No Priors Ep. 98 | With Convective Capital Founder Bill Clerico

This week on No Priors, Sarah and Elad sit down with Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital, an early stage venture fund focused on technology-driven solutions for wildfire mitigation and climate resilience. The wildfires in Los Angeles have caused unprecedented property damage and immense hardship for countless individuals and families. This episode is devoted to diving into understanding what happened and what we can do in the future. Bill shares his insights into the increasing severity of wildfires, the role of policy, and how infrastructure issues, like outdated building codes and underfunded utilities, are contributing to the crisis. They discuss the latest innovations in fire-fighting technology, from advanced detection to drones, and how these tools can help mitigate future damage. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @BillClerico Show Notes: 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Why are wildfires getting worse? 5:37 Policies and regulatory decisions 10:47 Housing: building codes and permitting 13:19 Key factors in response 16:20 Improving water supply and city infrastructure 19:10 Preventing wildfires 21:26 Underinvestment in California’s utilities 26:53 Innovative fire fighting technology 29:35 Accelerating Los Angeles’ recovery 34:29 Actions homeowners, insurance companies, and governments can take

Elad GilhostBill ClericoguestSarah Guohost

Jan 23, 202537mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: January 23, 2025
Duration: 37m
Channel: No Priors
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This week on No Priors, Sarah and Elad sit down with Bill Clerico, founder of Convective Capital, an early stage venture fund focused on technology-driven solutions for wildfire mitigation and climate resilience. The wildfires in Los Angeles have caused unprecedented property damage and immense hardship for countless individuals and families. This episode is devoted to diving into understanding what happened and what we can do in the future. Bill shares his insights into the increasing severity of wildfires, the role of policy, and how infrastructure issues, like outdated building codes and underfunded utilities, are contributing to the crisis. They discuss the latest innovations in fire-fighting technology, from advanced detection to drones, and how these tools can help mitigate future damage. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @BillClerico Show Notes: 0:00 Introduction 1:02 Why are wildfires getting worse? 5:37 Policies and regulatory decisions 10:47 Housing: building codes and permitting 13:19 Key factors in response 16:20 Improving water supply and city infrastructure 19:10 Preventing wildfires 21:26 Underinvestment in California’s utilities 26:53 Innovative fire fighting technology 29:35 Accelerating Los Angeles’ recovery 34:29 Actions homeowners, insurance companies, and governments can take

SPEAKERS

Elad Gil
host
Bill Clerico
guest
Sarah Guo
host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of No Priors, featuring Elad Gil and Bill Clerico, No Priors Ep. 98 | With Convective Capital Founder Bill Clerico explores fixing Wildfire Disasters: Policy Failures, Tech Solutions, And Market Incentives The episode explores why catastrophic wildfires—particularly the current LA/Palisades fire—have become so frequent and destructive, arguing that policy, forest management, and infrastructure failures matter more in the near term than climate change alone. Bill Clerico explains how a century of aggressive fire suppression, regulatory paralysis, and risky housing expansion into wildland-urban interfaces have created massive fuel loads and exposure. He highlights the roles of utilities, insurance regulation, water and grid infrastructure, and culturally unpopular but necessary tools like prescribed burns and stricter building codes. The conversation closes by examining emerging technologies such as drones, the need for cultural change around “good fire,” and the national security implications of wildfire risk.

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