Ashish Chatterjee, a seasoned leader with a background at Procter & Gamble, has recently joined the Cintrifuse team as our newest EIR. With his extensive experience in and passion for sustainability, Chatterjee is poised to provide valuable guidance to entrepreneurs and innovators looking to make a positive impact in the clean energy and sustainability sector. At Cintrifuse, he’s focused on enabling a circular economy, partnering closely with Alisa Smith, Director of Innovation. Their efforts have highlighted promising opportunities in areas such as e-waste recycling, battery recycling, food waste repurposing, and plastic recycling. In the below interview, combined with an interview conducted by TechOhio, we will dive into key areas in sustainability and clean energy that hold potential for innovation and growth, both in Cincinnati and beyond. Additionally, we’ll spotlight some pioneering startups that are making remarkable strides in sustainability and environmental conservation, demonstrating the power of innovation in tackling pressing global challenges.
As an EIR, what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators looking to make a positive impact in the clean energy and sustainability space?
In my EIR role at Cintrifuse, I focus on enabling a circular economy. Based on discussions with key stakeholders including large companies and universities in our ecosystem, I see clear opportunity to create value from waste material streams that are currently going to landfill in the areas of (a) e-waste recycling (b) battery recycling, (c) Food waste repurposing and (d) plastic recycling. These are big areas, wherein an entrepreneur can identify multiple material streams, pick one for focus, then translate that into a science-based job to be done with relevant success metrics, and create a plan of action to focus a start-up on.
Sustainability being a big challenge area, there are many start-ups looking at the problem from different angles. I encourage prospective startup founders to get in touch with Cintrifuse with their idea and get perspective on what the landscape looks like relative to it, including potential attractiveness to VCs and big companies.
What are some key areas or sectors in sustainability and clean energy that you believe have the most potential for innovation and growth in Cincinnati and beyond?
To get to a circular economy, we must start with materials that are designed for it. This is key to reducing the use of virgin substrates that come from fossil fuels. In fact, a recent study showed 80% of a product’s lifetime emissions are determined by decisions made while it is being designed. Thus, there is an opportunity to provide training on designing for circularity by academic institutions in the area and/or companies. This is a key enabler for vexing problems like plastic circularity and a much-needed capability for eventual success.
Additionally, our Cincinnati ecosystem has a lot of large companies that use extensive supply chains like P&G and Kroger. As the world’s consumers look for more products that have plant-based ingredients, many of which may carry long supply chains, there is a need for responsible AI to ensure consumers get products free from contamination and made with responsible practices. There is a huge opportunity to reduce waste, as supply chain tracking can better match supply vs. demand – minimizing wasteful production.
Could you highlight a few startups that are making significant strides in sustainability and environmental conservation?
80 Acre Farms is one of the key leaders in the country in vertical farming leveraging AI to optimize inputs, reducing the carbon footprint radically relative to conventional (horizontal) farms.
Metasorbex is working on a pioneering technology using nanomaterials to reduce CO2 from the environment or industrial flue gasses and convert waste to cash.
IntersectAG is an upcycling company focused on circular agriculture solutions at the intersection of food waste, environmental impact, and animal feed.
Read more about Ashish’s background and where his passion for sustainability grew from in the interview by TechOhio below.
At venture capital firms and entrepreneurial organizations, an entrepreneur-in-residence represents someone who can offer advice, guidance, and connections to up-and-coming entrepreneurs. Often, an EIR has experience launching their own startups and guiding growing companies. At Cincinnati’s Cintrifuse, the newest EIR comes from a different, but equally impressive background. Ashish Chatterjee spent nearly 30 years in leadership with Cincinnati-based consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble and was announced as Cintrifuse’s new EIR last month, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.
“The EIR is a nice complement to my big-company experience with Procter & Gamble,” he said. “I found it very intriguing to go into the world of startups, which have a very different philosophy, a different time scale, and different innovation metrics. I believe that, with my background in innovation, I can help multiple groups and startups succeed and be able to further the mission of scaling innovation across multiple vertices. That’s an opportunity that Cintrifuse affords me — it has great scale and is well-connected with the purpose of maximizing the potential of our ecosystem, which I truly believe in.”
Chatterjee worked in India, where he was born, and Japan before moving to Cincinnati, where he’s been for 25 years. And for someone who spent so much time in corporate America, he said he’s energized by the culture around startups. One of his most passionate focuses will be companies that contribute positively to clean energy and the environment.
“I grew up in a relatively poor country in India, and at a very early age, I was initiated to the specter of people losing their homes in monsoons,” he said. “It was really hard to see, at a very young age, people lose their homes and livelihoods almost every year. That started my interest in how we can avoid those things and what we can do. The changing climate is leaving hundreds of millions exposed to this loss of livelihood across the world, most of them in less-developed countries. I thought it would be a good use of my knowledge and skills to understand the problem at its root and influence the direction we can take with companies and entrepreneurs.”
A long-time partner of Ohio Third Frontier, Cintrifuse’s portfolio boasts more than 100 startups, and Chatterjee sees many on that list that can “make a difference,” though it’s still early in his tenure and he’s “just started scratching the surface” of what those companies can do. He’s excited about companies like Metasorbex, which is capturing carbon emissions to create nanocarbons, and 80 Acres, who are growing pesticide-free food in eco-friendly conditions. Seeing a glimpse of those impacts makes him excited to boost the companies under the Cintrifuse umbrella.
“Cintrifuse is a small and mighty organization,” he said. “We are all very well-connected in serving a common purpose of maximizing the potential of startups that are operating in our ecosystem and attracting more, with the goal of driving investment, jobs, and economic value for not only the startups, but also the companies and VCs who partner with us.”
But Cintrifuse – and Cincinnati in general – isn’t just about the smallest companies. One of the Queen City’s biggest draws for business is the large corporations that are right in Cintrifuse’s backyard. And with his experience as a leader in a conglomerate like P&G, Chatterjee counts those big names as a major boost for startups in the area.
“What’s exciting about it is the access that Cincinnati provides to big companies,” he said. “We have P&G, Kroger, Fifth Third, GE, and now Amazon coming in. These big companies all have specific innovation needs that they require to grow. If we can harness those innovation needs and understand them, we can filter that against the startups we have. And if we don’t have them yet, that represents an area where we can invite startups to set up shop. I think Cincinnati has this unique capacity.”
In addition to Ohio’s academic institutions, corporations, hospitals, and more, Chatterjee said he’s energized to be part of the startup culture in the state. He said “Ohio has a lot to offer,” and he’s excited to help startups grow and flourish in the Buckeye State, making an impact on huge issues and solving problems.
“What excites me the most is that we have identified the problems, and those problems have been articulated by the companies and the ecosystem involved,” he said. “These things are organic. Now, we can focus on the solutions. Take an area like municipal waste — it’s about how we can encourage more recycling from consumers rather than tossing it into waste. What do those solutions look like, and how can we create economic value from that?”
Reposted from TechOhio’s article.
