Join us as Sarah Fleischer, co-founder and CEO of tozero, shares how she is building one of Europe’s most innovative deep tech companies focused on lithium-ion battery recycling and critical materials recovery. From her early beginnings in the space industry to launching a company designed to reduce global dependence on imported materials, Sarah opens up about the mission, science, and scale behind tozero.In this episode, Sarah reveals how a breakthrough developed by her co-founder sparked the creation of tozero, why Munich has become a hub for world-class engineering talent, and how lithium and graphite can be recovered cleanly, efficiently, and at industrial scale. She also discusses the realities of fundraising, building a global investor base, and the role of mentorship and serendipity in shaping a founder's journey.🔑 KEY HIGHLIGHTSTHE ORIGIN OF TOZEROHow a scientific breakthrough, a napkin pact, and a shared vision led to one of Europe’s fastest-growing deep tech startups.A CLEANER WAY TO RECOVER CRITICAL MATERIALSSarah explains how tozero’s water-based process extracts lithium and graphite with high efficiency and at a cost competitive with mining.WHY MUNICHWhy Munich’s engineering talent and deep tech ecosystem make it the ideal base for scaling a hardware company.BUILDING MATERIAL INDEPENDENCEHow Europe can reduce its reliance on imported lithium and graphite and strengthen its supply chain resilience.THE REAL FOUNDER JOURNEYSarah shares the ups and downs of deep tech entrepreneurship, mentorship, teamwork, and taking risks that shift entire industries.🌐 RESOURCES AND LINKSLearn more about tozero: tozero.solutionsConnect with Sarah Fleischer on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sarahfleischerPodcast Website: foundersecretspod.com🔗 CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: @foundersecretspodLinkedIn: founder-secrets-podcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE PODCASTApple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/4h59tyerSpotify: tinyurl.com/4wjb26v8🔔 DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBEEnjoyed this episode? LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more inspiring founder stories from around the world.
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