Karthik Balakrishnan, cofounder and president of ACTUAL, talks with Consensus in Conversation host Conor Gaughan about gamifying capital plans, the startup’s SimCity inspiration, and why it’s vital to address the sustainability execution gap.

Karthik Balakrishnan of ACTUAL on SimCity for Capital Plans and the Sustainability Execution Gap, Consensus in Conversation Season 3, Episode 13

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

In 2018, Karthik cofounded software startup ACTUAL based on a unique premise: what if you could plug your business idea into a sciencebacked 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 realworld risks.

Hear ACTUAL president and cofounder 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 Timestamps:
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 risktaking versus reliability
27:24 Angel investing, the Pioneer Fund, and an impactbased framework
32:55 The origin of ACTUAL, the elevator pitch, and derisking 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

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Consensus in Conversation is hosted and executive produced by Conor Gaughan. This episode was produced by Will Gatchel and Geoff Rock, with editing from Reasonable Volume.

Special thanks to the Consensus team, including Creative Director, Kate Tucker, Greg Herrigel on research, and Patrick Gallagher on strategy.

Consensus in Conversation is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume.

Have a question for Conor or Karthik? Or a great idea for our next guest? Leave us a comment!

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