Kardashev Won: Cooling the Planet With Zero-Fuel Power

What if the "waste" heat pouring out of factories could power those same factories and help cool the planet at the same time? In this episode, host Dan Jacobs sits down with serial founder and renewable-energy innovator Johannes Jacobs, founder of Kardashev Won, to explore how advanced Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) generators can turn industrial waste heat into reliable, on-site electricity.

You’ll hear how Kardashev Won is building zero-fuel, closed-loop power systems that:

• Harvest waste heat from large industrial and commercial sites to co-generate clean electricity 24/7, 365 days a year.

• Aim for a "moonshot" of pulling excess heat directly from the atmosphere using highly efficient heat pumps combined with ORC technology.

• Deliver rapid ROI by cutting energy bills while reducing emissions and pressure on the grid.

Johannes shares the engineer’s view from inside his enormous "mad scientist" workshop, where he is constantly experimenting, testing, and filming the development of next-generation turbines, heat pumps, and ORC systems. He explains how small, compounding efficiency gains across dozens of components can combine into game-changing performance, much like compound interest for energy.

But this conversation goes far beyond the tech. You’ll also learn:

• How he built and exited multiple service businesses in solar, plumbing, and electrical work over three decades.

• Why "efficiency first" can cut a customer’s electricity use by up to 80% before you add a single solar panel, and why competing on quality beats competing on price.

• The simple hiring and culture principles he used to build high-performing crews: attract upwardly mobile people, over-equip them with the right tools, and then get out of their way.

• How obsessing over customer experience (from tidy worksites to a "happy letter" sign-off) creates trust, referrals, and a pipeline built almost entirely on repeat business.

If you care about industrial decarbonisation, waste-heat recovery, energy efficiency, or how to design a resilient, quality-led service business, this episode is for you.

Listen in to discover how Kardashev Won plans to become a planetary-scale heat pump for industry, turning today’s waste into tomorrow’s power.

About Johannes

Johannes Jacobs is a three-time exited entrepreneur, inventor, and renewable-energy specialist born in 1977. With roots as a scuba instructor and skipper, he went on to build and sell multiple service businesses in plumbing, electrical work, and solar, and later served as Technical Director at SolarZone leading teams on complex renewable installations. A PIRB-licensed plumber and solar specialist, he combines deep hands-on expertise with patents, real-estate projects, and master-level craftsmanship in areas like woodturning. As founder and Chief Technical Officer of Kardashev Won, inspired by the Kardashev scale, he focuses on advanced energy and sustainability solutions. Under the pen name Zax Vagen, he has also published both nonfiction on renewable energy and the fantasy novel Finding the Soul Bridge. Bilingual in English and Afrikaans, he brings a “can-do, will-try, can’t-fail” mindset to every challenge.

About Dan Jacobs

Dan is a business builder, founder, and podcast host with a deep interest in how human systems actually work. He studies the interplay between people, process, and technology, then turns those insights into tools leaders can use in real businesses. Dan believes the world gets better when businesses stop running on chaos and start running on well-designed systems. He founded Buybill to give small businesses big-business operational capability. Follow Dan on LinkedIn @getdanjacobs for practical, systems-aware insights on building brilliant, sustainable businesses.

Music track: Rock Me Now by Pufino
Source: ⁠https://freetouse.com/music

The One About Stress | Dr Derek Roger

Is stress something that happens to us, or something we create ourselves?

In this episode of The Brilliant Business Podcast, I talk with Dr Derek Roger, one of the world’s leading researchers on stress and resilience. With decades of scientific research and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, Dr Roger challenges many of the assumptions we hold about stress and mental pressure.

His central idea is provocative but empowering: stress is not the same as pressure — and stress may actually be a choice.

Dr Roger explains how much of what we call stress is actually rumination: repeatedly thinking about emotional upsets or imagined future problems. When this happens, our attention is hijacked, our productivity drops, and our bodies remain in a prolonged physiological stress response.

Drawing on decades of research and workplace programmes delivered globally, he shares the science behind his Challenge of Change training programme. The programme helps people learn how to wake up from “autopilot”, control their attention, gain perspective and stop turning everyday pressure into damaging stress.

You will also learn:

• Why the idea that “a little stress is good for you” may be a myth
• The crucial difference between pressure and stress
• How rumination affects heart rate, blood pressure and immune function
• Why stress reduces productivity and decision-making ability
• How stress contributes to workplace absence
• Practical techniques to regain control of your attention
• Why happier employees often make better leaders

This episode is packed with practical insight for leaders, entrepreneurs, managers and anyone who wants to perform better without burning out.

If you want to rethink how stress really works and discover tools that can improve both your work and personal life, this is an episode you should not miss.

Watch the full episode to hear the science behind stress and the powerful mindset shift that can transform how you respond to pressure.

00:00 – Is Stress a Choice?
00:33 – The Origins of Stress Research
03:58 – Pressure vs Stress Explained
06:05 – How Scientists Measure Stress
08:34 – Rumination: The Real Cause of Stress
13:17 – How Stress Reduces Cognitive Performance
16:05 – The Rumination Spiral and Health Impacts
18:50 – Waking Up from Autopilot Thinking
19:59 – Anxiety vs Stress: What’s the Difference?
22:29 – Is Stress Inevitable?
23:44 – The “Challenge of Change” Programme
28:53 – Stress and Workplace Absence
31:05 – Happiness, Work and Perspective
33:16 – Leadership, Culture and Stress
36:31 – Becoming an Accredited Trainer
39:14 – Why Stress Training Changes Lives
41:49 – Final Thoughts: Taking Control of Stress

About Dr Derek Roger

Dr Derek Roger qualified originally in psychology, but the emphasis in his work subsequently shifted towards neuroscience.

His ground-breaking research, mainly at the University of York in England and later at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, has made him one of the world's leading experts on resilience and stress management. Derek applies his significant experience at the cutting edge of neuroscience and psychology to working situations in an insightful and commercially relevant manner.

Derek is a British Psychological Society Chartered Psychologist.

About Dan

Dan Jacobs is a business builder, founder, and host of The Business with Dan Jacobs Podcast.

Dan believes that we can make the world a better place by helping small businesses succeed. He is the founder of ⁠⁠Buybill⁠⁠, a platform designed to give small businesses access to big-business operational capability. You can follow Dan on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ (@getdanjacobs) for practical insights on building brilliant, sustainable businesses.

Music track: Rock Me Now by Pufino

Source: ⁠https://freetouse.com/music