# Chris Tolles

> Chris Tolles is the Boston-based co-founder and CEO of Yard Stick PBC, a climate-tech company using in-field spectroscopy, statistical sampling and software to measure soil organic carbon. Trained in furniture design and later in business, Tolles has built a career around commercializing science: after co-founding and selling consumer-science startup Sundaily, he assembled Yard Stick with engineer Kevin Meissner and soil scientist Cristine Morgan to make credible soil-carbon data less expensive and more practical at farm scale.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at Yard Stick PBC
- **Organizations:** Yard Stick PBC, Sundaily, Grove Collaborative, Innosight, Breakthrough Energy, The Engine
- **Education:** BFA, Furniture Design, Rhode Island School of Design, MBA, Leadership and Organizational Transformation, Boston University Questrom School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Yard Stick PBC, which is commercializing in-field visible and near-infrared spectroscopy for soil-carbon measurement., Raised a $10.6 million Series A for Yard Stick in 2023; the company later announced the round had expanded to $12 million., Co-founded Sundaily and led it through its 2020 acquisition by Grove Collaborative.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.
- **2009** — Received a D.Light Design photography fellowship and traveled in West Africa with solar-product prototypes for market analysis and user feedback.
- **2012-2014** — Completed an MBA at Boston University; later described business-model design as essential to creating impact.
- **2014-2016** — Worked at Innosight on innovation and growth projects for large corporate clients.
- **2018** — Co-founded and launched Sundaily, a science-led ingestible skincare company, with Emilia Javorsky.
- **2020** — Sundaily was acquired by Grove Collaborative; Tolles took an advisory role and decided his next science-commercialization company would focus on climate.
- **2020** — Met collaborators through the MCJ climate community and helped assemble the team that became Yard Stick.
- **2021** — Yard Stick PBC was formally founded with Kevin Meissner and soil-science collaborator Cristine Morgan; it also announced early funding and DOE-backed technology development.
- **2023** — Yard Stick announced a $10.6 million Series A and later expanded the round to $12 million.
- **2025** — Yard Stick and the Soil Health Institute announced peer-reviewed efficacy research in Geoderma; Tolles continued discussing soil measurement, food supply chains and carbon markets in public interviews.
- **2026** — Tolles listed mentorship roles with Breakthrough Energy Discovery and The Engine's Blueprint program on LinkedIn.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Yard Stick PBC, which is commercializing in-field visible and near-infrared spectroscopy for soil-carbon measurement.
- Raised a $10.6 million Series A for Yard Stick in 2023; the company later announced the round had expanded to $12 million.
- Co-founded Sundaily and led it through its 2020 acquisition by Grove Collaborative.
- Helped prioritize peer-reviewed validation of Yard Stick's soil-carbon measurement technology through research with the Soil Health Institute.
- Received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship after graduating from RISD.
- Serves as a mentor to early climate and tough-tech founders through Breakthrough Energy Discovery and The Engine's Blueprint program.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — His public LinkedIn profile lists ongoing leadership of Yard Stick and mentorship with Breakthrough Energy Discovery and The Engine's Blueprint program.
- **2025-09** — Appeared on the ReGen Brands Podcast to discuss faster and less expensive soil-carbon measurement, food-company demand and the voluntary carbon market.
- **2025-08** — Discussed soil health, carbon markets and supply-chain resilience on the CleanTechies podcast.
- **2025-02** — Yard Stick and the Soil Health Institute announced a peer-reviewed Geoderma publication evaluating spectral soil-carbon measurement.
- **2025-05** — Was listed as a speaker at the MIT Sustainability Summit in a carbon-removal startup session.

## Links

- Website: https://www.useyardstick.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christolles/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-tolles
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-27