Dan Widmaier is the founder and CEO of Bolt Threads, where he’s using biotechnology to create the next generation of materials. Think: leather made from mushrooms.
Why you should listen
With a PhD in chemistry and chemical biology, Dan Widmaier is building a technology company that takes nature as its inspiration point. Bolt Threads, the firm Widmaier founded in 2009, is a biomaterials platform company designed to make cutting-edge, sustainable materials an everyday part of the world around us.
Commercially available materials include Mylo -- a mycelium-based leather alternative -- and b-silk, a protein inspired by spider threads. Bolt works closely with fashion, footwear and beauty companies including adidas, Kering, lululemon and Stella McCartney and is committed to creating better materials for a better world.
