CleanTechies

#158 Product-Led ClimateTech, Exiting to Big Tech TWICE, Being a Climate Papa, & More w/ Ben Eidelson (Stepchange, Climate Papa)


Listen Later

In this episode, I chat with Ben Eidelson, Co-founder & GP of Stepchange, an early-stage venture fund that invests in product-led companies that will make a “step change”, pun intended, I’m guessing?, impact on climate. 

When editing the episode, Alex, our executive producer, told us he could already tell one of our best episodes yet. I very much agree. This turned out to be the VC meets product meets content special I was hoping it would be. We discuss all things product in climate, Ben being a 2 time exited founder to big tech, starting a climate fund in this environment, and why his kids changed his life. 

A huge shoutout to Ben for coming on the episode. This started out as me fan-boying to one of his episodes and here we are. 

As always, thanks so much for listening and enjoy the episode!

---
🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
---
🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies
📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube
🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel

-----
Topics: 
**3:10 What is a Product-Led Company?
**8:49 Why PMs are not Thinking about Climate
**14:45 The Importance of Active Listening
**16:03 Identifying Founder Potential
**18:29 The Role of Vulnerability in Relationships
**20:35 The Origin and Impact of Climate Papa
**25:41 The Product-Focused Thesis of Step Change
**27:41 Product Meets Hardware and Deep Tech
**34:35 Bullish Industries in Climate
**42:45 Lessons from Being a Founder
**44:59 Building Deep Co-Founder Relationships
**47:32 Tips for Product-Market Fit in Climate

-----
Links:
**Ben Eidelson | Stepchange | Climate Papa
**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X 

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

  • 70+ Placements
  • 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
  • The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
  • 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

CleanTechiesBy Silas & Somil

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

20 ratings


More shows like CleanTechies

View all
Energy Gang by Wood Mackenzie

Energy Gang

1,254 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

403 Listeners

Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

1,777 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,113 Listeners

How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery

How I Built This with Guy Raz

30,231 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,294 Listeners

FT News Briefing by Financial Times

FT News Briefing

689 Listeners

Morning Brew Daily by Morning Brew

Morning Brew Daily

2,950 Listeners

Climate Rising by Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative

Climate Rising

76 Listeners

Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw by Dan Crenshaw

Hold These Truths with Dan Crenshaw

16,075 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,295 Listeners

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg by All-In Podcast, LLC

All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg

8,922 Listeners

Catalyst with Shayle Kann by Latitude Media

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

262 Listeners

Zero: The Climate Race by Bloomberg

Zero: The Climate Race

195 Listeners

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

455 Listeners