, Co-Founder of Range Energy: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Electric Semi-Trucks

Listen now

Kenneth Herschel

CEO and Co-Founder of Viggo

Kenneth Herschel, CEO and Co-Founder of Viggo: Nearly $6 Million Raised to Build the Future of EV Charging Infrastructure

Listen now

Gary Lewis

CEO & Co-Founder of Resourcify

Gary Lewis, CEO & Co-Founder of Resourcify: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recycling Management

Listen now

Sid Jha

Founder & CEO of Arbol

Sid Jha, Founder & CEO of Arbol: Over $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Climate Risk Management

Listen now

Omar Abou-Sayed

Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Vaulted Deep

Omar Abou-Sayed, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Vaulted Deep: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Removal

Listen now

Arvin Ganesan

CEO of Fourth Power

Arvin Ganesan, CEO of Fourth Power: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Storage

Listen now

Antoine Welter

CEO and Co-Founder of Circu Li-ion

Antoine Welter, CEO & Co-Founder of Circu Li-ion: $8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Battery Upcycling

Listen now

Curtis VanWalleghem

CEO of Hydrostor

Curtis VanWalleghem, CEO of Hydrostor: $322 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Storage

Listen now

Alex Siminoff

Director of Marketing of Parity

Alex Siminoff, Director of Marketing at Parity: Mastering HVAC Optimization with Effective B2B Storytelling

Listen now

Ben Christensen

CEO of Cambium Carbon

Ben Christensen, CEO of Cambium Carbon: $5.5 Million Raised to Build a new Category of Sustainable Wood

Listen now

Gary Ong

CEO & Founder of Celadyne

Gary Ong, CEO & Founder of Celadyne: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Green Hydrogen Production

Listen now

Greg Newbloom

CEO and Founder of Membrion

Greg Newbloom, CEO & Founder of Membrion: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Industrial Wastewater Treatment Solutions

Listen now

Marc Borrett

CEO & Co-Founder of Reactive Technologies

Marc Borrett, CEO & Co-Founder of Reactive Technologies: $80 Million Raised to Build the Future of Grid Measurement

Listen now

Michael Witte

CEO & Co-founder of Workrise

Michael Witte, CEO & Co-founder of Workrise: $750 Million Raised to Power the Future of the Energy Industry

Listen now

Marina Azcarate

Head of Marketing of Mitiga Solutions

Marina Azcarate, Head of Marketing at Mitiga Solutions: Driving the Future of Climate Risk with Cutting-Edge Tech

Listen now

Kameale Terry

Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!

Kameale Terry, Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!: Over $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

Listen now

Manik Suri

Manik Suri, CEO and Founder of Therma: $30 Million Raised to Build the Cooling Intelligence Category

Listen now

Tim Weiss

CEO and Co-Founder of Optera

Tim Weiss, CEO & Co-Founder of Optera: $17.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Management and Accounting

Listen now

Allison Wolff

CEO of Vibrant Planet

Allison Wolff, CEO at Vibrant Planet: $34 Million Raised to Build the Future of Land Management Restoration

Listen now

Joselyn Lai

CEO & Co-Founder of Bedrock Energy

Joselyn Lai, CEO & Co-Founder of Bedrock Energy: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Geothermal Energy

Listen now

Michael Belenkie

CEO and President of Entropy

Michael Belenkie, CEO and President of Entropy: $300 Million Raised to Spearhead Efficiency and Innovation in the Carbon Capture Economy

Listen now

Matt LeDucq

CEO and Co-Founder of Forum Mobility

Matt LeDucq, CEO & Co-Founder of Forum Mobility: $423 Million Raised to Power the Future of Zero-Emission Trucking

Listen now

Javier Marti

CEO and Founder of Divirod

Javier Marti, CEO & Founder of Divirod: $7.6 Million Raised to Build the Google Maps For Water

Listen now

Iain Cooper

CEO of SeekOps Inc.

Iain Cooper, CEO of SeekOps, $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Emissions Monitoring

Listen now

Elizabeth Muller

CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Isolation

Elizabeth Muller, CEO and Co-Founder of Deep Isolation: Over $22 Million Raised to Build the Future of Nuclear Waste Disposal

Listen now

Sandeep Ahuja

CEO of Covetool

Sandeep Ahuja, CEO of Covetool: $36 Million Raised to Power the Future of Building Design with AI

Listen now

Adam Silver

CEO & Co-Founder of Plural Energy

Adam Silver, CEO & Co-Founder of Plural Energy: $2.8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Clean Energy Investing

Listen now

Kentaro Kawamori

CEO & Co-Founder of Persefoni

Kentaro Kawamori, CEO & Co-Founder of Persefoni: $114 Million Raised to Build the Climate Disclosure & Carbon Management Category

Listen now

Virginia Klausmeier

CEO and Founder of Sylvatex

Virginia Klausmeier, CEO and Founder of Sylvatex: More Than $15 Million Raised to Build a Better Class of Sustainable Materials and Drive the Green Revolution

Listen now

Kaitlyn Albertoli

CEO and Co-Founder of Buzz Solutions

Kaitlyn Albertoli, CEO and Co-Founder of Buzz Solutions: Nearly $6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Infrastructure Inspection

Listen now

Khaled Hassounah

CEO & Founder of Ample

Khaled Hassounah, CEO and Founder of Ample: $290M Raised to Build the Future of EV Batteries

Listen now

Quentin Scrimshire

CEO and Co-Founder of Modo Energy

Quentin Scrimshire, CEO & Co-Founder of Modo Energy: $20 Million Raised to Build the Energy Asset Benchmarking Category

Listen now

Josh Knauer

Co-Founder of Reseed

Josh Knauer, Co-Founder of Reseed: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Credits for Farmers

Listen now

Greg Fallon

CEO of Geminus

Greg Fallon, CEO of Geminus: $12 Million Raised to Help the Industrial Sector Prepare for the Energy Transition

Listen now

Mukund Karanjikar

CEO of CleanJoule

Mukund Karanjikar, CEO of CleanJoule: $55 Million Raised to Power the Future of Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Listen now

Astrid Atkinson

CEO & cofounder of Camus Energy

Astrid Atkinson, CEO of Camus Energy: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Grid Management

Listen now

Dan Forman

CEO and Co-Founder of Copper Labs

Dan Forman, CEO and Co-Founder of Copper Labs: $13 Million Raised to Enable the Data-Driven Utility of the Future

Listen now

Thibault Castagne

CEO and Founder of Vianova

Thibault Castagne, CEO and Founder of Vianova: $8.8 Million Raised to Build the Go-To Operating System for the Mobility World

Listen now

Doron Myersdorf

CEO & Co-Founder of StoreDot

Doron Myersdorf, CEO & Co-Founder of StoreDot : $200 Million Raised to Power the Future of Electric Vehicles

Listen now

Matt Loszak

CEO & Co-Founder of Aalo Atomics

Matt Loszak, CEO & Co-Founder of Aalo Atomics: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Nuclear Energy

Listen now

Matei Stratan

CEO of Ogre

Matei Stratan, CEO of Ogre: $2 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Management

Listen now

Liz Gilligan

CEO & Founder of Material Evolution

Liz Gilligan, CEO & Founder of Material Evolution: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sustainable Cement

Listen now

Joshua Riedy

CEO and Founder of Thread

Joshua Riedy, CEO and Founder of Thread: $20 Million Raised to Power the Future of Energy Grid Maintenance

Listen now

Martin Kosak

Head of Marketing of Sensoneo

Event Marketing Mastery: Martin Kosak on Sensoneo’s Success at Trade Shows

Listen now

Troy Carter

CEO and Co-Founder of Earthshot Labs

Troy Carter, CEO and Co-Founder of Earthshot Labs: $11 Million Raised to Power the Future of Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration

Listen now

Zak Lefevre

CEO of ChargeLab

Zak Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab: $20 Million Raised to Build the Operating System for EV Chargers

Listen now

Dr. Kai-Philipp Kairies

CEO and Co-Founder of Accure

Dr. Kai-Philipp Kairies, CEO & Co-Founder of Accure: $18.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Battery Intelligence

Listen now