In the first episode of the new Pender Ventures Founder Series, Cheri Corbett, Pender Ventures Partner, talks with Derrick Emsley, co-founder and CEO of Tentree and Veritree. They discuss his founder journey and the creation of a technology platform bringing verification, transparency, and trust to global reforestation.
2:10
The founding of Tentree and building a consumer brand centered on planting trees.
4:00
Launching Veritree and the mission to verify, monitor, and report global reforestation efforts.
7:40
Why verification and accountability became critical as reforestation efforts scaled.
10:00
Greenwashing concerns and the growing demand for transparency in sustainability and ESG.
11:30
What Veritree does today and the core problem it was built to solve.
13:00
Expanding the problem set: from tracking trees to managing long-term restoration outcomes.
14:50
Veritree as an “ERP for reforestation” and infrastructure for verified impact.
15:45
Veritree’s vision: building trust and integrity back into impact.
16:00
Lessons from building Tentree and how storytelling translates from B2C to B2B.
18:00
Founder learnings: decision speed, iteration, and treating decisions as two-way doors.
20:00
Building software infrastructure versus consumer products: key leadership shifts.
23:00
Three-year planning, growth milestones, and category-defining strategy.
26:30
Expanding the total addressable market beyond reforestation.
29:00
How Veritree’s culture differs from Tentree, being at a different stage of maturity.
32:12
Fundraising philosophy: prioritizing the right partners over capital alone.
34:54
Life outside work: getting outdoors in Vancouver and a book recommendation from Derrick.
