David Blackmon doesn’t see what he does as work; after all, he is doing what he loves, writing articles on energy and running a substack on the topic. It sounds like he knew what he wanted to do in life from the start – but based on what he was like as a youth, nothing could be farther from the truth.

When Jeanette Jackson took over a clean-tech accelerator called Foresight, it was a team of two. Today, that number has grown to 50. To get there, she had to start with a hands-on strategy, doing everything from ideas to pitching them. Over the years, she transitioned into the leadership role that she serves today. Her biggest advice to others is to get a handle on fine details such as numbers for financials and keeping track of projects’ progress.

Matt Harper’s job at Invinity Energy Systems is all about balance. As he says, “It is a job that does not let one get bored.”