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Happy Thursday, #SolarWarrior!

To those of you who are new to SunCast, welcome to our Tribe! I hope you’ll find this information helps you enter through the side door and bypass some of the hard-won life lessons from our hundreds of guests!

Today’s entrepreneur story is with someone with whom SunCast faithful listeners are already familiar. Chuck Swoboda has graced the podcast a couple of times: recently as both Tactical Tuesday guest and a keynote for the SunCast Clean Energy Summit in April.

His legacy and impact at CREE, Inc. are legendary, and he’s put many of his fabled stories and lessons learned into his recently launched book, The Innovator’s Spirit, and his fantastic podcast Innovator’s on Tap. But I was not satisfied with just getting the deets on his book, and suspected, as I tend to do, that there were still some stories held back. Chuck didn’t disappoint, so hold on to your hats as Chuck Swoboda and I take a fascinating look at his career leading up to and through Cree’s meteoric rise in the LED world.

From hilarious family stories to heartbreaking life lessons about the reality of leading a fast-growth company, Chuck let us peer into the career of one of the most intriguing stories I’ve chronicled on SunCast yet. Did you know that CREE wasn’t even created to take on LED lighting? If that surprises you, you’re in for a treat.

I am honored to be able to provide you with this Part One of the interview, and we'll be following the Part Two on Episode 269.

And if you really love these kinds of insights, then you should check out the hundreds of additional founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and our Energy Tribe newsletter so you won’t miss the next one that drops!

Thanks to our podcast sponsors for continuing to help make this content free to You!

Extensible Energy and

Adani Solar U.S.

Resources

Connect with Chuck on LinkedIn

Follow Chuck on Twitter and Instagram

Check out the website of Cape Point Advisors, Cree, Inc., and Marquette University

Reads for your free time:

When your body calls time-out

In an Economy Ravished by the Coronavirus, Companies Can Find a Silver Lining through Innovation

Chuck’s articles on Forbes

Chuck’s interview on School for Startups Radio