At Jobs for Planet, we spend every day speaking with founders building solutions to the world's biggest environmental challenges. While every journey is different, the most successful climate startups often share the same mindset: they solve real problems, hire exceptional people and build businesses where commercial success and positive impact go hand in hand.

That's exactly what stood out in our latest Ideas to Impact podcast episode with Ines Sánchez-Castillo Velge co-founder of Beans—a startup that helped FMCG brands like Nestlé and Danone reduce food waste by giving unsold inventory a second life.

In just two years, Beans generated over €1 million in revenue, partnered with more than 450 consumer brands, and prevented 25,000 tonnes of perfectly good products from going to waste.

But beyond the impressive numbers, this conversation offered practical lessons for anyone building a climate or impact business. From identifying overlooked opportunities to hiring the right team and measuring impact from day one, here are our biggest takeaways.

1. Solve the Right Problem—Not Just the Most Visible One

Before writing a single line of code, Ines and her co-founder spent almost eight months researching food waste.

What they discovered challenged a common assumption.

While consumer food waste gets most of the attention, more than half of all food waste happens much earlier in the supply chain—during production and manufacturing. Instead of building another consumer-facing solution, they focused on helping manufacturers recover value from perfectly good products that couldn't be sold through traditional retail.

These weren't defective products. They simply had challenges such as:

• Short remaining shelf life

• Seasonal packaging

• Marketing campaigns that had ended

• Packaging updates

• Overstocked inventory

  
  

By purchasing this inventory at discounted prices and redistributing it, Beans created value for manufacturers, consumers and the planet.

Sometimes the biggest opportunities aren't where everyone is looking.

2. You're Never Completely Ready to Become a Founder

One question aspiring founders ask all the time is: "How did you know it was the right time?"

Ines' answer was refreshing.

It wasn't about feeling fearless.

It was about having enough experience to understand what building a company actually involves. After working at Deliveroo, Gorillas and Choco, she'd seen startups launch, scale and solve complex problems. That experience gave her confidence—but not certainty.

And that's okay.

A little uncertainty is healthy. It keeps you learning, adapting and pushing forward.

3. Don't Try to Solve Every Problem

This was one of our favourite parts of the conversation. Beans existed to reduce food waste.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

Investors occasionally questioned whether selling discounted food might unintentionally encourage unhealthy eating. Ines acknowledged it was a valid discussion—but it wasn't the problem Beans had set out to solve.

Too many impact startups feel pressure to tackle multiple environmental and social issues at once.

The reality? The companies creating the biggest impact usually have incredible focus.

Choose one problem. Solve it exceptionally well.

4. Measure Impact Like You Measure Revenue

If you're building an impact business, your impact should be measurable from day one.

For Beans, tracking the amount of food saved wasn't just good storytelling—it became part of the business itself.

Strong impact measurement helps:

• Build trust with customers

• Attract investors

• Recruit mission-driven talent

• Demonstrate credibility

• Continuously improve your impact

Good intentions matter. Good data matters just as much.

5. Build a Business Where Growth Creates More Impact

Every additional sale Beans made meant more food was saved from going to waste.

Revenue and impact grew together. That's exactly the kind of business model climate founders should strive for.

Instead of asking: "How do we balance growth with impact?"

Ask:

"How do we design a business where growth automatically creates more impact?"

6. Your First Hire Shapes Your Company

Instead of hiring specialists straight away, Beans hired a Founder Associate—a versatile generalist who could solve problems across multiple areas of the business.

In the early days, adaptability often matters more than expertise.

Skills can be learned.Ownership, curiosity and resilience are much harder to teach.

7. Hire for Attitude Over Experience

One thing that really resonated with us was how little emphasis I

nes placed on prestigious CVs. Instead, she looked for people who:

• Take ownership

• Think independently

• Stay calm under pressure

• Challenge ideas respectfully

• Run towards problems instead of away from them

Those are the people who thrive in startups. And they're often the people who make the biggest difference.

8. Entrepreneurship Is an Energy Game

Founders make hundreds of decisions every week. Decision fatigue is real.

Ines spoke openly about learning to prioritise recovery, simplify everyday decisions and recognise when she needed to recharge. Her advice was simple:

Sleep.

Exercise.

Take breaks.

Protect your energy.

Because entrepreneurship isn't a sprint.

It's a marathon.

One thing we loved about this conversation was how grounded it felt. There were no overnight success stories or startup clichés. Just honest reflections from someone who has built, scaled and learned along the way.

For anyone building a climate or impact business, Ines' journey is a reminder that success isn't just about having a great idea.

It's about solving a real problem, staying focused, hiring exceptional people and creating a business where commercial success and environmental impact grow together.

🎧 Prefer to hear the full conversation?

You can listen to the complete episode of Ideas to Impact with Ines Sánchez-Castillo Velge here: 👉 Ideas To Impact (Podcast)

🌍 Building a climate company? You'll need the right people.

At Jobs for Planet, we help climate tech, renewable energy and sustainability companies hire the people turning ambitious ideas into real-world impact.

Whether you're making your first hire, growing your leadership team or scaling internationally, we connect purpose-driven organisations with exceptional talent across climate and sustainability.

If you're building solutions for the planet, we'd love to help you build the team behind them.

👉 Visit Jobs for Planet to learn more or get in touch with our team