Okay, this isn’t actually a piece about dumpster diving. I have not yet submerged myself in anyone's trash, and rest assured, I don’t intend to.
But since Pablos mentioned that “tens of billions of dollars a year… ends up in a goldmine we call a landfill”, I've had visions of recreating Michael Scott searching for the lost leads.
The Office - "Hope Grows In A Dump"
The value, though, isn’t in missing paper or even accidentally-thrown-out Bitcoin keys. It’s in laptops, phones, and any other tech one can dredge up.
You see, we need a whole lot of copper, silver, gold, and other metals to make our electronics. To fill this need we create mines that cause a whole lot of environmental damage, based on the possibility of finding these materials.
But we know where they are with 100% certainty: in the trash (thanks, yearly upgrades). The problem is that it’s tough to get the metals out of the electronic waste.
Or at least, it was. Pablos Holman recently shared his portfolio of companies and one of them, Descycle, has developed a groundbreaking chemical process for extracting valuable materials from our trashed electronics.
Check out the video at the 11:42 mark to hear it in Pablos’ own words.
Much like the raccoon that broke into my apartment building last night, Pablos didn’t stop with just the trash. Pablos is backing ventures ranging from unquestionably safe nuclear reactors to autonomous ships powered by wind and sun, all aiming to solve big problems and create a more awesome future. All this is because we aren’t solving the right problems. We’re not tackling the physical problems. We just go out and make apps.
Pablos crunched the numbers and found that the revenue of all the software companies amounts to $2 trillion (or about ten Jeff Bezoses).
Impressive? Not so much when you consider that global GDP is $100 trillion. Ninety-eight percent of what the world is doing is untouched by Silicon Valley.
Instead of being a “SaaShole”, Pablos wants us to go and solve the important problems. Don’t scratch the itch that you and your friends have; scratch the itch that one billion people have.
We are living in a time of unparalleled capability—we have the knowledge and tools to make meaningful change. It's time to aim them at challenges that really matter.
Let's replace the negative narratives with positive, practical visions of a more awesome future.
For inspiration on these positive, practical visions, watch Pablos here!
And see what he is invested in here!
So let's stop tinkering around the edges and start diving into the challenges that matter. Join us at Startupfest next summer—you might even win a prize. See you there!