Episode 13

Karthik Balakrishnan of ACTUAL on SimCity for Capital Plans and the Sustainability Execution Gap

Stanford rocket scientist and fintech entrepreneur Karthik Balakrishnan is integrating high-tech infrastructure modeling with video game interface design to create a software platform that allows businesses to virtually test their plans for maximum sustainability and bottom-line impact.

In 2018, Karthik co-founded software startup ACTUAL based on a unique premise: what if you could plug your business idea into a science-backed simulation that operates like a computer game? The software platform allows users to choose a sustainability strategy, map out its various permutations, and compare those simulation results, enabling businesses to explore the full range of possibilities for their capital and implement the most impactful without real-world risks.

Hear ACTUAL president and co-founder Karthik Balakrishnan talk about how SimCity influenced their approach, combining user interface with data visualization, and why gamifying decision making is so important for the future.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Karthik Balakrishnan on making specialist knowledge more accessible

00:53 Conor Gaughan introduces Karthik and ACTUAL

05:45 Growing up on the coasts and aerospace engineering at Stanford

10:45 Rocket science, entrepreneurial spirit, and the generalist mindset

17:43 Fintech, founding Coin, and risk-taking versus reliability

27:24 Angel investing, the Pioneer Fund, and an impact-based framework

32:55 The origin of ACTUAL, the elevator pitch, and de-risking innovation

42:49 Real world variables and misconceptions about sustainable software

49:15 Exciting innovations, defeating defeatism, and staying positive

53:40 Where to learn more and end credits

If you liked this episode, listen next to Peter Godart of Found Energy on Aluminum Fuel, NASA, and Engineering Impact at Scale