Rick Klau’s Post

I spend most of my time talking about the Inflation Reduction Act's climate benefits. But in addition to being good for the planet, the IRA is also *really* good for American pocketbooks: federal spending on healthcare is more than 2x defense spending, yet until the Inflation Reduction Act came along the US government was legally prohibited from using that market position to negotiate lower drug prices. As a result, Americans pay 200-300% more than patients in other developed nations for the same exact drugs. With this new order, "some Medicare Part B patients may save as much as $4,593 per day if they use those [one of 64] drugs during the quarter." 🤯 https://lnkd.in/gcjgDAXm

I vividly remember meeting Clementine Jacoby. Sam Schillace pinged me years ago, saying simply, "You two should meet." From that first meeting, I've consistently been impressed by her vision, her unwavering commitment, her ability to attract people to her cause. To spend an hour with Clem is to be pulled into her orbit, to decide you need to do whatever you can to help. And her work at Recidiviz is so, so vital. Better data produces better outcomes – and in the criminal justice world, we desperately need better outcomes. If you are a storyteller who loves working alongside inspiring leaders who are making the world a better place, you should apply for this job.

One of the first things I did when Julia Y. and I started talking about Onsemble was to call Michael Margolis. Working alongside him was a delight; with a startup idea that needed a lot of iteration, it was clear we needed some guidance. Within a month, we'd had a half dozen conversations with our bullseye customers. We learned some very surprising things from those conversations – things that still guide our thinking more than a year later. And we quickly ruled out some ideas that would have been a distraction. Thrilled to know he's sharing this wisdom with a broader audience. For free! (Have I mentioned how delightful he is?) Can't wait to read it.

These updates from Mark make progress seem not just possible, but likely. ☀️💨⚡️

"If you don’t mark the racecourse, you can’t celebrate crossing the finish line (or even tell when you’re getting closer to it). In other words, I outline clear goals so that everyone knows what they’re working on and why — and so that we can confidently declare victory when we get there! This has a huge impact on morale." Absolutely love this post on #OKRs from Lisa Conn!

A recent Onsemble customer shared that they’d failed repeatedly to upgrade their water heaters. Incentives were too hard to understand, and contractors were too hard to find. Then she downloaded our app. When Julia and I started Onsemble, we knew that home decarbonization was a massive lever for climate impact: homes represent more than 20% of all carbon emissions in the country. But homeowners we talked to had no idea that their home was such a big part of the climate crisis. When we asked how they might address the issue, they all said: I don’t have time to make this a priority. And even if I did, I wouldn’t know where to start. For the handful of homeowners who had tried to decarbonize, they had a common experience: they’d call one contractor, only to have the contractor try to talk them out of the transition to a heat pump appliance. Or information about incentives was difficult to find and seemed contradictory. (Or both!) Few made it all the way through. We talked to the contractors: why weren’t they telling their customers about the many incentives available that would dramatically reduce the cost of those upgrades? Once again, we heard the same responses: paperwork was too confusing, it took too long to get paid back (if they got paid back at all). So contractors mostly ignored the incentives. (And can you blame them? Either they’d have to float the incentive dollars indefinitely, waiting for payback, or they’d have to collect full payment upfront from the customer and then promise to reimburse them when – if! – they got paid back.) Reducing home emissions is critical to addressing the climate crisis. But to do so at scale requires meeting every stakeholder where they are – and eliminating the friction preventing electrification from happening more quickly. This was why Julia and I started Onsemble. Back to my house: I downloaded the Onsemble app and scanned the photos of my existing water heaters. That’s it. The app identified the incentives I qualified for – in my case, reducing my out-of-pocket costs by over 60% – and paired me with one of Onsemble’s quality contractor partners. Less than two weeks later, the gas line in my garage was capped and I had two new Rheem Manufacturing heat pump water heaters. The installer received the incentives from Onsemble; I paid the difference. Onsemble handled the incentive paperwork and ensured that the various incentive authorities got the information they needed to pay Onsemble back. Onsemble made what seemed impossible, simple. And now that my new water heaters are installed – and connected to the Internet – I not only have a more efficient, climate-friendly appliance that saves money each month, I have a wealth of data that’s already identifying additional opportunities for further savings and efficiency improvements. (That’s next week’s post.) #heatpumpwaterheaters #decarbonization #homeelectrification

Excited to share that Onsemble was selected as a finalist for next month's Housing Innovation Alliance, LLC Pitchfest. Looking forward to attending the summit with Julia Y. and sharing Onsemble's story.

Congrats to Paul Lambert, Bill Kee and the entire Quilt team on today's launch! Got a chance to see the system in person at last night's pre-launch event, and I'm so impressed at the polished user experience, the thoughtful design elements, and the efficiency of the overall system. It's an exciting day for #heatpumps! https://lnkd.in/dtme-u3E