Powerhouse is an incubator and venture fund for clean energy entrepreneurs that backs the entrepreneurs building a decarbonized, digitized & decentralized grid. Powerhouse & Greentech Media present Watt it Takes, a monthly event and live podcast recording featuring founders of the biggest companies in clean energy and the personal stories behind the businesses they've built. Our co-founder, Matt Rogers, fresh off a 12+ hour flight from England, was interviewed by Emily Kirsch at the June Powerhouse event about his and Nest's origin story.
Matt's story is one of integrity, curiosity and compassion. We are so proud to know and work with him every day. This one-hour episode is just a small window into the truly awesome person he is.
Check out Matt's LIVE epidode on Green Tech Media!
WATT IT TAKES – POWERHOUSE PODCAST
June 27, 2019
On Watt It Takes: how a former Apple engineer applied design principles from the iPod and the iPad to smart thermostats — jolting an industry badly in need of change. Powerhouse CEO Emily Kirsch sits down with Matt Rogers, the co-founder and former chief product officer of Nest. Nest is best known for its elegant learning thermostat, the first major breakout hit in the smart home space. Google later acquired the company for $3.2 billion.
In this interview, Rogers talks about his Apple influence, how he and co-founder Tony Fadell initially became obsessed with the connected home, and how Nest fit into the Google structure.
Before Nest launched, “the connected home wasn’t really a thing. It was a bunch of hackers stringing things together; there were no products to speak of, really,” says Rogers. “And I was like, ‘This is a huge opportunity; we can go and make great products like we did at Apple.’”
This conversation was recorded live at Powerhouse’s headquarters in Oakland, California. Buy tickets for upcoming events.
