<![CDATA[Closing the Adoption Gap]]>"Closing the Adoption Gap" is a show about the gap between building great products in climate tech or sustainability and getting them adopted at scale. Each episode explores one real adoption challenge in a specific industry or context and the lessons learned from overcoming it.

]]>https://valeria-stromtsova.com/podcastRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Fri, 11 Sep 2026 02:52:04 GMTMon, 29 Jun 2026 17:25:16 GMT60Valeria Stromtsova<p>"Closing the Adoption Gap" is a show about the gap between building great products in climate tech or sustainability and getting them adopted at scale. Each episode explores one real adoption challenge in a specific industry or context and the lessons learned from overcoming it.</p>episodicValeria Stromtsovalerastromtsova@gmail.comno<![CDATA[When the Rules Change: ESG, AI & Product Adaptability | Morgan Woodward]]>What happens when your ESG product is built around regulation, and then the rules change?

In this episode, Valeria Stromtsova sits down with Morgan Woodward, ESG Analyst at Insig AI, to explore how regulatory and political shifts affect ESG products and how teams can build products that are ready to adapt.

We talk about Morgan’s first-hand experience navigating major changes to European sustainability regulation, and why building customisability into the product from the start made it possible to respond when the landscape shifted.

We also explore the role of AI: from using agents to keep track of regulatory changes, to choosing the right model for the right task, and why trustworthy underlying data matters just as much as the AI sitting on top of it.

We cover:

  • How regulatory shifts can create major challenges for ESG products
  • Why customisability can make products more resilient to change
  • How AI can help teams stay on top of an evolving regulatory landscape
  • Why strong, auditable data is critical when using AI for ESG
  • How to communicate sustainability products in terms of business value, risk and time saved

Know someone who should be on the podcast? Suggest a guest here: http://valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast

]]>66c7bb74-daeb-4884-b52c-5183b01e5cf2Thu, 27 Aug 2026 07:15:00 GMT<p>What happens when your ESG product is built around regulation, and then the rules change?</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Valeria Stromtsova sits down with Morgan Woodward, ESG Analyst at Insig AI, to explore how regulatory and political shifts affect ESG products and how teams can build products that are ready to adapt.</p><p></p><p>We talk about Morgan’s first-hand experience navigating major changes to European sustainability regulation, and why building customisability into the product from the start made it possible to respond when the landscape shifted.</p><p></p><p>We also explore the role of AI: from using agents to keep track of regulatory changes, to choosing the right model for the right task, and why trustworthy underlying data matters just as much as the AI sitting on top of it.</p><p></p><p>We cover:</p><ul><li>How regulatory shifts can create major challenges for ESG products</li><li>Why customisability can make products more resilient to change</li><li>How AI can help teams stay on top of an evolving regulatory landscape</li><li>Why strong, auditable data is critical when using AI for ESG</li><li>How to communicate sustainability products in terms of business value, risk and time saved</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Know someone who should be on the podcast? Suggest a guest here:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast" target="_blank">http://valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast</a></p>no00:20:54When the Rules Change: ESG, AI & Product Adaptability | Morgan Woodwardfull<![CDATA[What It Takes to Build Climate Tech People Actually Use | Catherine To]]>Building a great climate solution is only half the challenge. How do you get people to actually use it?

In this first episode of Closing the Adoption Gap, I sit down with startup consultant Catherine To to explore why promising climate and nature tech solutions can struggle to gain traction – and what product teams can do differently.

We unpack some of the biggest adoption barriers Cat has encountered in her work: behaviour change, trust and data credibility, ecosystem readiness, and the challenge of building solutions that work for real communities in real-world contexts.

We cover:

  • Why asking users to change their behaviour can be an adoption trap
  • How trust, transparency and credible data influence adoption
  • Why the surrounding ecosystem needs to be ready for your product
  • What co-designing with communities looks like in practice
  • Why specificity can be a strength, not a limitation

Know someone who should be on the podcast? Suggest a guest here: valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast

]]>ae41a85e-d571-4c15-b061-1a753e5ee854Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:34:04 GMT<p>Building a great climate solution is only half the challenge. How do you get people to actually use it?</p><p></p><p>In this first episode of Closing the Adoption Gap, I sit down with startup consultant Catherine To to explore why promising climate and nature tech solutions can struggle to gain traction – and what product teams can do differently.</p><p></p><p>We unpack some of the biggest adoption barriers Cat has encountered in her work: behaviour change, trust and data credibility, ecosystem readiness, and the challenge of building solutions that work for real communities in real-world contexts.</p><p></p><p>We cover:</p><ul><li>Why asking users to change their behaviour can be an adoption trap</li><li>How trust, transparency and credible data influence adoption</li><li>Why the surrounding ecosystem needs to be ready for your product</li><li>What co-designing with communities looks like in practice</li><li>Why specificity can be a strength, not a limitation</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Know someone who should be on the podcast? Suggest a guest here:</b> <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast" target="_blank">valeria-stromtsova.com/podcast</a></p>no00:24:19What It Takes to Build Climate Tech People Actually Use | Catherine Tofull