Rising ICON #28: Brad Fletcher
What name do you prefer to be called?
Brad. Except somebody called me Bison one time and it kinda made me wish everyone called me that.
What are your pronouns?
I understand the importance of pronouns for many, but personally choose not to specify.
Where did you grow up?
Boston, and Maine, and Utah
What city are you currently based in?
St Paul, MN
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
“Hi. Yes, I’m her dad. Sorry, I’ve been trying to teach her that biting is bad.”
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
That I’d love to make a cameo in a movie as someone sitting on a park bench holding a newspaper in front of my face. Somebody yells a funny name, then I lower the newspaper, look with shifty eyes in both directions, then raise the newspaper back up. If anyone has an opportunity for that, please hit me up!
Who do you help?
Now: Low-income coastal communities in the US
Eventually: Humans, but only the ones who use electricity
What are you building now?
A system that generates electricity from the tides of the ocean. Renewable, emission-free, and cost effective.
What were you building ten years ago today?
A car insurance app so people could compare rates
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Our tidal energy system will be powering 10 million homes, with serious inroads to power 700 million homes in the decade following. I would also like to run some type of family office or venture fund that invests in founders who are overlooked or downright ignored by typical VCs.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Tidal energy has the potential to supply A THIRD of the world’s electricity needs.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
I believe it’s the most important work on (and for) the planet right now!
Without it, we don’t know the extent of what might happen, but likely more climate-induced natural disasters like wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and flooding. Rising ocean levels will kick humans out of the sea-level communities. Rising temperatures will make many areas of the globe uninhabitable, for humans and animals alike. Many species will go extinct. I could go on and on. Wind and solar are great, but we can’t rely on them for baseload power to the grid, so we legitimately CANNOT pull off the energy transition without developing ocean resources.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
My father.
I once called him to tell him that I’d failed—that the investment he’d made into me and my company at the time hadn’t worked out, and I’d lost him over six figures. I braced myself for a verbal thrashing. Instead, he gently told me the investment was never about the cash or the company. It was about me. And after seeing the man I’d become because of it, it was entirely worth it. Since then I’ve been a die-hard fan of putting my faith in people, rather than ideas, expertise, arbitrage, or market opportunities. And it’s been working out pretty well so far! (But he also hasn’t invested in any of my companies since then, and honestly… I get it.)
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Let me brag on my co-founder for a second. His body of research on tidal energy generation systems is second to none. He has patents in 9 countries. He’s been quoted in textbooks and articles for decades. Dozens of other patents mention his name as inspiring their inventions or discoveries. It’s truly humbling that he trusted me enough to partner up on this world-changing journey together.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
I don’t know, TIME would be pretty cool.
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Tbh, Joe Rogan. Or Chris Williamson. Oh actually you know what? Christy Carlson Romano. To fulfill my childhood Disney-channel-loving dreams.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
“If you don’t win, who loses?”
What award would mean the most to win?
An Oscar for “Best Supporting Actor” for my part as the guy who lowers the newspaper.
What makes zero sense to you?
Why do people think that riding the Eagles to Mordor would’ve been a better plan? I mean, seriously. Did they watch the movie? (Or read the book.) A large part of Gandalf and Elrond’s plan hinges on it being a secret. If Sauron knew that Frodo and Co. TM were coming to Mount Doom to destroy the ring, he would’ve sent the whole of his army to stop them. As soon as an eagle flies in, the game is up, and nine of those Nazgûl blokes descend. Frodo made it in because Sauron had no idea he was coming.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
“Clean Energy.” It is usually taken to mean energy sources or production methods that emit little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants into the atmosphere. But it fails to consider the overall environmental impact. The word makes it seem like anything labeled “clean” is good, and everything else is bad. But there’s a lot more to it than that! For example, nuclear power is usually considered “clean” because it has low emissions. But does that take into account the environmental impact of producing and storing nuclear waste? Solar panels are considered “clean energy”, but does that take into account the emissions from the panel manufacturing process? I’m not trying to say these are good or bad. Instead, I’m trying to say that labeling something “clean” isn’t entirely helpful, because it doesn’t tell the whole story. I think the word should not only be re-evaluated but possibly removed from our lexicon altogether.
What game are you changing?
Rather than changing the game, I’m bringing back an old game in a new way. Starting as far back as the 1920s people were evaluating the potential for tidal energy systems in locations all around the world. They were looking at building these gigantic barrages and dams to funnel the water through turbines. A few like this were built in the 60s-80s, but they were really harmful to the environment and fish, and cost a lot! So people stopped evaluating the resources in that way. In the last 15ish years, innovators changed the game to say “Instead of building these huge barrages, how about we generate energy from the underwater currents, rather than the rise and fall of the water levels.” That was a game-changer in that they avoided many of the environmental impacts, but it was at the cost of the amount of power that could be generated. Generating energy from underwater currents is like pouring a five-gallon bucket full of liquid into a plastic water bottle. Yeah, some get in there, but most of it is missed. Our designs will bring back the old game, but better! Because of our specific construction method and operating cycle, we’ve eliminated the environmental damage and the high costs of the old way, without sacrificing the amount of power that can be generated. We’ll be able to put these anywhere in the world with high enough tides, bringing cheap electricity to places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia, and of course all through Europe and North America.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Local politics. Seriously. Everybody gets all invested in who’s running for President, and what the Senators are doing. And yeah, those are important. But your local offices likely have much more of an impact on your day-to-day life. They affect the parks and the stores and the companies that are around your house. They affect what you can and can’t do on your own property. They can even affect your relationships with your neighbors. So yes, I think everybody should get a lot more involved in their local elections than they do in the national ones.
Where can we follow you online?
At the moment I’m only active on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-j-fletcher/
There’s a Twitter with my name on it somewhere, but don’t @ me ‘cuz I won’t see it. (Just like I think there’s a Tinder out there with my name on it from like a decade ago… probably should go delete that…)
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
The right balance of Direction (some call it Vision) and Shoshin (Japanese for “beginner’s mind”). In my opinion, all else being equal, this can be the difference between a great leader that people talk about for generations, and a mediocre leader that no one talks about. My initial reaction to this question is “treating people well”; like having empathy, encouraging work-life balance, being clear about expectations, genuinely caring about your people, etc. But that’s not enough. I’ve been privileged to have some truly wonderful humans as my managers in my life. Some though, even though they’re great human beings, are not good leaders because they didn’t get the balance of Direction and Shoshin right.
Often people lack Direction, or Shoshin, or both. If you have Direction without Shoshin, you’ll eventually get stuck doing things the same way, and progress will halt. Possibilities will start to narrow, and the grand vision itself gets diminished. If you have Shoshin without Direction, you won’t make it very far, because your curiosity will outweigh your ability to stay the course for long-term achievement. It’s a push/pull, where we’re all leaning to one side or the other at any moment, but one thing that makes us all better as leaders is constantly evaluating our balance between the two and making adjustments.
To learn more about Brad’s work, visit https://www.nestarenergy.com/the-case-for-tidal
_______
We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Brad, for sharing your story!
LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. We build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in digital executive presence and go-to-market strategy. To follow along with the Rising ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly emails below. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to visibility Force to ICON: the TLDR.
“Rather than changing a game, I’m bringing back an old game in a new way.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
