The Climate Crisis Could Be Your Biggest Business Opportunity with Jodi Scarlett

Welcome to episode 262 of the Business Development Podcast and this week is extra special.

My second son, Fox Kennedy was born just two days ago on August 6, 2025 and I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind support, encouragement and patience with me as I've been focused on my family.

Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to introduce Jody Scarlett, the visionary CEO of ECoCl.

With decades of leadership in restoration and insurance, Jody is now spearheading groundbreaking solutions to help the insurance industry cut emissions, embrace sustainability and drive real change.

Stick with us, you're not going to want to miss this episode.

The great Mark Cuban once said, business happens over years and years.

Value is measured in the total upside of a business relationship, not by how much you square squeezed out in any one deal.

And we couldn't agree more.

This is the Business Development Podcast based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and broadcasting to the world.

You'll get expert business development advice, tips and experiences and you'll hear interviews with business owners, CEOs and business development reps. You'll get actionable advice on how to grow business brought to you by Capital Business Development, CapitalBD CA.

Let's do it.

Welcome to the Business Development Podcast and now your expert host, Kelly Kennedy.

Hello.

Welcome to episode 262 of the Business Development Podcast and today it is my absolute pleasure to bring you Jody Scarlet.

Jody is a trailblazing executive with over two decades of experience in restoration, construction and insurance industries.

As the former President of Pro Star Cleaning and restoration for 21 years, Jody honed her expertise in strategic planning, leadership and implementing transformative changes that propelled the business to success.

Armed with a BCom and MBA from the Haskayne School of Business, her career is decorated with prestigious accolades including being named one of the W100 top female entrepreneurs in Canada, the By Profit Canadian Business and the Chatelaine Magazine for three consecutive years.

Jody's passion for sustainability is evident in her leadership as she guided her previous company through critical environmental milestones such as achieving ISO14001 and the BMO Radical Climate Smart certification.

Now, as the CEO of EcoClaim, Jody is leading the charge in revolutionizing the insurance industry's approach to sustainability.

EcoClaim is pioneering innovative solutions to reduce scope 3 carbon emissions, equipping insurers with the tools to meet emerging regulatory demands while also monetizing carbon credits.

With Jody at the helm, EcoClaim is set to become a leader in transforming the industry, driving sustainable change that will leave a lasting impact both on the environment and the insurance landscape.

Jody, it is an honor to finally have you on the show.

Nice to be here, Kelly.

My gosh, you and Ross are just shaking things up every single week.

Having you guys on my LinkedIn is an absolute pleasure because I feel like I get to live a little bit vicariously through your adventures.

Well, I only post once a week or so.

Not once a day or twice a day.

Yeah, yeah.

It feels though like every time I'm seeing you, you're, you're, you're on a plane to New York or you're going to United Kingdom, you're doing all sorts of fun stuff.

Well, we are really growing this year.

The goal is to exp the business to the uk, the US and Australia.

Wow.

Wow.

Australia is a new one.

I didn't realize that that was on the map.

Yeah, well, they're part of the Commonwealth.

Those Commonwealth countries have similar legislations and needs regarding sustainability and ESG legislation.

Yeah, it's, it's interesting.

And I know, you know, I've talked to Ross before from NBC Group and he's been on the show a couple times and always a pleasure, like learning from him.

I had no idea anything about, you know, about emissions or scope 3 or what of that stuff meant.

And you know, at this point we're, that's probably like a hundred and some episodes ago.

So I'm sure we're right back to square one where we're going to have to educate everyone.

But before we do that, Jodi, how did you end up on this journey?

Were you always so entrepreneurial driven?

Oh, I've always been entrepreneurially driven, Kelly, for sure.

From having a tutoring business at a very young age until now.

So I built Pro Star.

That was a company that I started and built for 20 plus years.

Wow.

And then exited and turned it over to Tony Scott at the Proclaim Group.

What was Prostar?

Pro Star was a disaster restoration company focusing on insurance segment.

So it's very exciting in my eco claim career to be leveraging everything I learned about claims, which is a lot.

Wow.

Wow.

You know, like walk me through, what is that world like?

You know, for instance, I know nothing about insurance or cleaning and restoration or disaster mitigation or rebuilding.

You know, walk me through that sounds like a really crazy and exciting place to be.

Well, I think that the way that people relate to that industry is through personal experience.

So if you've ever had, you know, something happen in your residence or your business, like a fire or a flood or a sewer backup or something like that, even the hailstorm that happened in Calgary just Recently, that did $3 billion of property damage.

Wow.

And auto damage.

Yeah.

That's how people relate to it.

So at prostar, we were a company that came in to, you know, clean up after those events and then put everything back together.

So it was.

It was in the context of an insurance claim.

Usually the work we did and recovering from sort of sudden and accidental damage to a property.

Were you guys involved with anything that's been going on in Jasper?

Well, I mean, we.

I haven't been in the business this year, so I haven't been involved.

But that's certainly the area that the restoration industry services.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

My gosh, it's been a couple years.

Hey, we've really, like, as Canadians, we've just been hammered one thing after another.

You know, there's been many, many such experiences like that licked in.

I mean, quite a few.

Yeah.

You know, like, whenever things like that were happening, like, obviously, was it not Kamloops that burned down?

What was.

What was up that way in B.C.

where the fires were.

Was it Kamloops?

No, Litton.

It was that whole town that burned down.

Okay.

Because I know that.

I remember seeing pictures that Ross had been posting that he was there like, Kelowna.

You're talking about last summer?

Yes.

My gosh, it was awful.

I had a friend that lost her whole vacation property there.

Oh, yeah.

No, it's.

It's been absolutely horrible.

The amount of fires we've been having, you know, have just been.

You know, people can say all they want, right?

Like, I think there's no question climate is changing.

No matter what you want to, like, call it what you want to say, it's from whatever.

There's no question.

With just the sheer amount of, you know, of fires we've had, last winter was, like, the mildest winter I could ever remember.

And it's like I've lived in Alberta my entire life, and it felt like we just skipped winter.

Last year, it didn't even snow till, like, after Christmas.

It was like the weirdest situation here in Edmonton.

Yeah.

The numbers really add up, Kelly.

Like, I always tell people that in 2023 in the US there were 28 individual storms that had a minimum of each of them at least $1 billion in damage.

Wow.

And the total property claims value in the US last year was 200 billion, and half of that was climate change.

Wow.

And to add insult to injury, they lost 21.2 billion on that portfolio.

So it's completely, financially, you know, unsustainable.

Yeah, yeah.

Like, what does this mean for insurance?

Companies like you can't be spending, you can't be paying out that kind of payout and still exist as a company.

Like what's happening to them?

Well, people don't realize the cycle.

So you know, property claims particularly are significant in emissions and people don't realize that, but it's because of the construction activity on those claims.

That's a high emissions activity and those emissions, they contribute to climate change and then climate change.

The climate change causes claims which increases the aggregate claims cost and the cycle goes around and around and it's really a leather rinse, repeat and a no win catch 22 for insurance companies around the world.

So needless to say, insurance companies care about climate change because they're paying for it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Wow.

I know.

I never really like thought about it from that standpoint.

I just get mad when my insurance goes up every year.

Well, that's how they do it.

It's.

But it's, people don't realize that the model's a bit unsustainable because that $21.2 billion that the insurers in the US lost last year turned into a 20% premium increase and they just increased premium year over year.

But at what point will property insurance become unsustainable?

Yeah, yeah.

What do you think is going to happen?

Well, we're already seeing things happen.

Like we're seeing a few things.

Like we're seeing certain areas have to have federally funded insurance.

Certain areas of federal regulations are mandating that insurers offer insurance which causes a bit of a ruckus.

You know, and I think we're, what we're seeing, you know, which is what Ledico claim is that insurers are getting really involved in, you know, managing, measuring and reducing emissions activity throughout their business.

And that's not just their businesses that they the financed emissions like oil and gas and where they invest, it's actually their own operations, I. E. Their claims.

You know, take me into Ecoclaim.

You know, I've actually talked about it with Ross before, but I feel like by this point too, it's like there's gotta be, it's, it's evolving so quickly.

Like you guys were just at Lloyd's of London doing what?

Lloyd's Labs, which sounded really fun.

You guys have been, like I said, back and forth from New York to London and all over the place.

You know, talk to me what's happening.

Yeah, we've been jet setting, we've been a lot of places because a lot of people want to talk about Ecoclaim.

You Know, from Lloyd's to Metaprop, which is through Columbia University in New York, we are been really excited to have the stage at a lot of events and get chatting.

And what it's all about is really to measure, disclose and reduce emissions on these claims.

And nobody's doing it.

You know, people are talk.

There's all kinds of companies out there that are building reporting for disclosure, but nobody's doing anything with action, you know, and what we are is about action.

Here's how you do it and here's how you measure what you've done.

Take me into it, Jodi.

What's the opportunity like if nobody was tracking it, why now is it important to track it?

Oh, that's a great question.

So people don't know this, but over 40 countries around the world have mandated various emissions disclosures.

And one of the industries that they've targeted is insurance.

And particularly insurance is targeted because if you think about it, insurance touches everything.

You know, there's not a good or a service or a product or your home that hasn't had some kind of insurance mandate through its life cycle.

So by regulating insurance in terms of emissions disclosures, businesses are, or governments are touching many, many industries and businesses.

So that's, that's why it works like that.

Okay, okay.

And what is Scope three?

Like, walk me through the scopes.

What are they?

What are the different emission scopes?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So the three scopes of emissions, it's something people don't really know about, but scope one and two are quite a bit more easily measured for a business.

And there are scopes of emissions that are directly controlled in the business, like purchased energy.

But scope 3 emissions is the harder one to talk about because it is about the life of goods and services up and down your supply chain.

So it, it's not something you're directly necessarily controlling in your business, and it is something that makes up most of the emissions, like 90% of the emissions.

So when we think about an insurance company supply chain and a claim, you know, we're talking about the MGA that touched the claim, the broker, the adjuster and the restoration contractor, like when I used to be, you know, and all of the, everything that they did, including driving to that site, the waste that they took off that site and the building materials that they deployed on that site, and all of the emissions associated with every single step of that, which is, that's why it's over 90% often of, of the emissions is, is about scope three.

Wow.

Okay, okay, okay.

So it's huge.

Like, it's not like a small thing.

It was just so bloody complex to try to figure it out.

People were like, no, we're to touch that.

Yeah, well, and what happens is.

And what commonly happens for the emissions reporting in terms of what the government mandates are, is they say, hey, Mr. Insurer, you know, tell us what your emissions are, your scope, three emissions.

So they then use something, what we call benchmark data.

So they would go into their accounting department and take a number, like cost of purchased goods for materials, and they would try and estimate or extrapolate how many emissions would be associated with the cost of purchasing goods.

But that's a kind of a shot in the dark, right?

Like, it's a number, and they'll fulfill their reporting requirement, but it's not really grounded in what actually happened.

And the trouble without grounding and what actually happened is it's hard to then measure and monitor any reductions.

So if you don't get to actuals, how can you do better with your emissions?

How can you improve and have less emissions?

Yeah, I know when I was talking with Ross about this before, and I was trying to understand it as just a dummy who's not from the world.

Right.

Everybody is like.

Like that, Kelly, that you are not alone.

I'll tell you, we have whole training courses just because of this.

It's kept us in business.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's.

It's wild.

And it was funny, too, because, you know, Ross was telling me that he's a quantity surveyor.

And I was like, dude, what is a quantity surveyor?

I had, like, never even heard of that before.

But he had mentioned in that conversation that it was because of.

Of being a quantity surveyor that he could better understand this.

That he could better understand the problem and create solutions.

Because he mentioned that quantity surveyors were already tracking these things just in a.

In a kind of a different way.

And it was something that was something that Ross could really do that a lot of people couldn't.

And I found that really interesting.

Can you maybe elaborate on that for me a little bit?

Yeah, I think that's a good point.

That's how Ross really recognized the opportunity was because he understood that the emissions related to the building components or the building operations could be quantified because he was a quantity surveyor.

So when insurance companies were talking about, well, how do we get these emissions quantified?

You know, there's these new regulations and how do we quantify it?

He was like, I already handle all these claims, and, you know, we know how to Quantify it.

You know, that was sort of the initial idea around the business and from there the model really evolved to like what the needs were in market and how we could, where we could have an influence and really be different than other solutions that were already existing and make a dentist.

You know, Jody, one of the questions that I have, you know, like.

Because I think honestly what we're talking about is probably going to go over a lot of people's heads.

And so what I. Yeah, yeah, what I really want to do is try to bring this down to a layman's terms level.

So what I want to understand is why do companies need to care about this and what is it going to mean for them?

Yeah, well, essentially, like it all comes down to they're going to care because they have to, not because, you know, the goodness of their hearts.

Because of financial regulation.

Right.

Government regulation.

Governments are regulating that.

Banks and insurance companies disclose their emissions scope.

Three emissions affect the supply chain.

All the companies in the supply chain therefore are affected.

So if you are just literally like a mom and pop contractor, but you're working for an insurance company in some way, shape or form, the way that this, the world is going to turn is you're going to be having to report those emissions, which means they're going to have to find a way to measure them, which means you're going to have to find a way to reduce them.

And really what we wanted to build at Eco Claim is just a plug and play solution for all those supply chain members to easily, you know, measure, manage and reduce those emissions.

And we built custom programs that we, I always say, you know, we chew the food for the baby birds.

Like we build you a strategy and give you ways to implement it in your business, from the training to the software and you know, the whole program.

Wow.

Wow.

So it's huge.

Like, you know, when we talked before, I kind of got the indication that like we need to talk to the large insurance companies, but really this is ultimately going to be every industrial construction company, anybody in abatement, anybody in cleaning restoration, like potentially anybody with a supply chain.

Yeah, and it already is if you're a big company.

Like there's various legislations that are already impacting companies that do, you know, anywhere from 500 million to a billion or above are already regulated.

So you're seeing like in, for example, in the business that I know about, which was restoration on property claims, you know, you're seeing the big players in that space.

They're already doing this.

It's just that EcoClaim has come up with a way to help them even make it easier and more streamlined, you know, to their business.

But they were already calculating their scope 1 and 2 emissions and reporting their inventories in advance of this.

Okay, okay.

Were they, were they tracking scope three yet, though?

No.

And part of it was they had quite a bit of trouble getting at some of the data points that were most important.

Because, you know, it's like anything else.

It's the 8020 rule.

Right.

You know, there's always a few things that cause a lot more impact than other things.

So in a restoration company, it's not necessarily how much paper is in your photocopier.

You know, one of the biggest scope 3 emissions is waste, you know, in the supply chain is, and think about it, something burns down or has a flood, you're going to take out some materials and building materials and you're going to put it back together.

And that waste of what's going to landfill and not being recycled or diverted was one of what we call hotspots, like one of the things that was happening to cause the most emissions in the supply chain.

So that's actually the first thing that we tackled with EcoClaim.

Wow.

Okay.

So you're basically saying that a piece of essentially trash that's going to go to a landfill, it really is considered an emission.

Like, we're not just talking what's coming out of your exhaust pipe.

Yeah.

Because your waste, waste to landfill causes, like when waste goes to landfill, it breaks down and causes methane gas.

Methane gas is actually 13 times more potent than carbon emissions.

Right.

So there's, it just puts off a lot of emissions.

So your, your gross emissions factor is just a lot more when you're putting waste to landfill.

And that's what we're Counting up at EcoCline.

Wow.

Okay.

Okay.

So what this, what I'm kind of hearing here is that potentially we're going to get better at recycling.

We're going to get better at reusing materials.

Materials that maybe before, before a company might have just tossed into the, into the waste or into the trash pile.

We're going to start to think, hey, I think we should figure out how we can utilize this maybe in a future project, maybe in some other way so that we don't have to count it as part of our emissions.

Am I hearing this correctly?

Yeah.

Essentially it's about creating a more circular economy.

Like, it's not like a contractor is going to set it all aside and try and use it in another project.

It's more like Using recycling infrastructure to make sure that drywall is not going straight into landfill.

That drywall's going back to, you know, a gypsum recycler that's breaking that material down to create either new drywall or other products that they can do, can make with that gypsum.

So why are we not doing this right now or are we doing this right now?

Well, that's a great question.

Because we do it at our houses.

Like think about like, I mean, I have all these bins and, and my teenage daughter is constantly telling me, you know, that mom that doesn't go in that bin.

And you know, we've been doing this for years trying to recycle in our homes, but somehow in our, my business, you know, it was, we were taking entire dumpsters, like 40 yard dumpsters straight to landfill without any aim to recycle material.

And that's common.

I mean we know from stats can that over 90% of construction materials in Canada are to landfill.

Yeah.

So it's low hanging fruit.

It's not that hard for people to imagine that we could actually separate some materials and you know, not put wood or timber in the landfill anymore.

Yeah, well, yeah, you would think so.

I don't know, like, I didn't even realize it was that big of a problem.

But I'm not in the construction industry, so it's a little bit different.

Right.

It's got different degrees of, it's of it's problematic in different countries.

Like it's not quite as problematic in terms of waste to landfill.

In the UK they have a lot more mandated, you know, recycling options.

But the problem they have is that they're not measuring, you know, in the construction, their diversion efforts.

So they're not able to calculate that as part of their scope three footprint or their scope four, which is an avoided emission.

Oh, wow.

Okay.

So that's probably what we really need to aim for is scope four.

Yeah, yeah.

And it's a term we're trying to revive here at Ecoclaim.

It's been out there.

But you know, we really think scope four is what people really understand.

Because what did you do to get any better?

You know, scope three gets measured and benchmarked, which is really kind of hocus pocus.

But scope four is an actual tangible number of what we did to be better to our planet.

Yeah, yeah.

I don't know.

I, I love that, you know, like the listeners don't know this, but we've met, We've actually met before.

We've had breakfast together.

I know I know Ross.

I met him a couple times and I can say, like, you guys are so forward thinking.

Every time I sit down with you, I leave inspired.

You know, you're like, you're a thousand miles ahead.

And especially Ross, he really, like, he really is, is a pie in the sky, head in the clouds, shoot for the stars and hit the moon kind of guy.

It's, you know, what is it like to work with him?

Busy, you know, Ross makes a lot of promises and I execute them, so we need them and it's a great team.

I really enjoy working with Ross.

I, I feel every day excited to do my job every day.

I remember sitting down the first time and just walking away and thinking, this is going to be huge.

Like, I remember literally leaving the meeting with ego claim and just thinking, holy cow, this is huge.

And I still think that probably even at this time, you know, this show is going to be out in the summer of 2025.

I think at this time, you're still nowhere near to, like, what is actually going to come of ecoclaim.

I really think that you guys are going to be a gigantic, gigantic company.

Well, we think so too, but it's great that we're inspiring others.

You know, we think we're onto something and it's really actually exciting.

As an entrepreneur, you know, when we evaluate the business opportunity, I look at it and I'm like, there's actually nobody in the space.

Yeah.

Nobody's envisioned it in the way that we have.

And it's a really practical, tactical, smart way and it's really working.

Yes.

And actually that was something that I really wanted to talk to you about because what you're essentially throwing out there is a bit of a new idea you really got to change in, like, in Canada, we try to be fairly progressive, but, like, the reality is money talks.

And so with, you know, what is it like to essentially market not a new idea, but really a new idea to like, we know it's coming, but you're kind of still having to sell people on what is coming.

Talk to me about what it's been like to be in those rooms.

Are people receptive?

Are they giving you lip service?

What is it like?

Well, that's a great question.

I mean, it certainly helps that there's been legislation and that is people are starting to know about that legislation.

Like on Ross's early calls, like when we were first taking calls with his network, we were telling them about the legislation.

So they were then going away and looking into it.

You know, fast forward a year I mean that message is out, they're aware of legislation, so that's always helping, like why people want to take the meeting.

We always call it the who cares.

You know, we have a really good who cares.

But to the rest of your question, it's because it's a new approach of combining, you know, software with training and certification.

Yeah.

That is something that they're getting their heads around, but they really like it because it's the what and the how, you know, put together.

It's the whole toolkit.

Yeah, no, for sure.

I, I know it's not always easy to get a new idea off the ground.

Right.

Like heck.

Even with this show, there hadn't been to many business development oriented shows.

Right.

And it getting any type of new idea off the ground is kind of challenging.

And, and especially at the scale, like I don't think people realize the scale of the companies you guys are talking to, but you are basically talking to the insurance leaders of planet Earth.

Yeah, I mean, it's true.

We have meetings with the biggest names and executives and those organizations don't move really quickly, but they do move and they are moving and they are excited.

And you know, one of the things that we learned early on that we really like to talk about how, you know, the low carbon way and the low cost way are the same way.

And that's really helping them understand because it's funny, those businesses, we all know they'll move for cost savings.

Yes, right.

And when we say, well, imagine you didn't tear out all the drywall on a water damage claim, imagine that you dried that in place.

And a claim, instead of costing, you know, $100,000, cost $10,000.

Wouldn't that interest you?

You know, and they actually know that's true and that can happen, but they're not measuring it.

And that's what we offer is the ability to, you know, measure the low cost, measure the low carbon and provide that.

And that's really attractive to insurance companies to be able to put some tangible numbers around how the low cost way and the low carbon way can be the same way.

Yeah.

Wow.

Wow.

Drying in place.

Hey, I would have thought that you would have had no choice but to rip the wall out.

Drying in place has existed a long time, equal claim.

Didn't invent that.

You know, that's something that's happened.

And many restoration franchise outfits, you know, say that they dry in place all the time and in fact do.

But the trouble is, is that, you know, that feedback loop of what got dried and what Got torn out.

It's very difficult to quantify in real time.

And that's a problem that we're solving at Ecoclean.

Yeah.

Wow.

Wow.

Talk to me about what it was like to do the Lloyd's labs.

Oh, getting invited to present at Lloyd's labs was just a highlight for us.

Of course.

I mean, it's very exciting to get to go to London and then you get to go into Lloyd's and you know, it's high security place.

So, you know, you get your passes and you go through security and then they have a green room and they mic you up and then you go, you get, you know, shuffled in to present in front of the, the panel and it's, you know, it's basically live broadcast to.

Wow.

You know, Lloyd syndicates all over the world.

You know, like my family was at my house in Calgary watching live and voting and everything like that.

So it was really, it was really like one of those high pressure, high excitement, entrepreneurial experiences.

Wow.

Wow.

And so you had, you presented there then?

Yeah, and we were time like Ross and I, we did a joint presentation.

He did present it for five minutes and then I took all the questions live and you know, it was just, you have five minutes presentation and five minutes of questions and then, then that's it.

My gosh.

Walk me through the pressure.

Oh, I mean, there was a lot of, there was a lot of pressure.

But, you know, we just practiced and practiced.

Right.

Like we had some help with our pitch.

You know, we had a really refined pitch, I thought.

And you know, a lot of we just practiced and you know, it went really well.

We made a lot of really great connections there and connections that are still, you know, working with us and helping us grow the business in the uk.

And the UK is a really great market for us.

Yes.

No, I think about something like that on that level where, you know, you're being broadcast literally around the world.

And I just can't imagine, like, you know, I mean, as somebody who's a bit of an introvert, I definitely struggle with that.

And it's like I'm gonna have to get over it.

I get it.

But you know, walk me through.

How do you prepare for something like that, Jody?

Like, this is just one thing.

I've seen you up speaking in front of all sorts of stuff.

Like, I'm incredibly impressed.

I like, don't know how you do it sometimes.

And I would just love, you know, some tips from a pro.

What, what is the secret?

Well, we did the PwC demo day in New York through metaprop and Columbia University, which was a similar, you know, high pressure one.

But the preparation, you know, it's really not magic, Kelly.

It's a lot of practice.

You know, I would say that we practiced and practiced and practiced that pitch.

Like, we don't practice every pitch when we're working one on one on a zoom meeting with a client or something like that, because we want more of a conversational style.

But for a timed, you know, televised pitch, like every inflection, every joke, every.

Everything is practiced.

And the timing is practiced, the slides are practiced.

In fact, with my metaprop pitch, I had an acting coach help me.

Wow.

With the pitch.

And if anyone wants her contact information, send me a note because she was great.

Even with all that practice, though, the anxiety must be huge.

Like, your chest must.

Your heart must, for at least for a moment, must feel like it's gonna blow outta your chest.

I mean, I think it depends.

Different people handle that differently.

Like, for me, that's exciting.

Yeah.

Like, I have a little bit of anxiety, maybe just a few minutes before going on stage, and then it melts.

But for me, it's really exciting to be able to pitch and.

But I don't think it was always like that.

I mean, I grew up with a mother that was afraid to public speak.

Yeah.

So she didn't want me to have that fear, so she enrolled me in elocution lessons when I was a young child.

Wow.

And I.

So speaking in front of people and, you know, like Toastmasters type stuff, that's a skill that I ended up building.

So it's a muscle, it's a skill.

You build it, you practice your pitch so that you're not nervous.

And then I always.

A tip I would give to people is just harness the anxiety on the day and turn it into excitement for your pitch.

Yeah.

Because it's.

It's feels really good when you're done.

It's one of those things that, like, so many people struggle with.

And I've talked with so many people on here who, like, you know, I mean, it's like we're.

We're more afraid of giving a eulogy than we are of dying.

They have beta blockers for that, Kelly.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's.

But I always love to ask.

I love to ask that question because it is one of those things where it's like, what's the secret?

Because I think.

I think a lot of it is just being afraid and doing it anyway.

I think you really gotta, like, do that a few times until it becomes more comfortable.

But you know, every once in a while there's someone like you who you've been doing it since you were a kid.

It's just natural.

Well, it's not about not having butterflies, it's about getting them to fly in formation.

Yeah.

A little bit different instead of like right through your body.

Yeah.

You know, Jody, you're leading a pretty revolutionary new company.

You're kind of having to do it in a, in a, in an area that frankly doesn't really exist yet.

You're really, you're kind of spearheading and showing everyone else the way, like, hey, you need to do this.

What has it been like to lead a company like that?

What has it been like to try to like, plan where to go and what to do next?

Walk me through that.

Well, first of all, you wear a lot of hats, you know, because I, I came from, you know, I had built a business that was 20 years old.

Right.

So yeah, there was a lot of different role descriptions and a lot of support and then moved right back into startup land where it was me, you know, you know, Ross and I were working on this business and I was doing the day to day operations myself.

So that means you do everything, you know, you're doing the accounting and the sales calls and the pitch deck and the, you know, the typing and you know, the recording information.

And so there was a lot of hats to wear.

So first of all, time management, I mean, and then you know what the secret is also like, we all know that startups just take a lot of time.

Like it's just hours because that's how long it takes to get through the tasks.

So I would do that and then, but in terms of strategy, what's interesting about that is that because of my background in as being a restoration contractor and on claims, I think I have such a bottom up view of the supply chain of what actually practically happens that I have just understood what needs to happen to make it a practical solution for contractors.

So we have insurance companies sort of at the top, you know, ideating about legislation and reporting, you know, from the ivory tower.

Right?

Yeah.

And you have me looking at it from the bottom up as our CEO, building a strategy.

Well, how are we actually going to get this done?

Yeah, you know, we're not going to give them new software.

Let's get it them to use their existing software to collect data.

We need integrations, you know, things like that.

So I think it just has to do with the experience and then the confidence to make those decisions.

Yeah, because essentially what you are is a bridge, right?

You're like the bridge between the big insurance companies and the contractors and industrial companies that have to do this work.

And right now there's not a good way for them to kind of connect, especially when they're talking about emissions.

And so you kind of end up fitting in the middle, helping both sides communicate what they need to communicate.

And I like to think of it like what you're saying is like a toolkit, you know, we're a toolkit that they can use for their supply chain.

And then that.

It's the training, it's the software, it's the systems, it's the what?

Like, it's all the things rolled into a package that with easy to the plug and play ESG solution for contractors and supply chain members, such as, you know, insure the adjusting firms, the brokerages, the TPAs, the MGA.

Wow.

Okay.

Okay.

Now it's time.

I want to understand, like, I want to understand the solution better.

So walk me through.

What is the training?

What is the software?

Who is it for?

Yeah.

Okay, so it's two things.

It's software and it's training and certification, right?

So basically you could give companies a software, but what good is that if it's just going to look back at them empty?

You know, you have to teach them what to do and how to use it.

So the training is about, you know, what is, what is esg, what is sustainability like?

You talked about that knowledge gap earlier in the call.

You know, we have entire training courses to bridge that knowledge gap.

And they're very specific to insurance.

So that's, you know, step one, step two.

Well, how can we get better?

What are the hotspots like?

Let's start with waste.

Let's not put everything in landfill.

I mean, these concepts are not complex.

Like, don't put it all in landfill.

Be better for the environment.

So let's boil it down.

We can talk simply, you know, but then the, you know, training course goes into like, but how do I do that in my contracting firm?

Like, how do I identify recycling partners?

How do I set up a transfer station at my office?

What resources will it take?

What will it cost me?

More importantly, what will it save me?

And I think that's what people realize as they start to get into that training side of the business is how they can save money, how they can do it practically, how it won't take a lot more time on the jobs.

And we solve all those practical problems with our training that are really the barriers to Implementation.

And then our software really is just something that plugs into their existing softwares.

They, and they collect a bit more information on their jobs, about the waste and their recycling, and put it in.

And that sort of magically goes through our API and lands in our data set.

And that data set goes back up to insurance companies who can utilize that for their reporting.

Okay, so it can really be implemented anywhere.

Yeah.

And it's really important to note that, you know, it's not complicated.

A lot of what we're implementing is change that's not related to software.

Like set up a recycling program in your business.

Right.

And then how, you know, it's not that complex.

And then, you know, okay, well, how do we help?

How do we do that?

And then we measure, you know, the results of that and it reports through the software.

Gotcha, Gotcha.

Okay, so now walk me through.

Who is it for?

Who?

What is the ideal customer for ecoclaim?

I like to talk about, you know, our flywheel.

Right.

The flywheel is what turns the business.

Right.

So the first customer in our flywheel is the insurance company because they are the ones with the government mandate, they need the reporting and they're the ones that, you know, are the kingpin at the top of the supply chain.

So we sell first our software to insurance companies and those insurance companies require their vendors to onboard and become Eco claims certified vendors.

So that's, you know, first and foremost.

But then, you know, our, it doesn't mean that those contractors are not our customers.

Everyone that an insurer requires to onboard, be it the, from the adjuster to the contractor, you know, is a customer of Eco claim.

Yeah, you know, and they, they have received training and they are part of the software.

So that's the customer set.

And then we, of course, the rest of the flywheel is we work with those customers to create success.

And the more success that they have in terms of measuring, managing and reducing their emissions, the more insurance companies are incented to purchase our software.

Wow.

Okay.

It sounds to me like even the companies that maybe aren't being mandated to use EcoClaim software could still benefit from using EcoClaim software.

Well, and in fact, they are many companies that aren't mandated actually like that aren't insurance companies, like our first customers have all been contractors because they recognize that they basically see the writing on the wall, that they're going to need sustainable practices, they're going to need to do better.

And what they love, love about ecoclaim is we're affordable, we help them save money, and they only have to do things one way and they can tell all their insurance companies.

Yes.

So if you're ever in the contracting business in insurance, you realize you work for, you know, multiple insurance companies and every single one of those insurance companies tells you to do something a little bit different, making your internal practices very costly to administer and quite difficult, you know, because there's a different SOP standard operating procedure for every company.

Well, contractors are like, great, we're going to be first, we're going to develop our own SOP with ECO claim, which is easy, cost effective.

Yeah.

And it'll service all of our contractors and we don't have to do things ten ways.

Great.

Yeah.

Like to me it just, it sounds like if you want a future proof, you should just get in now because it is eventually going to be mandated.

You might as well just start, start now and start to implement these processes today so it's not such like a gigantic system shock when it inevitably happens.

Well, and what we're seeing is like they, they actually practically know there's no way around it because the status quo is not an option.

Because even if you go to the landfill in many municipalities, like landfills won't take unsorted commercial waste in many municipalities.

So these contractors know like, well, we have to sort it anyway.

You know, there's no, the old way is going away.

It's not, it's not staying the same.

What's the timeline to get certified?

To get ecoclaim certified if you're a company?

Oh, it doesn't take very long.

It, you know, literally it takes a few days of it.

It.

Two half day trainings and one of them is online.

You can do it in the middle of the night if you want.

Wow.

Okay.

Okay, well that opens some doors here.

And is this like a cr.

Like, like obviously you're working in multiple countries, but like, like is this across Canada, across North America, across the world?

Like what is this?

Is this.

Yeah, right now we're deployed in Canada quite strongly.

Like, you know, we have a good chunk of the market either working with us or in, you know, procurement stages with us.

And you know, make sure you check back with me when it's airing and I'll let you know some of our customer list.

Yeah.

At that time.

But you know, a good chunk of the market.

Like I think almost 75 firms are already registered and going in Canada and you know, starting to work on those high level contracts in the uk, US and Australia.

Wow.

Lots of interest.

Good for you guys.

Good for you.

I am, you know, I mean I kind of feel like I've had a bit of a bird's eye to this because I've been able to kind of pick Ross's brain a little bit over the time here.

And so I feel like I've seen this happen and like, wow, congratulations.

To already be that far ahead, that's incredible.

Well, thanks so much.

It's been a wild ride.

It's like being on a rocket ship, but it's really fun.

Yeah, for sure, for sure.

You know, one of the things I wanted to ask you, Jojo, you before we wrapped up today was you've been an entrepreneur for an incredibly long time.

You know, I mean, you're.

You're at the head of such a successful venture here and you're leading it exceptionally, by the way.

And one of the questions I wanted to ask you was you're talking to a lot of younger entrepreneurs today, Heck, maybe even a lot of young contractors out there in the world who are just trying to do their best, launch their companies.

Talk to me.

What has made.

What has made ecoclaim so successful?

Your ability to grow ecoclaim so successful.

Would you be able to give us just a little bit of an insight into what you do to.

To grow the company?

Well, one thing is, I listen to Ross.

You know, he is just an exceptional visionary with, you know, no limits.

And you had said it earlier, Kelly, like, you know, shoot for the stars and get to the moon.

Like, Ross really does shoot to the stars and we'll probably get to the stars as well.

You know, what it's been able to.

Being able to have and fuel that vision and.

And, you know, not limit anything with it being too big of an idea.

So that's been a huge thing at ecoclaim.

And also layering into that, there are a few boundaries that come with that.

You know, early on, we made a critical business decision to focus our efforts.

We were at first looking at construction and insurance at the same time.

Yeah.

And we decided that under the current funding model, just to focus on insurance because, you know, resources need to be managed and, you know, you have to practice practically, tactically, get there.

So, you know, those are some decisions that we made early on.

Amazing.

Amazing.

And I'm going to just give you a minute here to speak to the contracting companies that are listening right now, the executives, the people who maybe have to make that decision.

If you had to make your pitch to them, what might that be?

I think the hardest thing to do is just to get started, you know, and I would encourage everyone that no step is too small and that, you know, maybe don't put off to tomorrow what can be done today because, you know, we can.

I think everyone can see this train that.

And you had mentioned it, Kelly, that you know, sustainability initiatives are coming.

There's no RFP that you see that doesn't have them.

You can't turn on LinkedIn without hearing about it.

You can't even turn on the news without hearing about something about climate change or ESG legislation.

So we all know what's coming in the world.

So why not get involved with that in a way that is fit for your industry?

You know, plug and play and use it to get ahead now rather than being behind later.

Amazing.

Amazing.

And Jody, if they heard that and it resonates, what's the best way for them to get a hold of you?

Oh, EcoClaim CA.

You can book a demo right with me, right on our site and I will be happy to spend some time with you.

Amazing.

It was an absolute pleasure having you on and I very much look forward to my next breakfast with you and Ross one of these days again soon.

I do too.

That'll be excellent.

Thank you so much, Kelly.

It's been great to talk to your listeners.

Yes, it's been great to see you as well, Jodi.

Thank you.

Until next time, this has been episode 262 of the Business Development Podcast and we will catch you on the flip side.

This has been the Business Development podcast with Kelly, Kelly Kennedy.

Kelly has 15 years in sales and business development experience within the Alberta oil and gas industry and founded his own business development firm in 2020.

His passion and his specialization is in customer relationship generation and business development.

The show is brought to you by Capital Business Development, your business development specialists.

For more, we invite you to the website at www.capitalbd.ca.

see you next time on the Business Development Podcast.