EP58: Making diamonds out of thin air - Aether

Apple Stitcher Breaker

Guests

Ryan Shearman

Role

Co-Founder and Chief Alchemist

Flagship Product

Artisan-made hand bags

HQ

New York, NY

Aether on In Good Hands

Background

For years, most of the controversy surrounding mined diamonds spawned from the violence, human rights violations, and child labor at the source of production. Beyond the violence, mined diamonds are also incredibly wasteful and harmful to the world - especially when compared to lab-grown: over 5x more water usage, constant discharge of wastewater and pollutants in surface water bodies, 2x more energy usage, over 20x more carbon emissions, and widespread land disruption.

Solution

Enter Aether - the startup capturing harmful CO2 from the atmosphere and transform it into valuable raw materials.

Episode Brief

Aether’s Co-Founder and CEO, Ryan Shearman, join us on this week’s episode to discuss:

  • Getting his start in metals running product development at David Yurman

  • How a motorcycle accident inspired his first startup, FUSAR

  • Growing FUSAR’s customer base to 130+ countries and selling the company

  • Aether’s eureka moment

  • Figuring out how to capture CO2 and transform it into diamonds

  • Offsetting the entire jewelry industry’s footprint

  • The carbon footprint of an average wedding

  • The merchandising plan for Aether

Credits

HOST

Peter Levin

PRODUCTION

Dan Mahoney

MUSIC

Eddie Knuckles

Peter Levin