In Pursuit of Changing the Landscape

What does it look like to build something from scratch, and believe in its potential long before you know exactly where it will lead?

In this episode of the Power to Pursue Podcast, Rachel sits down with Gabby Blocher, CEO of Sunflower Fuels, to talk startups, sustainability, motherhood, fundraising, and what it really takes to create something new.

Gabby is a Cincinnati native, Marine Corps veteran, mom of three, and longtime member of the startup community. Today, she leads Sunflower Fuels, a company working to put unused land back into production by growing miscanthus, a crop with the potential to support emerging markets while creating a positive impact on the environment.

And while the opportunity is big, Gabby is candid about the reality of building it. Raising money is hard. Growth takes time. There are huge wins, difficult stretches, and plenty of uncertainty along the way. But for Gabby, that's also what makes entrepreneurship exciting: the chance to look at blank space and create something that hasn't existed before.

Rachel and Gabby also talk about raising kids while building a company, what it means for children to see their moms lead and create, and why it matters for women to see other women stepping into industries, opportunities, and leadership roles they may not have imagined for themselves.

Gabby is in pursuit of making a positive impact on the planet her children will inherit—and doing it in a way that is sustainable, economically viable, and built to last.

Because sometimes changing the world starts with looking at unused ground and seeing what could grow there.