I think best out loud, especially with someone who pushes back. Over the years a few people have been kind enough to put a microphone in front of me. The three recordings are worth your time if you want to know how I think: what I said about regulation and politics, about evil companies and the people in them, how to build a company culture and about the Earth observation industry’s love affair with its own satellites.

If you would rather talk than watch or read, let’s talk.

A. Interviews and podcasts

Geoawesome with Muthu Kumar: the EU Deforestation Regulation (2023)

15 minutes · Geoawesome, October 2023

On EUDR compliance, audit-ready data and why companies now come to the table for answers instead of satellites.

"(EUDR) It’s one of those regulations that is intuitively easy to understand, because everyone wants to stop deforestation. It’s easy to sell, it’s a sympathetic goal. But if you go into the details, that’s where it really starts to hurt."

“Before, you would spend 12 to 18 months explaining why people should buy your product. Now it’s the other way around: people come to us not because they’re interested in satellites, but because they’re interested in solutions.”

“The information gap of the consumer in the supermarket is much bigger than for the producer on the ground.” (On peanut butter and palm oil.)

“If there’s been a high deforestation rate in a certain area, the future deforestation risk is very low, because the forest is already gone.” (On how risk gets defined.)

Minds Behind Maps #22 with Maxime Lenormand (2022)

Listen on Minds Behind Maps · 2 hours 25 minutes (YES LONG FORM) · 1 June 2022

How a startup began, raising a first round, company culture, hiring, open source, and what leaders need to know about technology. Max was my intern, so he knew where to poke.

“I work with Cargill. Cargill is supposedly the most evil company in the world, but there’s John and Hank from Cargill, who are the most wonderful persons you will ever meet.” (Because companies don’t exist, there are only people.)

“I’m a consistent 6.5 at everything. If you’re looking for the best, don’t pick me. But in most things I’m better than most people, so at some point I always beat you.”

“Lunch is much more important for your culture than your strategy day.”

“Remote sensing is a super young, immature industry full of nerds with their back to the market and their face to the satellite.”

TerraWatch Space with Aravind Ravichandran (2022)

Listen to episode 51 · audio · 9 November 2022

On Earth observation strategy, the four waves of EO companies, and why the market is not interested in Earth observation.

“You shouldn’t fight the enemy, you should join the enemy.”

“The second wave of EO companies is, impolitely, the PhD department incorporated.”

"(your prospects and clients:) They don’t care about the iceberg, but we like the iceberg too much. We organize conferences around the iceberg. We congratulate each other with the iceberg."

“The market is not interested in Earth observation. People say they’re interested in satellites, but in a Star Wars kind of way.”

“Don’t show your pitch deck to your mother. It’s good for your ego, but it’s not good for your business. Go to the sharks. They will rip you apart, but you will learn a lot.”

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B. Articles

More recent writing lives in write.

C. Talks and profiles

Want to talk about any of this? See how I consult, what I write or book a meeting.