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2 2 C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 5 e couple have traveled to sites in Europe to see other former industrial sites that have been repurposed in innovative ways, and say they're partnering with university researchers to explore new techniques for remediating the forest while saving the trees. And, as huge as that project is, Manresa is just one aspect of Mc- Chord's rebalanced life, post-Datto. Pushing the envelope Immediately aer McChord le Datto he did a stint as a venture capitalist in the offices of his original backer, General Catalyst. He describes the venture capital world as "irrationally optimistic." "e weirdest, wildest stuff walks in the door every day," he said, "and you have to decide, is this going to happen? Is this a future I believe? And then, am I going to invest in it?" Ultimately, he found the work too hands-off to be satisfying and le in search of his next entrepreneurial challenge. Since 2020, he says, he's been "pushing all the keys on the piano down." One part of that is keeping a foot in the venture capital world with a firm he started called Outsiders Fund, where he's looking for innovation in those weird and less interesting spaces. "ink, other Dattos," he says. "We're looking for quirky, over- looked companies. ere's so many crazy things from commercial HVAC controls to managing counterfeit computer chips and supply chains to a two-sided marketplace for cattle breeders. Just really weird stuff." He's taken a more active role in some startups. He's CEO of Casana, a company that's developing a smart toilet seat that can monitor blood pressure and other health statistics. at device is currently going through the Food and Drug Adminis- tration approval process. He's also returned to the data backup space with a new company called Slide, founded with his long-time collaborator Michael Fass. Aer a few years working with former Datto engineers on a new technology that can back up servers, the company launched its first product in February. Slide now has 42 employees, about half of them in Connecticut, and Fass says the success of the product launch has exceeded their already-high expectations. "We had a unique opportunity to bring back the magic, going back to our roots," Fass said. Fass was first hired by McChord as general counsel and head of HR at Datto in 2013, characterizing himself as "the first adult in the building." He describes McChord as a force of nature and says that aer more than a decade of knowing him, the entrepreneur has not changed despite the extraordinary events of his life. " at is the best compliment I can give him," Fass said. "He has had enormous success, but he is every bit as hungry and curious and ambitious and energized as he was as a 27 year old." He also says McChord remains eager to make changes in the technology space and elsewhere. "I've never seen a person who has a stronger urge to have an impact than Austin," Fass said. at changemaking instinct applies to more than just his entre- preneurial ventures. McChord is indulging his taste for the wilder side of life by culti- vating the National Havoc Robot League, which is now housed in a 65,000-square-foot building in Norwalk and airs on ESPN. Compet- itors from across the country fly in to build and battle their robots — with just about anything, including flamethrowers, allowed. "We have pushed that envelope so far that like, the state of Connecticut now has defined what robot combat fighting is," McChord said. As someone who spent more than a decade nurturing an idea few others initially believed in, McChord says true innovation is incremental. "It's almost like how stalactites build in a cave," he said. "e in- novation sort of happens in the darkness when you're not watching." Each small step to define new standards or push the boundaries of an industry may not feel particularly consequential in the mo- ment, but it's what they add up to that truly amounts to innovation, he said. "So many people struggle with that, because they sort of expect this leap, right?," McChord said. "And you forget all of the steps in between." Continued from previous page Austin McChord recalls starting Datto in his parents' basement at age 21, long before it became a billion-dollar tech company. I