Climate ventures for aspiring professionals

If you're just starting out in #climatecareer, follow the VCs. Not for the funding updates. Not even for the job leads. But for something far more foundational - clarity. I began my own journey in the so-called “NGO space,” working with philanthropies, DFIs, CSOs. We built collaborations, scaled programmes, fixed broken systems. But when I began intersecting with private capital venture funds backing climate tech startups it fast-tracked my understanding like nothing else. Suddenly, abstract terms like “grid storage”, “nature-based solutions”, and “sustainable cooling” had faces. Founders. Pivots. Business models. Exit stories. And in them, I found an education that no landscape report or policy memo could have offered. Take Avaana Capital for instance. They’ve backed everything from EV infra (Kazam) to agri innovations (Eeki) and grid storage (AmpereHour Energy). Just browsing their portfolio can teach you more about market signals, innovation bottlenecks, and funding trends than a semester-long seminar. Or Blume Ventures, who were early to bet on mobility and battery intelligence in CarbonClean Energy , ElectricPe , Battery Smart. If you’re curious about where India’s EV and decarbonisation stack is headed, their portfolio is a map. Then there are others: Beyond Next Ventures Inc. , Peak XV Partners, Leo Capital , Chiratae Ventures , Synapses , seafund , Climate Angels , Speciale Invest , ZeCa Capital . Each with its own thesis, its own set of bets. And collectively, they are shaping the contours of climate entrepreneurship in India. When I speak to young professionals trying to “break into climate”, they often ask where to start. My answer? Pick a VC. Read up on the companies they’ve backed. Try to understand why those companies matter, what problem they’re solving, and who benefits. It’ll take less time than reading every IPCC report, and possibly give you a more grounded entry point into the sector’s complexities. Because here's the thing: climate isn’t a sector, it’s a system. And the best way to understand a system is by following where the energy and money is flowing 🙂. So if you're starting out, don’t just chase degrees and job titles. Follow the capital. Decode the portfolios. Understand the bets. That’s how I’m learning. If you’ve discovered insights this way or are tracking portfolios yourself tag someone who should be building the next climate map with you. #ClimateCareers #ClimateTechIndia #ImpactInvesting #VCSignals #LearningInPublic #SocialImpact #BuildForClimate

FOAK (first of a kind) climate projects are all the rage right now - and it makes sense why. They're desperately needed. I've spent the last few months digging into this big opportunity for climate startups, the challenges that come with it, and the organizations who are working to fill the gaps. Here are the spark notes on what I’ve learned so far: Climate startups are facing a bottleneck. Many have built prototypes and shown proof of concept, mostly on the back of VC dollars, but taking the necessary next step of piloting and deploying their tech at a commercial scale is more akin to a massive leap. Challenges include… Funding - VC dollars are no longer enough. Building capital intensive infrastructure requires risk tolerant project finance, non-dilutive funding, and often philanthropy, all working in tandem. Expertise - Startup founders are innovators, not developers or financiers. Nor should they try to become those things. Rather, they can succeed by pulling in support from experts in these areas. Partnerships - This is the biggest one, in my opinion. Commercial-scale tech deployment by growth stage startups is a hugely multifaceted process. In addition to the startup team, the financial stakeholders, and the development experts, you also need buy-in from market incumbents (public or private) who can champion the technology within the market and serve as initial customers, as well as community-based organizations where projects will be built. And you need all of these stakeholders aligned and collaborating smoothly. Talk about herding cats! I will be focusing my efforts in 2024 on building more collaboration and better partnerships within this space, so that we can drive climate impact and get these amazing technologies to market. Here is a list of some companies I’ve come across who are already doing amazing work in this space: Elemental Excelerator is playing a big role as a convener with leadership from folks like Dawn Lippert, Saritha Peruri, and Danya Hakeem. Many orgs are focused on funding scale up projects, like Breakthrough Energy’s Catalyst group, Prime Coalition, Trent Yang’s Galway Sustainable Capital, Inc, Generate, FullCycle, Keyframe, and Wavelength Infra (Caroline McGeough). Third Sphere is making it easier for startups to understand the process and access capital (Shaun Abrahamson, Shilpi Kumar, Stonly Blue) Others are running programs to help connect growth stage startups with market incumbents for pilot projects, like Newlab (Shaina Horowitz, Carlos E. Trevino, Liz Keen), Uptake Alliance (Chris Richardson), Black & Veatch’s Ignite Program, Accenture (Jonathan Weitz), and Deep Science Ventures’s FOAXIAL Accelerator (Ahmad Butt). Sightline Climate (CTVC) wrote an awesome article recently about two successful FOAKs with LanzaTech and H2 Green Steel. I can’t list them all and even if I could, I’m sure there are so many who I’ve missed. So I’ll ask you: who are the orgs leading the way on FOAK climate projects?

23 years ago I started my first full-time job. I picked the tech industry. I didn't realize how lucky I was: i was starting to grow like a weed and as Eric Schmidt says, if you're offered a seat on the rocket ship, don't ask which one! #climatetech will be one of the big industries for the next several decades (that spans from software to nuclear) and will generate lots of great career opportunities. Want to get in on that? Here's how I would approach it: 1. Future-proof your search: Dive into investment trends on platforms like HolonIQ or Sightline Climate (CTVC) Tom O'Keefe to identify areas of climate tech poised for exponential growth. This helps you target companies on the cusp of something big. 2. Follow the smart money: Several VCs, like Superorganism and Burnt Island Ventures and Pale blue dot Leap Forward Ventures Union Square Ventures, curate job boards specifically for climate tech companies within their portfolios. These are gold mines for relevant opportunities! David Rusenko Hampus Jakobsson Tom Ferguson and other managers are usually very approachable if you've done your homework and identified opportunities in their portfolio. 3. Contact founders of climate companies you love. Most startups struggle to attract qualified talent so they'll be excited to hear from you 4. Network, network, network: Join online communities, attend conferences, and connect with other professionals. 5. Consider old industries: oil and gas aren't going anywhere. there are massive companies looking for talent, maybe the backdoor is your entryway to the future? #energy #climate #jobs #careers