Meet William Loopesko | Cofounder/Chief Technology Officer

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

Hi William, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I started my first company PuppTech, when I was 27, I threw myself fully into my business because I believed that it was what I needed to do to have any chance for the company to succeed. I didn’t have any of the things that a company typically needs to get started: product development experience or skilled, access to capital, a network, etc… the only thing I had was my time and enthusiasm. So within a year of starting my company I had quit my job, broken up with my girlfriend, and left my house to move back into my parents’ basement. During those first few years, I didn’t have any work life balance. My job was my entire life, and I cut back almost entirely on things like hobbies and socializing so that I could focus on my business. I managed to make it work for about five years, and got the company off the ground, but ultimately the company came crashing down and as the company declined and crashed, so did my mental health. I was completely burned out, and basically had a mental breakdown. It was bad enough that the board fired me from my own company for my own sake so that I could focus on recovering while they tried to salvage the company (covid ended up killing us off for good).
So, after my mental health recovered, and I started my second company out of the rubble of the first one, I was sure not to repeat the same mistakes that had lead to my mental breakdown. Now, 4 years later, I still work a lot, but I still take time to be able to see my friends or go out and the things outside of work that make me happy because I know how important that is to my overall wellbeing.

What should our readers know about your business?
Aclymate is a software company that builds carbon accounting tools for small businesses who want to take meaningful steps to address their carbon emissions. We designed our product specifically for the needs of small businesses who don’t have an in house sustainability team, and we’re very proud of how much our small business customers seem to love our product. It has definitely not been easy. Our product and business model has changed significantly over the years as we’ve learned about our customers and as our market has evolved. There aren’t any regulations that compel businesses to address their carbon emissions, and it’s hard to point directly to our product can impact our customers’ bottom line so it’s been hard for us to grow as quickly as we’d like. We’re overcoming those challenges by keeping our team small and lean to minimize operational costs and overhead, and by being relentlessly focused on the needs of our customers to make sure we’re able to deliver exactly the experience they need from us. We’re very proud of the level of customer support we’re able to provide despite our small size and limited resources. My business partner is a former carbon offset project developer and a nationally recognized expert in that space, and I know that our customers appreciate the level of expertise and thoughtfulness that his experience provides them. We strongly believe that that level of expertise combined with our affordable software product makes us the best solution for small businesses who are serious about addressing their carbon emissions.

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’m a big outdoors guy so I usually assume that anyone who’s coming to Denver is coming here to see our spectacular mountains and natural landscapes. So I’d start the week with a walking tour of downtown Denver where you get to learn about our fascinating history, stretch your legs, acclimate to the altitude and see all of the main sites. I also think the Denver museum of Nature and Science has the best view of Denver and the mountains so I love taking visitors there, and the exhibits inside are pretty cool as well (as a former geologist I especially appreciate the rocks exhibit). For dinner we’d go to the buckhorn for some authentic Colorado frontier cuisine. After our first day in Denver, we’d spend the rest of the trip up in the mountains. First day would be up in the near foothills checking out the dinosaur tracks and fossils at dinosaur ridge, and hiking through the scenery at red rocks. From there further up into the mountains for some hiking, climbing, rafting, camping or skiing depending on the season. Regardless of the season, we would definitely stop by some hot springs at some point, especially some of the undeveloped and lesser known ones like penny hit springs near Carbondale or radium hot springs near kremmling.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many other people who deserve so much credit and recognition for where I am today. When I first started my journey as an entrepreneur, I was a 27 year old kid who knew nothing about about business or technology, but was somehow convinced that I could start and run a tech startup. The most credit goes to my parents, and especially my dad. I would have never gotten off the ground if they hadn’t believed in me and supported me. They loaned me the first money I needed to start figuring out if my dream was even viable. They also took me in, and let me live in their basement rent free for 6 years while I started and failed a first company, and then decided it was a good idea to start a second one. Beyond that, I had a ton of mentors early on still have some that I have maintained relationships with to this day. They taught everything I needed to actually feel like I knew what I was doing instead of having to guess and learn on my own. In my first company I was very lucky to find several passionate motivated people to join my team and work hard to bring the idea to life even if I could barely pay them (or not pay them at all). I’m also deeply grateful for the angel investors who placed their faith in me by investing in the first company and who were patient and understanding when it didn’t work out. Currently I’m deeply grateful and appreciative of my current cofounder, who I’ve now been partnered with for over 4 years. We may not always see eye to eye on everything but we’ve built a great relationship built on mutual trust and respect and my current company wouldn’t be where it is today without him.

Website: https://Aclymate.com

Instagram: @aclymate

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aclymate/

Twitter: @aclymatecarbon

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/Aclymate/

Youtube: @aclymate

Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-climate-dad/id1747741789

Image Credits
Aclymate Inc.
William Loopesko