Nick Whitman of Divert on Food Waste, Renewable Energy, and Impact Technology

Today’s guest is Nick Whitman, co-founder and COO of Divert Inc. 

In 2007, Nick and co-founder Ryan Begin launched Divert with a simple, bold mission in mind: eliminate food waste. Since then, the firm has processed over 2.3 billion pounds of food waste, donated more than 10 million meals to the food insecure, and continues to develop new, innovative technologies. 

Nick has spent 16 years successfully scaling Divert to new heights, creating a first-of-its-kind food waste converter, designing and building a processing facility for Kroger, and revolutionizing food waste logistics.

As you’ll hear, Nick is a treasure trove of business knowledge for aspiring founders, and just an all around fun guy to talk with –  listen in on your favorite podcast platform.  

Episode Highlights

(0:00) Nick Whitman on recycling 

(1:00) Conor introduces Nick and Divert

(3:15) Growing up, business school, and energy

(8:16) Origin story of Divert

(13:42) Food waste and anaerobic digestion

(15:49) Logistics and early growth

(19:29) Divert’s technology

(22:21) Stakeholders and policy 

(24:09) Getting the first yes and building momentum

(26:49) Aligning profit with purpose 

(31:28) Sustainability and natural gas 

(34:54) Advice for future founders and growth mindset 

(38:06) Finding optimism 

(41:12) Conclusion and end credits

For more on Nick Whitman and Divert, visit divertinc.com 

Connect with Conor Gaughan on LinkedIn and let us know what you think of the episode. You can follow, rate and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtube, or wherever you listen.

Consensus in Conversation is a weekly podcast from Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume.