Climate Cowboys

Thanks for returning to the CleanTechies Podcast on Substack! If you are returning reader, we have a big favor to ask you. Please take ~7 min to fill out our listeners’ survey so we can better understand your preferences and better tailor the show to you. Thank you SO much for being a reader/listener.

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, founder edition.

In Today’s Issue

* Today’s Issue

* Lori’s background

* The origin of Optimus Technologies and what they do

* Show notes (timestamps)

* Links

* Asks

* Our key takeaways

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates?—Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

Today, we are talking to Lori Dunn from Optimus Technologies

We have a great issue of the show today with a kick-ass person who is passionate about doing everything we can to decarbonize TODAY.

Some of the core discussion points are…

* Going from a ‘small company’ energy to ‘big company’ energy

* Why the trucking industry hasn’t already switched to biodiesel and how Optimus Technologies is solving that

* Managing the challenges of upscaling manufacturing

And much more…

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The Guest: Lori Dunn

* Early in Lori’s career, she worked for the Peace Corps. This alone offers you an idea of the type of person she is.

* After that, she got straight into decarbonizing, primarily doing sales for various climate tech companies.

* Eventually, this culminated in landing the COO role at Optimus Technologies in 2022, where she wasted no time in getting to business.

* On the personal side, it’s clear when you speak with Lori, that she’s a kick-ass person who is squarely focused on doing her part to reverse climate change.

The Startup: Optimus Technologies

Transportation Decarbonization, Biodiesel, Hardware

One-liner: Helping the trucking industry decarbonize by up to 90% TODAY.

Founded in 2010 by Colin Huwyler who believed there had to be a better biodiesel option. Most technologies only allowed low blends of biodiesel (B5-B20).

Thanks to his deep conviction, he has persisted through many challenges and the company is still alive due to that effort.

The partnership between Lori and OT, comes at a perfect time where the technology has been proven and it’s now time to scale.

In 2024 they sold 1,000 units, and are aiming to be selling multi-thousands within the next year and a half.

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 01:43 Small vs Big Energy Company

* 04:37 Decarbonizing Diesel Engines

* 07:00 Challenges to Decarb the Diesel Industry

* 09:39 Understanding Fleet Managers' Problems

* 11:37 Previous Attempts

* 14:33 The Long Game of Hardware Innovation

* 19:25 Joining Optimus

* 25:36 The Technology of Optimus

* 29:07 Communicating Value to Investors

* 33:16 Revenue Model and Cost Structure

* 37:42 Scaling Manufacturing and Funding

* 42:33 Metrics and Partnerships

* 44:30 Early Stage Manufacturing

* 46:34 Manufacturing In-house vs Outsourcing

Links

* Lori Dunn | Optimus Technologies

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

Key Takeaways

As we record, some things pop up that stand out to us. Either because they are unique and new to us or because they have been said similarly by other past guests.

Since you have most likely not listened to every episode, we are putting them here for you.

* They had the right team.

* Lori talked a lot about how culture and the right people have been important to their success.

* This stood out because it’s something a LOT of our guests have said. The notable part is that the ones who have scaled up their teams a lot are the ones who are banging the drum of culture the most.

* Cost + Safety.

* This is related to most of the companies that sell to large corporates but are new because we’ve not had anyone selling to commercial fleet owners.

* The general principle to be aware of is that innovation may not be the word your customers want to hear. Many folks focus on cost savings, but in many cases, the word innovation is equal to risk, and the decision-makers in many legacy companies are not chomping at the bit to be the first ones to try a new gadget.

* So, when building your company, developing your tech, and crafting your messaging, account for your customers' motives. In many cases, the words reliability and cost savings will be critical.

* Preserving Optionality.

* Given that her customers are fleet managers, a huge concern is access to biodiesel. Similar to range anxiety, the question in their mind is, what if I can’t access biodiesel on this route?

* Therefore, their system must allow drivers to switch between 100% biodiesel and traditional diesel if they don’t have it.

* I think this is the first time we’ve heard this specific advice on the pod.

* Worth keeping this in mind. Many hard-core folks might be tempted to push for all-or-nothing adoption, but maintaining optionality is super important.

* Design for Reporting.

* It's not a new concept, but I noticed that they help make it easy for their customers to report on their sustainability goals by generating real-time data on what fuel is used.

(ASK: Let us know what you think of this section)

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

 If you LOVE technology that allows for decarbonization TODAY, then Somil & Silas' conversation today with Lori Dunn from Optimus Technologies will interest you.

Discover how Optimus is revolutionizing the transport sector by producing bolt-on systems that allow truck drivers to utilize 100% biodiesel and reduce their overall emissions by up to 90%.

Learn from Lori how they are navigating the challenges of funding, team alignment, and strategic planning for the future.

Join us as we explore the journey from seed to series A, and the transition from small to big company energy.

Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎

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-----
Topics:
**1:43 Small vs Big Energy Company
**4:37 Decarbonizing Diesel Engines
**7:00 Challenges to Decarb the Diesel Industry
**9:39 Understanding Fleet Managers' Problems
**11:37 Previous Attempts
**14:33 The Long Game of Hardware Innovation
**19:25 Joining Optimus
**25:36 The Technology of Optimus
**29:07 Communicating Value to Investors
**33:16 Revenue Model and Cost Structure
**37:42 Scaling Manufacturing and Funding
**42:33 Metrics and Partnerships
**44:30 Early Stage Manufacturing
**46:34 Manufacturing In-house vs Outsourcing

-----
Links:
**Lori Dunn | Optimus Technologies
**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn
**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X

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🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, VC edition.

Today, we are talking to Ben Eidelson from Stepchange and Climate Papa.

In this episode, we discuss:

* What it means to be a “product-led company” and why he invests in them

* How to be an active listener and foster vulnerability in founder relationships

* Tips for climate product-market fit: understand needs and honest distribution

And a lot, lot more.

🚨🚨 Ben has a rockstar climate newsletter of his own called Climate Papa, it’s a must follow!

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Ben Eidelson

* Ben started his career at Microsoft before leaving to found his first company (and exit!) called everythingIsTheBest which was acquired by Google

* He then spent 5 years as a PM in google focused on their mobile messaging and communication products before leaving to found his second company (and you guessed it…exit!) called Rep which focused on customer assistance for online brands

* Rep was acquired by Stripe where Ben was a PM for almost four years improving payment methods for the US and Canada

* Now he has fully pivoted into climate first with his angel investing, then his newsletter Climate Papa, and now recently launched early stage climate fund called Stepchange

🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount! 🚨🚨🚨

The VC: Stepchange

Stepchange is an early stage venture fund that invests in product-led companies that will make a step change impact on climate. Stepchange puts product leaders at the core of everything we do—from who we invest in and how we support them, to who we seek as LPs, partners, and advisors. We partner with founders at the very beginning, making $100-200K investments in the first round of funding.

Exceptional products are essential for mitigating and adapting to climate change. We are in the midst of the largest upgrade in modern society, and software is our fastest deployed lever. We need an ecosystem of new software tools, financial products, and API layers that propel consumers, businesses, and institutions to upgrade faster than we normally might. The startups that sit at the center of this transition will be some of the most valuable companies of our generation.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 03:10 What is a Product-Led Company?

* 08:49 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

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

Thanks for returning to the CleanTechies Podcast on Substack! If you are a first-time consumer or if you are returning, we have a big favor to ask you. Please take ~7 min to fill out our listeners’ survey so we can better understand your preferences and better tailor the show to you. Thank you SO much for being a reader/listener.

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, founder edition.

Today, we are talking to Virginia Klausmeier from Sylvatex

Today, we had the chance to learn about a pretty technical innovation with someone who helped us understand tech in a manageable way.

Some of the core discussion points are…

* The landscape of battery manufacturing, along with the supply chain issues pushing onshoring and nearshoring

* How Sylvatex is creating a more sustainable precursor material for use in battery manufacturing by using a waterless innovation

* Her journey to becoming a founder and the mission behind what she’s doing

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Virginia Klausmeier

* Having graduated from University of Oregon with a Masters in Biomechanical Engineering, Virginia would start her career working in consulting.

* She would end up starting Sylvatex in the wake of her Father’s death to continue on his research. Perhaps out of a desire to carry on his legancy but as we discussed on the pod, out of a responsibiliyt to the planet.

* Today, Virginia is on a number of boards, speaks at industry events including for the World Economic Forum, and is pushing Sylvatex forward to the point where they can start producing Cathode Active Materials at scale (CAM).

The Startup: Sylvatex

Battery Materials, Manufacturing, Green Chemicals

One-liner: Making Cathode Active Materials (chemicals used in the production of batteries) without water.

Born out of Virginia’s late father’s research, Sylvatex is her way of taking the opportunity presented to her to help solve climate change.

The technoligy uses a dry manufacturing process to produce Cathode Active Materials without using water and in a highly energy efficient way. This helps reduce the environmental impacts of these materials which are in high demand.

In addition to all of this, their technology will help onshore battery production in the US, reducing the supply chain concerns, as well as removing a lot of emissions caused by shipping these materials.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 01:23 Intro

* 07:11 Battery Mfg in the US

* 09:11 Onshoring Battery Mfg

* 09:42 The Opportunity

* 15:54 Motivation

* 17:12 The Story of Sylvatex

* 19:16 Starting a Company

* 21:03 Taking the Leap

* 24:13 Waterless Cathode Production

* 30:51 State of Sylvatex

* 42:11 Pilot Funding

* 42:41Milestones for Commercialization

* 45:05 Getting to Bankability

* 47:29 Debt Financing for Modular Manufacturing

* 48:25 Navigating the Unknown

Links

* Virginia Klausmeier | Sylvatex

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, founder edition.

Today, we are talking to Leise Sandeman from Pathways

Shoutout to Leise and the Pathways team for their recent fundraise 🚀🚀🚀 You can find her announcement of it here and the Axios article here!

We had the chance to talk about this off the record and are so happy to be putting this episode out at the time of their announcement 🎉

In this episode, we discuss…

* How Pathways develops software for material manufacturers' environmental impact analysis

* What an Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) is and how it aids in carbon reduction

* Why success in startups requires relationship building, understanding perspectives, and audacious goals

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Leise Sandeman

* Leise started her career as a consultant at McKinsey and a project manager, exercising skills in information synthesis and team management that became crucial in how she handles her co-founder relationship

* She started Pathways in grad school at Harvard, finding it the optimal time and place to launch a startup in the built environment

The Startup: Pathways

Materials, Manufacturing, Construction, Software

One-liner: Pathways is a platform for manufacturers that simplifies the creation of product life cycle analyses.

Pathways is developing AI-enabled technologies that integrate across operations, ingesting supplier data and giving manufacturers insight into the environmental emissions impact. They’re like the environmental nutrition facts for materials. But instead of calories and carbs, we measure chemicals and carbon.

This enables product decarbonization through emission hot spots, material life-time trade-offs and creation of environmental product declarations.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 01:28 Introduction

* 03:18 What is a Life Cycle Analysis

* 06:12 Environmental Product Declarations

* 09:02 Deciding to Start a Company

* 21:24 Finding a Co-founder

* 30:48 Growing Interest in the Built Environment

* 44:47 Landing the First Customer

* 46:50 Receptiveness of Manufacturing Industry

* 47:50 Building Relationships Across Differences

* 53:39 What Attracted Investors

* 55:27 Navigating an Oversubscribed Round

* 58:45 Building Audacious Goals

* 59:36 Reflecting on the Journey

Links

* Leise Sandeman | Pathways

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, VC edition.

Today, we are talking to Ryan Jeffery from Gener8tor

Are you a founder who does NOT live in NYC, SF, or Boston? Well, today’s episode is for you. We are bringing you an episode with Ryan Jeffery, the Managing Director of Gener8tor’s Sustainability Accelerator Program, and we have a bit of everything for you…

* Ryan’s story and why Gener8tor serves this space

* How they partner directly with Corporations to get their participants direct access to them for pilot projects and more

* What the key milestones are for hardware companies are

And a lot more.

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Ryan Jeffery

* Ryan, originally from Wisconsin (Go Pack Go), started out his career in tech. Eventually went on to become the co-founder of Growth Panda and became a VC.

* During his time as a VC, he often felt disconnected from the founders. So, when the chance to go to an accelerator came up, he jumped at it.

* At first he started out as a Mentor with Gener8tor, and now is leading the Sustainability Accelerators across the company.

🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount! 🚨🚨🚨

The Accelerator/VC: Gener8tor

Across VC, the vast majority of dollars have gone to three states. California, New York, and Massachusets. The rest of the country is at a massive dissadvantage, especially the further away you are from those hubs. Gener8tor was started to solve that. They focus on all of these forgotten areas—these flyover states.

There is one key reason this matters so much. The problems that need to be solved for the lion’s share of the country, are more likely to work when created by the folks who are intimately familiar with those problems.

Across their sustainabilitiy programs alone, they have 44 portfolio companies. In order to help them succeed they spend a lot of time getting them investment ready and then putting them in front of a lot of funds.

They boast mentors such as Kim Zou of CTVC/Sightline, Matt McGraw of Anthro Ventures (and past guest), and Meryl Breidbart from At One Ventures to name a few.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 2:17 Intro and Background

* 4:00 Joining Gener8tor

* 7:40 The Biz Model of an Accelerator

* 8:28 Challenges of Financing an Accelerator

* 8:56 Partnerships with Corporations

* 11:35 Focus on Underserved Areas

* 13:54 The Role of Non-Silicon Valley States in Climate Transition

* 22:00 Value Add of an Accelerator

* 25:31 Perception of Accelerators by VCs

* 27:33 Gener8tor’s Business Model

* 28:16 Partnerships with Corporates for Pilot Projects

* 31:52 Focus on Underserved Areas in Climate Transition

* 34:13 Collab in Non-Tech Hub Areas

* 40:27 Biggest Gap in Supporting Founders Outside of Main Hubs

* 42:03 Role of AI in Solving Climate Change

* 44:04 Success Story of a Hardware MVP

* 47:30 Unique Considerations for Hard Tech Companies

* 49:40 Milestones for Hard Tech Companies

* 53:47 Areas of Interest in Climate Startups

* 57:46 Advice for Hiring and Building a Team

* 59:57 Pitching and Fundraising Tips

* 1:05:14 Networking with VCs for Series A

* 1:06:44 Advice for Investors in Climate

* 1:08:19 Advice for Getting into VC or Investing

Links

* Ryan Jeffery | Gener8tor

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, founder edition.

Are you a regular listener? If you take 7 min to give us some feedback, it will drastically help us improve the content for you.

Today, we are talking with Robin Laine from Transect.

We cover…

* The issue choosing the best locations for renewables and how Transect solves that

* How Robin established a “culture-first” company

* How to convert a manual solution into a scalable technology

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Robin Laine

Robin Laine, CEO and Co-founder of Transect, has had a rich 17-year tenure within the environmental sector, marked by diverse roles ranging from field biologist to national program manager across various organizations. Her experience spans land surveys for sensitive resources, permitting processes for numerous development ventures, and providing environmental oversight for Fortune 500 enterprises.

Now, at Transect, Robin channels her passion to create an online platform that facilitates environmental due diligence and site selection.

The Company: Transect

Solar Software, Remote Sensing, Data Advisory

One-liner: Transforming site selection to improve renewable energy performance for developers

Transect's software redefines the landscape of site selection and environmental due diligence, representing a transformative tool for developers across various sectors. Offering instantaneous analysis tailored to renewable energy, utilities, oil and gas, and infrastructure projects, Transect facilitates swift identification and assessment of optimal sites, compressing timelines from weeks to mere minutes.

Its standout features encompass rapid site localization, comprehensive critical issues assessment, seamless integration with real-time data updates, adaptable functionality across diverse industries, intuitive user interface, cost-effective efficiency, and preemptive risk management.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 02:37 Need for Transformation in Permitting

* 05:58 How Transect Streamlines the process

* 08:47 Building Trust with Developers

* 11:50 Robin's Journey from Consultant to Entrepreneur

* 23:33 Raising Transect's Seed Round

* 24:38 Early Contracts and Scaling the Team

* 32:24 Building a Culture-First Company and Hiring for Mission Alignment

* 38:45 Being Customer-First

* 45:32 Opportunities for Software in the Renewables Industry

* 47:25 Future Solar Energy Costs

Links

* Robin Laine | Transect

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Leave a comment with what you learned in today’s episode! 💭

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, VC edition.

Today, we are talking to Peter Sun from Climactic

The major topics we covered were…

* Peter’s experiences hosting his very popular tea series ☕️

* What data is most valuable in ClimateTech 💻

* What AI can and can’t do…for now

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Peter Sun

* Peter has launched a popular tea series where he brings together all types of people to talk about important topics in ClimateTech

* He co-founded the Duke Impact Investing Group, which led to the relationships that ultimately enabled him to join Climactic

* Being on the founding team of Climatic, he has lots of insights into the current state of launching a fund and where trending topics like AI fit into his investing thesis

🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount! 🚨🚨🚨

The VC: Climactic

Climactic invests in visionary founders solving our planet’s greatest challenges: battling climate change, achieving sustainability, and creating a more circular economy.

They focus early stage venture investments in climate tech for the enterprise and mobility. Their experience ranges over 20+ years of general tech experience, spanning 4 successful startups and two VC firms.

Founded by serially successful entrepreneurs who are also seasoned venture capitalists and growth execs, Climactic will help engineer the next wave of multi-billion dollar companies aligned with planetary and societal prosperity - proving that capitalism and impact are not in conflict.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 02:16 Overview of Climatic

* 05:05 Applications of AI in Climate Companies

* 09:30 The story of WeaveGrid

* 11:58 Evaluating Companies for Automation and Efficiency

* 16:50 Challenges in Implementing Transmission Lines

* 19:20 The Value of Data in Climate Tech

* 23:43 Starting a Climate VC Fund

* 27:03 Climate VC vs. Impact VC

* 30:12 The Difficulties for Founders in Climate Tech

* 34:35 Starting a Fund in the Current Fundraising Environment

* 52:45 Exit Strategies in Climate VC

* 54:00 Competitiveness in Climate Investing

* 56:00 The Blend of VC and Real Asset Industries

* 58:29 The Rise of Hyper Specialist VCs

* 01:00:20 Building a Personal Brand

* 01:04:28 Habits for Success

Links

* Peter Sun | Climactic

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

NextWave Partners is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!

In this ep, we chat with Peter Sun, founding team at Climactic, an early stage fund investing in ClimateTech, specifically focused on efficiency in software which has a lot to do with, you guessed it, AI.

We dive into the nuances of how AI is impacting climate tech, where the opportunities for software are in decarbonization, and Peter’s journey joining the founding team. As someone who personally is wary of putting AI in every conversation, Peter had real insight into the ins-and-outs of whats real and whats not, and I really enjoyed learning from him.

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

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🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  
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🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨
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🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey
📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox
🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel

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Topics:
**02:16 Overview of Climatic
**05:05 Applications of AI in Climate Companies
**09:30 The story of WeaveGrid
**11:58 Evaluating Companies for Automation and Efficiency
**16:50 Challenges in Implementing Transmission Lines
**19:20 The Value of Data in Climate Tech
**23:43 Starting a Climate VC Fund
**27:03 Climate VC vs. Impact VC
**30:12 The Difficulties for Founders in Climate Tech
**34:35 Starting a Fund in the Current Fundraising Environment
**52:45 Exit Strategies in Climate VC
**54:00 Competitiveness in Climate Investing
**56:00 The Blend of VC and Real Asset Industries
**58:29 The Rise of Hyper Specialist VCs
**01:00:20 Building a Personal Brand
**01:04:28 Habits for Success

-----
Links:
**Peter Sun | Climactic
**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners
**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn

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🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter.

Are you a regular listener? If you take 7 min to give us some feedback, it will drastically help us improve the content for you.

Today, we are talking with Adam Goff from 8 Rivers

This convo should be especially interesting to Policy nerds because of Adam’s background. We cover…

* The policy landscape and how it affects the development of clean technologies 🏛️

* How a technology development shop operates and makes money ⚙️

* The tailwinds and headwinds to the deep tech space 🌬️

Adam has a lot of knowledge and an interesting perspective on the landscape, so we are confident you’ll enjoy this (if you don’t, please let us know, and we will send Adam some stinky socks 🧦 in the mail 😉)

Ask yourself this: is the content we put out valuable enough to you that you’d be willing to buy us a latte 🍵 once a month?

📺 Watch on YouTube🍎 Apple Podcasts 🎧 Spotify🗣️ Join the Slack Channel

The Guest: Adam Goff

Adam started his career in DC, working on policy with the ClearPath Foundation. He did this from 2015 to 2018. After the passage of the bill allowing the 45Q tax credit, knowing the landscape of climate tech innovators, he joined 8 Rivers.

During his time there, they have gone from about 20 employees to now over 70.

The Company: 8 Rivers

Carbon Capture, DeepTech, Hydrogen, IP Licensing,

One-liner: Developing technologies that make a positive impact on the climate by combining various de-risked technology in new ways, and then commercializing it.

Context: For many years, there have been companies working on developing new technologies in hardware realm to solve the climate issue. In particular, a lot of focus has gone into developing carbon capture technolgies that work at low costs to prevent or pull out of the air, the carbon emitted. This is requried because we are on track to blow right through our reduction targets.

What: They identify a particular problem, finding as much existing, de-risked technology as possible, and then putting it all together to solve the problem. Then proving it works at scale. Once all of this is done, they license out the IP to others so the impact can be scaled.

Traction: As of today, they have commercialized 3 technologies and successfully built several pilot projects. They continue to work on additional technologies.

Future: Because they have proven their capacity to bring research to the operating scale, they have a bright future. The tech they are currently developing in their pipeline includes, Direct air Capture, Post-combustion Carbon Capture, Zero-carbon Fuels, and Clean Ethylene. Certainly there is a lot to expect out of these folks.

Enjoying the CleanTechies PodLetter? Please show your support by subscribing!

📝 Show Notes:

Topics

* 2:10 Intro

* 4:00 Climate x Policy

* 10:00 How to Pass Legislation Faster

* 12:40 History and Structure of Eight Rivers

* 18:00 The Process of Proving New Tech

* 22:15 Their Current Technologies

* 28:30 Raising Money for a Tech Developer

* 33:20 Commercialization and Revenue Generation

* 36:45 Selecting your First Site

* 39:40 How to Understanding Global Regulatory Markets

* 42:30 Systematizing Building a Hardware Climate Startup

* 44:00 Future Plans for Eight Rivers

Links

* Adam Goff | 8 Rivers

* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas

* Check out our sponsor, NextWave Partners, for all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs.

* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.

Leave a comment with what you learned in today’s episode! 💭

Asks 👋

* We have recently launched a listener survey, and we would love to hear from you how we can improve the show and what you like most. Please take 7 minutes to help us with this. It’s 7 minutes for you, but it makes a huge impact on how we can serve you.

* Have a specific guest or topic you’d like us to discuss? Leave a comment and let us know.

Here’s the thing: Somil and I both have day jobs, so if you’re in the helping mood, we both have an ask for you today.

Somil: I’m currently seeking to connect with founders in the built environment space for a project I’m working on. If you’re in that space, schedule a chat here!

Silas: As many of you know, my day job is solving people’s hiring headaches in climate - do you have a hiring headache? Well, let me be your Advil. (booking here)

🚨🚨🚨 Attention Hiring Managers!!! Are you struggling to find qualified candidates? Maybe getting candidates but can’t bring them across the line consistently? Or not getting sufficient applicants? — Reach out to our sponsors, NextWave Partners today to help solve that for you.

is a leading Global Renewables, Climate, & Sustainability recruitment consultancy solely focused on these impact areas. They are also B-Corp Certified.

Reach out to them today to help you solve your hiring challenges and get you one step closer to making an impact.

🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see you all next episode!