For the majority of young startups in the green tech industry, the last decade was a fight to raise enough funds for takeoff. Few were the lucky ones like Tesla, who received a flood of investment that propelled them into the stratosphere. Fortunately for the underdogs in this race, however, things are looking up.

The Valley of Death

The problem with green startups and securing investments is the so-called valley of death. That’s the gap between creating a potentially breakthrough product or technology and its large-scale commercial production. That ‘valley’ has wiped out many startups before they could even try to reach their potential. One of the reasons for this is the 2011 failure of California’s Solyndra. The solar farm, which had government financing, as well as the 2012 bankruptcy of 123 Systems Inc. (a battery manufacturer) — both contributed to the decreased investments in the sector.

What is more, the percentage of success and ROI in clean energy was definitely off for a while. A 2017 study found that out of 36 battery startups that received funding, only two were able to generate more revenue than the amount of the investment.

Startups Going From Labs to Markets

The new wave of cash from investors and government funds will help startups make the leap from laboratory to market. There are several factors that led to the renewed interest in the industry. For starters, clean-energy power companies are now offering more competitive solutions with fossil fuel-generated energy, which drastically decreased the costs of rechargeable batteries. The growing concerns about the impact of global warming have driven companies to find ways to reduce their carbon emissions. This encouraged investors to back clean energy startups offering cost- and environmentally-friendly solutions.

By the end of this year, it is predicted that there will be a total of $7.7 billion worth of green tech deals in the U.S. alone. That number is significantly higher than the $1 billion a decade ago.

Actor Travis Van Winkle has been eating six meals a day and maintaining a rigorous exercise plan by trainer Grant Roberts. He has done all this to gain ten pounds of muscle for the hit Netflix show You. The anticipated Season 3 is now streaming, and Van Winkle has an intriguing role in it as a new character. In the series, he plays Cary Conrad, a fitness entrepreneur and bio-hacker with his own line of supplements.

Travis Van Winkle Set Out to Put On Ten Pounds of Muscle to Embody the Role as Best as Possible

Travis Van Winkle recently admitted that he got a pretty loosely structured exercise routine before he received the role in You. He added that he was focused on just maintaining and not building up his muscle. All of that changed for him once he got the role of the professional bodybuilder Cary Conrad and Van Winkle shifted his focus during training on muscle gain. To maximize his results, he enlisted the assistance of celebrity trainer Grant Roberts, who is famous for facilitating physical transformations of actors for different roles like Kumail Nanjiani for The Eternals and David Dastmalchian for Dune.

Van Winkle Contacted Roberts After Learning He Had Helped Kumail Nanjiani

Van Winkle contacted Grant Roberts and went into his office to do a 3-D body scan to locate the parts where he wanted to add muscle. Roberts created a workout plan for Van Winkle, and the actor followed it working out in his garage home gym. The plan focused on certain muscle groups and included four different exercises for each muscle group.

Travis Van Winkle also focused on recovery, taking creatine after workouts and dextrose in his protein shake. He also shared that he got a deep tissue massage every week and acupuncture every two weeks. He would also consume a protein shake before bed and made sure he got sufficient sleep. Roberts even gave Van Winkle nutrition advice. The actor had six meals a day and was focused on macro counting. After some four-and-a-half months of following the plan, Van Winkle had successfully added ten pounds of muscle.