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Transcript

Augustus Doricko: Solving Water Scarcity in the American West Through Cloud Seeding

From Groundwater Compliance to Making Rain: The Thiel Fellow's Mission to Green the American Desert

My conversation with Augustus Doricko, founder of Rainmaker.

Augustus shares his thoughts on higher education, what makes a successful founder, and his ambitious vision to "green the Great American Desert."

Timestamps:

00:00:00 - College admissions issues and higher education

00:04:01 - Leaving college for better opportunities

00:05:10 - Upskilling and human capital concentration

00:05:48 - Fellowship experiences: Thiel Fellowship and Z Fellows

00:07:55 - Who should be a founder? Qualities needed

00:11:58 - Augustus's journey to water scarcity solutions

00:16:32 - Clarifying cloud seeding vs. other weather modification technologies

00:21:05 - History of cloud seeding technology

00:27:04 - American revival and re-industrialization

00:32:13 - Systemic issues pushing talent into finance over innovation

00:36:25 - Rainmaker's vision: from water utility to terraforming company

Follow Augustus on X: https://x.com/ADoricko

Follow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbook