An Interview With Martita Mestey
Sustainable Education and Awareness. Education and awareness are always an integral part of promoting change. With knowledge of sustainable practices and awareness of the environmental impact we have, people can begin to see the problem and become part of the solution. Without knowing there is a problem, people are less inclined to see the need for change.
As we face an unprecedented environmental crisis, the need for sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. This series seeks to spotlight the innovative minds and passionate advocates who are leading the charge in environmental conservation and sustainable practices. We aim to explore the most effective strategies, breakthrough technologies, and transformative policies that are shaping a more sustainable future for our planet. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Ellen Damaso.
Ellen Damaso is a venture scout and sustainable fashion innovator who bridges climate tech and conscious consumerism. As founder of Inner Bling Styling under venture scouting firm 3taus, they identify cutting-edge climate and energy technologies transforming manufacturing — from AI-driven textile waste reduction to renewable-energy-powered production — then pilot these solutions through personalized styling experiences. Ellen Damaso’s work proves that the future of fashion lies where venture capital meets verifiable climate impact. With her company’s unique position — between hard-tech founders
Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?
Climate tech and energy startups are near and dear to my heart. But it’s interesting that my first run into the climate tech space was in middle school when we had Earth Day at our magnet middle school, and we had to do an Earth Day project. I griped at that young age about how I didn’t like Earth Day because we had to do a project. Fast forward to now, I thrive on building my knowledge and experience in the VC world of climate tech and energy startups. I have a background as a yoga teacher and practice mindfulness in all areas of my life. Even more so, it’s overdue and needed for mindfulness in both our professional and personal lives. The work I do for my community and businesses doesn’t stop at the mat. When we integrate all of ourselves with mindfulness, we begin to awaken to the awareness of making our planet livable for future generations. It’s important, especially when we really absorb the hard truth that Earth is our only home. As our home, its sustainability for our future generations begins NOW with funding and building startups to combat the effects of climate change, reduce waste, and improve sustainability practices in manufacturing.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
I would say the most interesting story from my career is how much innovation and carefully crafted creative ideas in startups solve real problems in so many areas of climate tech. From manufacturing to our closets, we have startups that are reusing waste to reusable products, manufacturing processes that are helping to remove harmful chemicals from current processes, carbon capture and utilization technologies that are aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and then in our everyday closets, we see sustainable companies helping to upcycle garments, have virtual wardrobes and companies promoting reuse of clothing. There are so many areas to be a part of the solution. It shows that as a collective, we are fighting for sustainability practices in all areas of our lives.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Resourcefulness. Over the years I have developed the ability to find answers and resources for any problem find. I’ve learned to capitalize on resources to help develop in all areas of my life. I’ve been able to utilize scholarships and free resources from a scholarship for a yoga teacher training program to currently being a part of a free Cornell entrepreneurial program for women entrepreneurs.
- Teaching. My background is in engineering and I have a high thirst for knowledge. What makes the knowledge even more impactful is that I’m able to understand concepts well enough to teach them to others. From my early days in high school being valedictorian, people would ask me for answers, but I would respond back that I would teach them how to solve the problems, that way they can learn to do it on their own.
- Community-focused. I have a deep passion and heart for building up communities. I host workshops to help people empower themselves. Right now, I have an upcoming job hunting focused community group called ‘Career Glow Up Collective: Shine in Your Job Search, teach yoga classes in the community, and planning a workshop called ‘The Glow Up Collective: Elevate Your Wardrobe, Nourish Your Body & Grow Your Wealth’. I have been blessed with a gift and it’s my honor to help others to be empowered in all areas of their lives.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m currently building up my portfolio of impactful climate tech and energy startups. Later this month, I will be attending SF Climate Week where I will continue to build my knowledge and network of organizers and supporters of climate solutions to help foster further discussions on making a global impact. Exchanging ideas at a decentralized event will help further discussions to identify solutions that can be implemented in our own communities when we return from community gatherings like SF Climate Week. I truly believe in the power of ideas and collaboration to help our local and global communities to find real solutions to help reach our climate and sustainability goals.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. What pivotal moment led you to dedicate your career to sustainability, and how has that shaped your approach to environmental challenges?
After returning to my hometown to become a caregiver for my family, I had to leave my engineering career temporarily as there were very limited jobs in my field in my hometown. I had to pivot and reinvent myself. So, I opened up a resale boutique after going to LA to learn wardrobe styling at the School of Style. I engineered a process to resell clothing for resale value and promote sustainability. After closing that boutique, I continued to style individuals, models, and in fashion shows, but moved into solar sales.
Although, the industry wasn’t entirely the sustainable model I hoped to be impactful in the community, I continued on to become the director of technical marketing for a lithium ion battery provider and continued to grow in my passion for energy alternative solutions that were more environmentally friendly. That role brought me to Austin where I quickly grew to love for its ‘Keep Austin Weird’ vibe. I appreciated the communities for promoting startups, group runs around the lake, growing my decades long love for yoga into a yoga teaching practice, and the vibrant energy that surrounded the city and its people.
After leaving the lithium ion battery provider, a friend introduced me into the world of VC and I finally felt I was led to an area of the culmination of all my experience where I am thriving in. I immersed myself fully in the industry, learning all about startups, funding, and venture capitalist/family office. I attended pitchs, hackathons, VC conferences, VC cohorts, and SXSW founder activities. It’s been a labor of love and the more I learn about startup impacts, continue to research in the industry, and find funding for startups, the more I realize that we really can change this world.
We really have people, companies, and funding opportunities to not just promote sustainability, but fully implement and embrace it. We can challenge the status quo, we can undo decades of neglect of our planet and reverse the harmful practices that were so widely accepted.
Could you describe a groundbreaking project or initiative you’ve been involved in that significantly contributed to sustainability?
We focus on the full ecosystem, from factory floors to closets. At the intersection of daily practices and sustainable living, we have programs focused on mindfulness, sustainability, and empowerment. As Americans, our clothing consumption has increase 5x more than it was in the 1980s. With the practice of mindfulness, we encourage consumers to be more aware of their purchases and what’s already in their closet.
We have implemented 1 minute mindfulness minutes focused on a curated and sustainable closet, so that people connect with what they already have and pause to reflect before making purchases. Our brand sees individuals holistically to help empower them to use mindfulness in their everyday lives to make conscious decisions of their wardrobe choices. With the tools of mindfulness on sustainability, we enable individuals to let their individual choices help build momentum for the collective.
We also implement curated shopping experiences focused on thrift and resale stores. We work with clients to develop a shopping plan in great detail with focus on brands that have resale value and work with their current wardrobe. By focusing on thrift and resale, we encourage purchasing and wearing sustainable clothing instead of fast fashion, giving a longer life to their wardrobe and making sure each purchase is purposeful and chosen with mindfulness.
How do you navigate the balance between economic growth and environmental preservation in your sustainability strategies?
With all the climate tech and energy startups, we see a pathway forward for a new economy that’s built on sustainability strategies. By implementing business practices to reduce waste, upcycling, finding alternative energy sources, and CO2 conversion, we create a shift in the environmentally harmful practices we mindlessly implemented over the last several decades. By pivoting our trajectory to conserve and protect our planet, we create new opportunities for individuals to help build with these new sustainability strategies. These new sustainable businesses will require people to learn and adapt new skills to support their initiatives. Economic growth that responsibly protects our planet keeps it available for generations to come and continues to have the resources needed to sustain it.
What emerging technologies or innovations do you believe hold the most promise for advancing sustainability and why?
Electricity accounts for 60% of the total energy use in commercial buildings. With the use of smart building technologies, this number can decrease. By understanding the use cases in commercial buildings, these smart building technologies can implement minimum profiles for HVAC, electricity, lighting, refrigeration and office equipment. These smart building technologies can provide very detailed use profiles to prevent waste and overuse. The always on model for energy usage is wasteful and with these smart building technologies, there can be a great opportunity for energy and cost savings.
Here is our main question. Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet”? (Please share a story or an example for each)
1 . Renewable Energy Focus. By implementing a combination of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, we can increase the implementation of renewable energy profiles.
2 . Smart Building Technologies. Through smart building technologies, we can implement smart usage of energy usage in commercial buildings to help decrease energy and costs.
3 . Circular Economic Initiatives. Through circular economic initiatives, companies are focusing on recycling, upcycling, remanufacturing materials, and creating platforms that facilitate sharing and reuse. This consumer trend helps to reduce environmental impact and helps promote sustainable consumption.
4 . Legislation for Sustainability. Creating and pushing legislation to promote sustainability in manufacturing practices and emissions help drive companies to take more initiative. Creating deadlines and limiting harmful practices enables a more sustainable economy.
5 . Sustainable Education and Awareness. Education and awareness are always an integral part of promoting change. With knowledge of sustainable practices and awareness of the environmental impact we have, people can begin to see the problem and become part of the solution. Without knowing there is a problem, people are less inclined to see the need for change.
In your view, what are the key steps individuals, communities, and governments need to take to achieve a more sustainable future?
Governments can help achieve a more sustainable future by passing legislation that promotes sustainability practices in key areas that are causing the most pollution. It can help encourage research into products and systems that are key in reducing waste and implement innovative solutions to environmentally damaging practices.
Individuals can help reduce their carbon footprint by making decisions and taking action knowing which actions help reduce carbon footprint. Implementing daily sustainable practices like recycling, composting, and decreasing consumerism will collectively make a difference.
Communities can hold cleanups, take action to support organizations and businesses that have sustainable practices. Being sure to consciously choose and encouraging our local businesses to be environmental conscious can bring more businesses to bring about change.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would start an ‘Only On as Needed’ strategy with an app that has a centrally located dashboard with complete control of all the apps on a person’s phone. It would allow people to select apps to only be on during certain time periods along with full control of notifications to be off on selected time periods. Imagine not having to go to the notifications tab, to unselect one by one which notifications will be sent. It would be a ‘smart’ notification system that factors in your entire schedule to set a regularly scheduled notification time for apps in your strategy to be ‘only on as needed.
It would also go a step further to be able to set up apps to only appear for a designated time period and then lock after that time period. Imagine your social media apps only appearing for small windows of an hour each day that you designate, enabling you to have more mindfulness and control over doom scrolling. It would also enable a deep power down mode to promote healthy sleep by ‘shutting off’ the blue screen effect to only turn on when an emergency contact call is made or when your designated alarm goes off, then it powers itself back ‘on’.
It would promote a new culture where technology isn’t driving us, but we are setting the parameters for healthy mindful living with strategies that map our needs for productivity, sleep, mental health, and living life fully outside the digital realm. Better posture, greater awareness, focused time for relationships, and setting up a digital lifestyle that works for our needs, not the constant addiction to our phones.
What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?
The best way to follow me is to sign up for my LinkedIn newsletter: ‘From Closets to Cities’ https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/from-closets-to-cities-7311872369407533056
I can also be reached at my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellendamaso
Instagram: innerblingstyling
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.
It was my pleasure. I’m excited to see how the landscape of climate tech and energy will intersect with sustainability in all verticals! Change is coming!
The Future Is Green: Ellen Damaso of 3taus Consulting On Their Top Strategies for a Cleaner Planet was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.