The Tech 4 Climate Podcast

Electrification is not a trend, it’s a revolution, and batteries are at the forefront. Nadav Steinmetz from Nomea helps us explore where the market is going.

Ep.#63  Nadav Steinmetz @ Nomea - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

Today we are speaking with Nadav Steinmetz, Founder & CEO @ Nomea. Nomea is a UK-based, climatetech fund that invests in transformative technologies that advance the transition to net-zero emissions. They particularly focus on startups within the UK, Europe, and Israel and invest in both early and late-stage companies helping them grow into highly profitable and successful enterprises. 

It was fascinating to talk to Nadav. He’s Franco-Israeli yet spent much of his career in the US and UK, and first considered impact when he founded an NGO as a student. Two years ago, he left the financial sector to found Nomea and truly focus on climate tech on the premise that it was the sector that would provide the most impact. 

In founding Nomea, Nadav became an expert in battery technologies. He takes us on a journey across the global battery market in an attempt to understand what are its main drivers, what it would take for Europe to catch up to the Asian Market and how batteries can become more sustainable amidst this electrification revolution. In doing so, we learn more about Nomea and their founding premise, what type of investments they make, what they are excited about and how you can get involved. 

Part 2: My Secret Sauce

In the second part of the show, Nadav explains two tips for founders who are fundraising. He also gives a controversial opinion on why work-life balance is overrated. 

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Wes set out to prove that you can indeed do both things by investing in

mission-driven startups.

Ep.#62 Wes Selke @ Better Ventures. - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup

Basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

Today we are speaking with Wes Selke, Founder Partner @ Better Ventures.

Better Ventures is an Oakland-based, early-stage venture firm that

backs mission-driven founders that are leveraging emerging technologies

and break-through science to solve big problems in the world from

climate to health to economic opportunity.

It was a pleasure to talk to Wes who has been investing in

mission-driven startups for over a decade. Over the course of his

career, he has gained particular insight into synbio and how it will

play a crucial role in decarbonizing our industries. He gives us a deep

dive into how economic growth is compatible with sustainability and

reducing global emissions, and what role synbio can play.

Part 2: My Secret Sauce

In the second part of the show, Wes clues us into what framework he uses

to assess the “je ne sais quoi” of the founders he invests in. He also

provides his tips on what he does to really keep a clear mind and

work-life balance.

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Podcast by Startup Basecamp 👉 https://startupbasecamp.org/the-tech-4-climate-podcast/

Rokas makes early-stage, audacious investments that lead to big wins for climate. 

Ep.#61  Rokas Peciulaitis @ Contrarian Ventures. - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

Today we are speaking with Rokas Peciulaitis, Founder & Managing Partner @ Contrarian Ventures. Contrarian Ventures is a VC firm that invests across Europe and Israel and provides a hands-on approach to climate generation that puts founders first by mobilizing the resources and building the tools they need to accelerate their product market fit.

It was a joy to talk to Rokas who at the age of 26 convinced the largest utility company in the Baltic to back him in investing in a single GP, and from there Contrarian Ventures was born. The firm remains true to its name, and makes bold, audacious bets at early stages across the energy, mobility, building, industry and carbon removal sectors. Rokas’ maverick approach to investment in the climate tech sector truly offered some fascinating insights into the carbon removal space, the role of regulation in carbon markets, and the way forward for climate tech. 

Part 2: My Secret Sauce

In the second part of the show, Rokas offers more than just your average google search worth of advice on how he likes to get people’s attention when he is making them an offer. He also provides some interesting reads that can give you a new perspective on human society. 

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The global food system needs a reboot. Phil Morle, deeptech investor and foodtech expert, explains why. 

Ep.#60  Phil Morle @ Main Sequence Ventures

PART 1: Meet the investor

Hello and welcome to the Tech4Climate Podcast, I’m Guillaume your host and each week we give you the stories of climate tech founders and investors and their unique insights into this fast-moving ecosystem. 

Today we are speaking with Phil Morle, Partner at Main Sequence Ventures. Over his long career, Phil has found that his super power is helping founders fill out their canvas of ideas. He now helps founders grow their teams by investing in global companies that have science at their core. Deeptech investor and foodtech expert, he gives us a deep dive into why we need to rethink the whole foodtech ecosystem. 

Part 2: My Secret Sauce

In the second part of the show, Phil explains the details of slam-dunk financing and how you should use it to pitch to investors. He also gives a few tips on achieving a good work-life balance and the books he uses to get there. 

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Offsetting is important, but only for what can’t be otherwise reduced. Maria explains the nuances of the carbon markets and how it’s making a big impact in climate tech. 

Ep.#59    Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup Basecamp

PART 1: Meet the founder: Maria Fujihara, Founder and CEO at SINAI

During this new episode of our Founder Series, we are sitting down with Maria Fujihara, Founder and CEO at SINAI. SINAI is a decarbonization and intelligence platform that helps companies in carbon-intensive sectors account for their emissions and find decarbonizing solutions. SINAI helps them replace existing operations with more sustainable solutions.

I had long been looking forward to speaking with Maria and getting a better understanding of carbon markets and her journey in creating SINAI. Maria has always been interested in nature and doing whatever possible to coexist with it, something that may have come out of being raised by two forest engineers in Brazil. Prior to founding SINAI, she worked for a non-profit in the sustainable construction sector but eventually knew she was driven to do something more and was accepted into Singularity University at the NASA Research Park, where she learned all the skills needed to found a climate tech startup. 

 In this episode, Maria covers the ins and outs of carbon management and clarifies that carbon offsets should only be used for a company’s emissions that cannot otherwise be reduced. But what are those companies and their main emissions? Maria explains what drives most companies to reduce their foorprints and which sectors are leading the charge. In doing so she not only explains how SINAI works but what she has learned as a founder along the way. Above all, Maria gives three main tips to founders - Make sure you consider both the big picture and the small details, never give up, and follow your gut. 

 PART 2: My secret sauce: (AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS ONLY - More info on our site)

During the second part of the talk,  Maria gives a few more specific tips for founders, specifically in her time at Y Combinator. She also gives recommendations on how to manage a good work life balance, including a few good reads that might help. 

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

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Help us to reach this 1st goal.

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Foodtech is the largest market, four times bigger than software. Learn about the future of foodtech from one of its forefront investors.

Ep.#58  Björn Witte @ Blue Horizon - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Björn Witte, Managing Partner and CEO Blue Horizon. 

It was very interesting to have Björn on the show and learn about the foodtech sector from someone who has significant experience first as an operator and then as an investor in the sector. He now works for Blue Horizon, a next-generation impact investment firm with a lifecycle investment philosophy. Their mission is to fill a role in the food system by understanding what drives the market and use it to produce a double positive return on investment: one for the investors, the other for the planet. 

Björn began his career restructuring companies but quickly shifted over to the foodtech space as a way to make more impact. He began to work a lot with farmers in India and Asia to build up their productivity and at one point, even became a shareholder in a food production company. Eventually, he met Roger, Blue Horizon’s founder, and decided to join. He now leads a diverse team across entrepreneurship, finance, and academia with 78 deals across the world. 

Björn is passionate about food, a passion that he uses to guide us on a journey across the foodtech ecosystem, and the world’s largest market. In our discussion, Björn specifically hones in on alternative protein as a means to produce the greatest impact, but how? What are the key drivers of the market? What are the major roadblocks? How does he respond to critiques of the Frankensteinization of food? How can innovation in the sector fast-track our goal toward zero emissions?

Part 2: My secret sauce:

In the second part of the show,  Björn explains what advice he has for founders looking to fundraise or enter the foodtech space. He also gives a few recommendations on books, tv-shows, and reports he has used to understand foodtech and climatetech more generally.

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

When we reach 1000 subscribers we will plant 1000 trees with our partners.🌱

Help us to reach this 1st goal.

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Easy access to onstreet electrical charging is one of the significant barriers to adopting EVs nationwide. Jeff Prosserman is trying to fix that. 

Ep.#57 Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup Basecamp

PART 1: Meet the founder: Jeff Prosserman, Co-founder and CEO at Voltpost

During this new episode of our Founder Series, we are sitting down with Jeff Prosserman, Co-Founder and CEO of Voltpost. Voltpost aims to boost the decarbonization of mobility by retrofitting existing lamp posts into electric vehicle chargers and improving access to curbside charging for those living in cities. 

I was very much looking forward to speaking with Jeff, who had a mid-career pivot toward sustainability concurrent with the pandemic. Following initial studies in film with later work in advertising in New York, Jeff eventually ended up leading Samsung’s business innovation program. During the pandemic, he pivoted toward climate and took a master’s in sustainability management in Columbia where he met his co-founders and started Voltpost as a solution to improve access to sustainable mobility. 

 In this episode, Jeff explains the genesis of Voltpost and the importance it plays in solving issues of equity in mobility. Only 2% of cars today are electric, yet cars make up a significant portion of the US’ GHG emissions. One of the primary adoption barriers is the lack of convenient and affordable charging in cities. In this podcast, we examine how Jeff is tackling this problem, how long it took to make the prototype, what the competition looks like, and the ins and outs of bringing the product to market.

 PART 2: My secret sauce: (AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS ONLY=> More info on our site)

During the second part of the talk,  Jeff explains how to fundraise and bring a software and hardware solution to market. He also gives tips on managing a work-life balance and the books that help him do so. 

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

When we reach 1000 subscribers we will plant 1000 trees with our partners.🌱

Help us to reach this 1st goal.

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The Nordic countries are home to a significant proportion of climate tech startups. So what makes the region so fruitful for innovation?

Ep.#56  Terhi Johanna Vapola @ Helen Ventures - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Terhi Johanna (TJ) Vapola, Vice President, Head & Founder at Helen Ventures. Helen Ventures is the venture arm of Helen Ltd, one of the largest energy companies in the Nordics. Helen Ventures operates at the junction of energy tech and climate tech with a specific focus on those companies building digital ecosystems to tackle energy problems.

I was thrilled to have Terhi on the show because of the seasoned perspective she provided of the climate tech landscape after a long career in the sector. Tehri has always been interested in sustainability and tech, beginning with her secondary school education, but at the time, the cleanest energy available was nuclear. Terhi’s drive toward promoting climate tech was very much driven by this early understanding of energy infrastructure and a desire to improve it. After a long career at Nokia, and a successful startup, Terhi wanted to help founders learn from her mistakes and became involved with dozens of climate tech startups as an angel investor and eventually founded Helen Ventures. 

In this episode, Terhi offers a deep dive into the main markets of the Nordic region and where Helen Ventures fits within them. She offers a thorough overview of the main sectors of the climate tech landscape by way of an explanation as to why the region is such a leader in energy and transportation tech. Along the way she answers a few tough questions: What do the Nordics offer that stimulate innovation? What industries are leading in Nordics and why? Which traditional industries in the region have the most potential for good solutions and founders? 

Part 2: My secret sauce:

In the second part of the show,  Terhi explains what criteria she uses to gauge her potential investments and their impacts on climate. In doing so, she explains what she likes to hear from the founders she ends up supporting. She also gives her two cents on how to navigate a good work-life balance with some good books. 

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

When we reach 1000 subscribers we will plant 1000 trees with our partners.🌱

Help us to reach this 1st goal.

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If there is a fire in your backyard, you don’t develop firefighting technology, you deploy what you have at scale. Ibrahim is helping do that. 

Ep.#55  Ibrahim AlHusseini Managing Partner, FullCycle

PART 1: Meet the investor

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Ibrahim AlHusseini, Managing Partner @ FullCycle. FullCycle is a growth equity fund designed from the bottom up to accelerate the deployment of what they consider to be climate critical technologies. By investing in both the companies and their technologies, Ibrahim ensures that startups go from having a promising technology to being an 800 pound gorilla in their respective vertical. 

I was tremendously excited to speak to Ibrahim about his goal to accelerate capital deployment toward climate tech, a cause that is close to my heart. Ibrahim’s career began with a nutraceutical company run out of his dorm room. After a few more startups, he became a tech VC, but it was only after seeing the slow degradation of the natural environment every year back home in the middle east that he decided to learn everything he could about climate change and dedicate his life and investments toward mitigating it. 

In this episode, Ibrahim gives a unique perspective of the VC landscape and why the current VC funding model does not work for the climate crisis. He lays out his argument while also giving a thorough look at investment numbers in the climate tech landscape, who the leading countries are in terms of technological innovation, where the investment gaps are in climate tech funding, and what he is doing to fix that. 

Part 2: My secret sauce:

In the second part of the show, Ibrahim gives us a look at the criteria he uses to base his investment decisions and how founders should pitch to him. He then covers what books recommend and how they help him achieve a work life balance. 

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

When we reach 1000 subscribers we will plant 1000 trees with our partners.🌱

Help us to reach this 1st goal.

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Access to exclusive contents & learn more about Tech 4 Climate Podcast by Startup Basecamp        👉  https://startupbasecamp.org/the-tech-4-climate-podcast/

India is the fourth global emitter and soon will be the most populous country. Its role in the climate challenge is key. So what is it doing to address that and how is Priya Shah at the center of it?

Ep.#54 Priya Shah @ Theia Ventures - Tech4Climate Podcast by Startup basecamp

PART 1: Meet the investor

In today’s episode, we are speaking with Priya Shah, General Partner @ Theia Ventures. Theia Ventures is a seed-stage climate tech fund, based in India looking at all verticals in climate tech with a specific interest in companies that are working in IP-led technology-based ventures. Theia Ventures is a very thought-driven fund and aims to be one of the early movers in the climate tech space in India, which offers Priya a good perspective into that fast-growing space.

I was thrilled to have Priya on the show and learn about her story. Priya has over 15 years of experience in the impact investing space, which began when she started the ESG working group at Bloomberg, back when the concept was often overlooked. She then worked in the impact investing space in India, including working for an off-grid solar energy startup, an experience that gave her a good look at issues of energy access in India. 

In this episode, Priya uses her considerable experience to not only explain the genesis and model of Theia Ventures, but also how it plays a bigger role in the climate tech space in India. In doing so, she offers a fascinating look at the Indian climate tech landscape, the different sectors, roadblocks, and drivers of growth. This analysis informs her discussion of impact, how India is an important piece of the climate challenge, and how she measures impact to make sure to position Theia Ventures at the forefront of India’s efforts to leapfrog the US and the EU in reaching net-zero. 

Part 2: My secret sauce:

In the second part of the show,  Priya explains her approach to investing and what tips she has for founders. She explains what she does to manage her work-life balance, and what books she recommends for clarity in addressing the climate crisis. 

🚨 OUR COMMITMENT🚨

When we reach 1000 subscribers we will plant 1000 trees with our partners.🌱

Help us to reach this 1st goal.

Share 1 episode with a friend.❤️  🌎

Access to exclusive contents & learn more about Tech 4 Climate Podcast by Startup Basecamp        👉  https://startupbasecamp.org/the-tech-4-climate-podcast/