Sunil Paul is an entrepreneur and investor in clean energy and transportation companies. He is founder of the Gigaton Throwdown, a project to educate and inspire entrepreneurs, investors, and policy makers to think big about climate solutions. Read more about him below.
Q. What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
A. My kids.
Q. What is the last thing that inspired you?
A. One of the last things that inspired me is also one of the first. I was a Boy Scout back in Tennessee, and we would camp on farms. Every place we went, we would do something for the farmer, in exchange for using the land. That stayed with me – the idea that we’re only here for a limited amount of time and we should do more than just consume.
Q. What comforts you?
A. A big bowl of kitchari.
Q. When do you feel most creative?
A. I’m pretty creative in the shower. Or when I’m just looking off into the distance.
Q. How would you describe yourself in five words or fewer?
A. “I want to be able to create things.” And, apparently, “I’m not a rule-follower.”
Q. If you could be anyone in history, who would you be?
A. An early explorer.
Q. How did you get into trouble as a child?
A. Pushing boundaries of what was acceptable for a kid to do. When I was four I decided I was going to drive, and managed to get the car out into the street. I couldn’t do anything else because I couldn’t reach the pedals.
Q. Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning?
A. Lately in Tahoe, but otherwise, helping make a good, leisurely breakfast.
Q. What do you wish you had the nerve to do?
A. Write more.
To read more about Paul’s panel on green jobs, click here.
*Photo by Mabel Jimenez.