Meet Mitch Krause | Env EdTech Entreprenuer & Snowboarder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mitch Krause and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mitch, how do you think about risk?
I credit my views on failure and risk to my younger self’s dream of becoming a professional snowboarder. I didn’t quite get there – but got close enough to learn what it really takes. I’d hike one feature in the park for hours, trying the same trick hundreds of times, falling, adjusting, and building muscle memory. Each attempt was data. I learned to A/B test approaches, refine my strategy, and push through fear – which got a little smaller every time I stepped up.

I’m not answering this as a snowboarder – I’m answering as a startup entrepreneur, deeply passionate about helping people realize that the environment is the literal backbone of everything. It shouldn’t be an afterthought, but often is.

I’ve faced setbacks and doubt – sometimes even from people who love me. But I think back to those long, painful battles for just one landed trick. I remember the non-linear progression, the perseverance, and the confidence it took – the same mindset I now bring to my startup.

One thing that’s guided me in both worlds is intuition. When I’ve ignored my gut, I’ve paid for it – with injury in snowboarding or lost time and money in startups. But when I listen to it, I stay aligned with what truly matters.

I’m still in the early stages, building with personal funds and starting pre-seed efforts – but I’m surrounded by a great team, and we’re all in on this vision.

What should our readers know about your business?
In the U.S., environmental concern consistently ranks below issues like the economy, healthcare, and national defense. Yet none of these priorities are sustainable without a stable environment. Numanity addresses this disconnect through a tech-enabled platform that delivers personalized, expert-led environmental education – meeting users where they are in terms of knowledge, bandwidth, learning style, and goals. Unlike apps that reward micro-actions, Numanity focuses on epistemological transformation, offering curated, expert-led learning experiences rather than AI-generated content. This ensures depth and integrity, avoids the environmental toll of energy-intensive generative AI, and gets undervalued experts paid for sharing their critical knowledge.

Curious how our lifeline could become an afterthought, I focused my Master’s research at Western Colorado University on this very question. I found many layers that form a wall between the average American and the critical realization that we can’t do anything without a healthy planet. These layers range from socioeconomic stress, to isolation of environmental knowledge in education, to media narratives, public health, and even our own psychology. An effective intervention would have to be incredibly flexible and accessible to all, which is why I chose technology as the vehicle. Our team is actively building our prototype and looking to partner with schools and businesses to test and scale.

Together, we can make sure the environment isn’t an afterthought. And it’s really inspiring to think that if we fix this disconnect we can address so many issues that we are currently falling behind on. It brings me so much hope to imagine a world where the environment is a primary thought when it comes to personal and professional decision making.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I currently live in Basalt, CO but every time I go to Denver, I really enjoy the Union Station area. I usually hop from the Bustang to the train if I have to travel out of state and the food scene right there is quite good/convenient. I also like walking around by the South Platte River in the Highlands and basking in the sun or laying in the green spaces. So soothing. I definitely have much to explore in the City of Denver. I do work in Aspen as the Lead Bartender at West End Social at the Aspen Meadows Resort and welcome anyone to come by. I’ll make you a delicious drink!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my mentor, Dr. Salif Mahamane, who opened my world to the topic of environmental psychology during my Master’s program. He also was my rock the whole way throughout the time that I have been working on this project and has encouraged me to keep going when others told me to stop. I can’t wait to continue developing this further with his help. I also want to shoutout the rest of my team, Edwin Siuda, Erik Kasperowski, Jack Lalonde and Keaton Shaw for making this journey so much more rewarding and fun since they joined. Everyone is currently unpaid and we are running fully on the vision and belief in the mission until we have some pre-seed funding. I think above all, having adults with full time jobs and responsibilities to commit to something like this is the coolest thing imaginable and it’s what makes me fully believe we will be successful with our efforts.

Website: https://www.numanity.us

Instagram: @numanity_us

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mitch-krause/

Image Credits
Brendan Root – snowbaord shot
Angelica Langford – headshot