Climate Insiders
Yoann Berno from Climentum Capital
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Learn all the insights from Europe's top Climate Tech Founders and Investors. Listen to the stories behind the startup successes, understand the drivers of investment decisions, and become a true Climate Insider.
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Dec 13, 2022
Vaekstfonden - The seeding role of Government Funds in European Climate Tech (ft. Lars Nordal Jensen)
Lars Nordal Jensen is the Director of Fund of Funds investments at Vaekstfonden, the Danish Growth Fund.
Since 1992, The Danish Growth Fund has financed more than 5,400 Danish companies with a total commitment of more than €1.5 billion. The Danish Growth Fund invests equity and provides loans and guarantees for small as well as medium-sized enterprises in collaboration with private partners and Danish financial institutions
We discuss:
- The role of sovereign/government funds in the EU Venture Capital scene
- Analysis of sovereign funds terms and trends
- The LP takes on today's Climate Tech ecosystem
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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:
Climate Insiders is brought to you by Climentum Capital, a Seed+ and Series A cleantech European venture capital firm focused on funding and scaling climate-positive ventures that cut down on CO2 emissions.
If you are interested in how smart capitalism combined with mission-driven founders building innovative tech startups can overcome our climate crisis and build a better future, you’ve come to the right place.
Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co and https://www.climentum.com
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ABOUT THE GUEST:
Lars Nordal Jensen is the Director of early stage and Fund of Funds investments at Vaekstfonden, the Danish Growth Fund.
Since 1992, The Danish Growth Fund has financed more than 5,400 Danish companies with a total commitment of more than DKK 15 billion. The Danish Growth Fund invests equity and provides loans and guarantees for small as well as medium-sized enterprises in collaboration with private partners and Danish financial institutions
Lars has been with VF for more than 10 years now, occupying multiple roles.
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SHOW NOTES:
00:00 - Introduction
02:07- Start
03:30 – How does a government fund function?
04:26 – Is the EU VC Industry high on soft money?
06:18 – What is the situation like in the U.S. and Asia?
06:53 – How does the EU reduce the dependency on government funds?
09:00 – How could government funds compress the time it takes to deploy capital to funds?
11:53 – Is it desirable to stretch the time of funds to create a market barrier?
13:29 – Are national quotas a bad thing and should they be abolished?
16:30 – Is there a fear that sovereign funds might crowd up the market?
19:03 – Should sovereign funds cooperate more across Europe?
20:45 – How could government funds help increase diversity?
23:45 – Is there too much capital investment in green and sustainable innovation?
24:53 – Is it still a good moment to invest in Climate Tech?
25:50 – Does it make sense to invest only in Article 9 funds from now on?
27:11 – What can investors do to avoid “greenwashing”?
29:08 – Value that Article 9 brings
31:01 – Dual carry structure
32:40 – Rapid Fire Round
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ABOUT THE HOST:
Yoann Berno https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/ After a career spent building and investing in top tech startups, Yoann is now a founding member and General Partner at Climentum Capital focused on investing in game-changing technological solutions to our worsening climate crisis.
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To learn more about CLIMENTUM CAPITAL and apply for funding, please visit https://www.climentum.com
To become an LP and invest in one of Climentum’s upcoming funds, get in touch at: https://www.climentum.com/contact-form
And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER at https://www.climateinsiders.co
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Climentum
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/climate-insiders
Lars Nordal Jensen https://www.linkedin.com/in/lars-nordal-jensen-4101882
Vaekstfonden https://www.linkedin.com/company/vaekstfonden/
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Dec 6, 2022
Walerud Ventures - Early Klarna investors running hands-on Climate Tech family office (feat. Caroline Walerud)
Caroline Walerud is a Swedish entrepreneur and Partner at Walerud Ventures, a deep-tech investment company that focuses on early-stage green tech startups.
She also co-founded Volumental, a company that developed a cloud-based, 3D-scanning technology to create models to customize products and services. Walerud co-founded Volumental in 2012 together with three computer vision experts.
In this episode, we discuss:
- the most hands-on investment model in the World. Walerud invests and acts as a co-founder
- why Europe seems to trust more finance experts than entrepreneurs as fund managers
- the different roles one can play in Climate Tech Today
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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:
Climate Insiders is brought to you by Climentum Capital, a Seed+ and Series A cleantech European venture capital firm focused on funding and scaling climate-positive ventures that cut down on CO2 emissions.
If you are interested in how smart capitalism combined with mission-driven founders building innovative tech startups can overcome our climate crisis and build a better future, you’ve come to the right place.
Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co and https://www.climentum.com
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ABOUT THE GUEST:
Caroline Walerud is Partner at Walerud Ventures, a deep-tech pre-seed investment firm.
They are the first investors in Klarna, and investors in GreenTech and deep tech companies like Midsummer, Swedish Algae Factory, SatCube and Graphmatech
Caroline has been an entrepreneur since age 14 and has been part of many startup journeys. Now she splits her time between two startups where she is Chairman and Cofounder:
-Volumental - creating custom shoes through the use of 3d scanning and AI
-And AirForestry - Re-inventing Forestry with the use of electric drones.
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SHOW NOTES:
00:00Start
01:50 - Maternity leave and coming back to work
02:20 - Introduction to Walerud Ventures
03:47 - Deciding who Walerud Ventures wants to work with
05:30 - Deciding which project to continue
06:52 - How do investors feel when the company pulls out?
08:17 - U.S. VC compared to Europe. Are startups everyone’s beginning?
09:45 - Main reasons for differences between the U.S and Europe
13:50 - How can more VCs emulate Walerud board model?
15:31 - The dynamics of the company
17:32 - How does the selection of projects work?
19:49 - Use of drones in forestry. How did Walerud pick this venture?
22:33 - Regulations on forestry
25:14 - The transition from traditional jobs to the climate fight. Which sector of climate should people join?
28:33 - Investor vs entrepreneur who is the better option?
30:53 - The natural flow from entrepreneurship to becoming an investor
32:47 - Rapid fire round
35:59 - Outro
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ABOUT THE HOST:
Yoann Berno https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/ After a career spent building and investing in top tech startups, Yoann is now a founding member and General Partner at Climentum Capital focused on investing in game-changing technological solutions to our worsening climate crisis.
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To learn more about CLIMENTUM CAPITAL and apply for funding, please visit https://www.climentum.com
To become an LP and invest in one of Climentum’s upcoming funds, get in touch at: https://www.climentum.com/contact-form
And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER at https://www.climateinsiders.co
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Climentum
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/climate-insiders
Caroline Walerud - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cwalerud/
Jane Walerud - https://www.linkedin.com/in/janewalerud/
Bengt Walerud - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bengt-walerud-18a955/
Sifted -...
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Nov 23, 2022
Speedinvest - Takeaways From Europe's Best Year Ever in Climate Tech (ft Marie Helene Ametsreiter)
Marie Helene Ametsreiter is a General Partner at Speedinvest, an early-stage generalist fund based out of Wien in Austria, with more than €600m AUM and 40 investors based in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna.
Marie-Helene oversees their newly launched Climate Tech fund.
Marie Helene has a TON of insights to share:
- her perspective on the latest trends in Climate Tech in Europe
- the role of corporates in this transition
- whether Planetly's "failed" acquisition can send a negative signal to the market
ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:
Climate Insiders is brought to you by Climentum Capital, a Seed+ and Series A cleantech European venture capital firm focused on funding and scaling climate-positive ventures that cut down on CO2 emissions. If you are interested in how smart capitalism combined with mission-driven founders building innovative tech startups can overcome our climate crisis and build a better future, you’ve come to the right place.
Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co and https://www.climentum.com
ABOUT THE GUEST:
As the lead partner of the Speedinvest Industrial Tech team, Marie-Helene drives Seed stage investments in startups supporting the digitization of Europe’s Industrial Tech sector, including manufacturing, logistics, construction, and Climate Tech.
She oversees Speedinvest’s office in Munich and its investments in the Industry 4.0 space.
SHOW NOTES:
-Introduction to SpeedInvest
-Climate Tech Fund – the team, the funds
-Investments in Industrial Tech – SpeedInvest’s report Takeaways of Europe’s greatest year
-The role of corporates in climate tech and their commitment to net-zero
-Why should corporates change if it brings them the “cash cow”
-What is currently most relevant for investment?
-Software vs. Hardware – is Software a climate solution?
-Strategic (corporate) investment in early stages? Yes, or no?
-Planetly getting shut down – what is the position as the investor?
-Market expansion of climatic startups in the U.S compared to Europe - what can be emulated by the rest of the world?
-What can we do as a community to help climatic startups?
-Rapid fire round
ABOUT THE HOST:
Yoann Berno https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/
After a career spent building and investing in top tech startups, Yoann is now a founding member and General Partner at Climentum Capital focused on investing in game-changing technological solutions to our worsening climate crisis.
To learn more about CLIMENTUM CAPITAL and apply for funding, please visit https://www.climentum.com
To become an LP and invest in one of Climentum’s upcoming funds, get in touch at: https://www.climentum.com/contact-form
And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER at https://www.climateinsiders.co
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Climentum
LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/climate-insiders/
Links - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-helene-ametsreiter-85459083/
Inflation Reduction Act - https://www.energy.gov/lpo/inflation-reduction-act-2022
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Nov 15, 2022
Systemiq Capital - How to Invest in Climate Solutions (feat. Irena Spazzapan)
Irena Spazzapan is a Managing Partner at Systemiq Capital, a London-based climate fund and spin-off of Systemic Ltd.
Systemiq Ltd is an advisory and investment firm focused on climate, that helps build companies that have the potential to meaningfully accelerate the transition towards net zero.
Irena worked at Goldman Sachs for 13 years in Commodities, Gas & Power systems.
I love conversations with Irena because you're always up for a ride and learn a ton on macro-trends, the psychology of the investor, portfolio management tips, and where the world is headed.
Irena has a TON of insights to share.
- We will discuss Systemiq, its genesis, and vision.
- We will discuss the venture bets that make sense today, as well as the key areas of investment to create a better world for everyone.
- As hydrogen is an important part of the discussion these days, Irena will explain to us the importance of hydrogen and the ways it can be used in the future to create a greener environment.
- We will discuss the role of the Middle East and question whether they are a part of the problem or if could they be a long-term solution for the climate crisis in the world.
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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:
Climate Insiders is brought to you by Climentum Capital, a Seed+ and Series A cleantech European venture capital firm focused on funding and scaling climate-positive ventures that cut down on CO2 emissions.
If you are interested in how smart capitalism combined with mission-driven founders building innovative tech startups can overcome our climate crisis and build a better future, you’ve come to the right place.
Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co and https://www.climentum.com
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ABOUT THE GUEST:
Irena leads the energy team at SYSTEMIQ, an investor in, and advisor to, cleantech companies.
She is on the board of Upside Energy and on the advisory board of Habitat Energy. Previously, she spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs, finishing as ED in Gas and Power Origination.
She also worked briefly at the United Nations. She is a graduate of International Relations and Macroeconomics at the University of Trieste and SOAS and is a CFA Charterholder.
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SHOW NOTES:
00:00 - Intro
03:03 - Systemiq Capital - goals and visions for the climate, their investments and the way they help companies that are transitioning to a green, how the company started and where it is today
06:20 - The Founders of Systemiq Capital
08:24 - The key learnings from Systemiq, upsides, and downsides that are critical in the environmental crisis
12:00 - Lack of innovations as a part of the problem. Europe losing the leadership in Climate Tech
15:30 - Will the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) play against the U.S market and in favor of Europe?
15:02 - What is sensical and non-sensical in the current venture world, especially in the climate, and key areas to invest in?
17:45 - Hydrogen as a way to electrify what cannot be directly electrified – very high energy heat, parts of aviation, potentially very long-term trucks.
25:50 - The role of the Gulf, the Middle East, is it a part of the solution or part of the problem?
31:47 - Rapid fire round
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ABOUT THE HOST:
Yoann Berno https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/
After a career spent building and investing in top tech startups, Yoann is now a founding member and General Partner at Climentum Capital focused on investing in game-changing technological solutions to our worsening climate crisis.
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To learn more about CLIMENTUM CAPITAL and apply for funding, please visit https://www.climentum.com
To become an LP and invest in one of Climentum’s upcoming funds, get in touch at: https://www.climentum.com/contact-form
And don't forget to...
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Oct 24, 2022
Teampact Ventures - From Rugby career to Climate Action (feat. Benjamin Kayser)
Benjamin Kayser is a former French Rugby international with a 16-year-long career (he played 47 games with the French National Team, and hundreds in the French and English championships).
Benjamin is a Co-founder and Partner at Teampact Ventures, a Venture Capital fund that specializes in human capital.
Benjamin is a charismatic and inspiring character. He is living proof that the reconversion of former world-class athletes into Venture Capital investors is possible and can be very successful.
* We discuss WHY top athletes and Venture Capitalists aren't that different. The elements of competition, unstoppable drive, and performance are central to both.
* We dig into Teampact's model and their People Score to assess startup teams before making investments and WHY it might very well be the future of VC
* And we explore the role that TOP athletes can play after retiring from their busy sports careers and continue being SUPER helpful to society
Listen and Learn
* Why Benjamin picked Venture Capital after retiring from the world of Rugby (3:00)
* Why he went to Oxford to legitimize his business (4:00)
* Always bet on the jockey, don’t bet on the horse (4:30)
* Description of Teampact Ventures: sectors, geography, ticket size (5:30)
* Why athletes want to invest in startups today and why the trend is here to stay (7:00)
* How sportsmen are the entrepreneurs of the real world (8:30)
* Who better than sport-winning dynasties to help break impostor syndrome and help entrepreneurs grow (11:00)
* 70% of the Olympic athletes live under the minimum wage (12:30)
* How Teampact wants to build a bridge between elite sport and elite tech (13:30)
* Athletes can help solve the major human-level issues: the complexity of recruiting, employee well-being, and creating a sense of belonging (16:00)
* Sport-winning dynasties are built on team resilience, team culture, and team chemistry (16:30)
* Teampact’s secret sauce to take the best out of sport and help startups: Score, Boost, Match (18:30)
* The intentionality of the founders is critical for team culture coaching to work (24:00)
* How do they match athletes with projects (26:00)
* Why professional athletes should stand up more and push the climate movement (30:00)
* Rapid fire round (35:00)
* Benjamin’s #1 recommended book (35:01)
Show Links
* Benjamin Kayser
* Nikola Karabatic
* Teampact Ventures
* Sorare giving a board seat to Serena Wiliams
* Sarah Jallot: Partner at Teampact Ventures
* The rise of Superman by Steven Kotler
* Legacy by James Kerr
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Oct 11, 2022
SOSV - Building the World's Most Active Climate Tech VC (feat. partner Benjamin Joffe)
Benjamin Joffe is a Partner at SOSV, a global deep tech fund with 1000 portfolio companies and $1.3B AUM. They focus on early-stage planetary and human health.
They invest the very first checks at pre-seed via the startup programs HAX (hard tech), IndieBio (biology), Orbit (frontier markets), and dlab (blockchain).
Benjamin started in an investing role in the HAX program in Shenzhen (invested in Opentrons, now a unicorn), and later chose to work in a non-investing role across the portfolio.
He's been an active angel investor, super speaker, and moderator in hundreds of events globally, and he's now the curator at SOSV Climate Tech Summit which happens virtually every year, generally in October.Listen and Learn
* Describe SOSV, ticket size, geography, and history (2:18)
* Who backs SOSV today? (4:03)
* How is SOSV structured today? (5:00)
* Why did you decide to invest in climate? (6:35)
* SOSV Climate Tech summit (8:07)
* Do you see a better balance between the US, EU, and China in Climate Tech going forward? (10:30)
* Have you seen more climate funds start outside of the US this year? (12:58)
* What is the interaction between the EU and China in ClimateTech? (14:13)
* Has the climate conversation matured in Asia? (16:06)
* What is your role and how do you structure your investment scope? (18:40)
* Is building a personal brand a must as a fund? (20:22)
* Would you advise new funds to be more visible? (21:59)
* Is building a personal brand the best way to access the best deals? (25:01)
* What drives maximum return: software or hardware? (26:37)
* What is the key to differentiation? (28:13)
* Rapid fire round (30:08)
* Where would you advise people to look for jobs within climate? (35:01)
Show Links
* Benjamin Joffe LinkedIn profile
* SOSV
* HAX - Hard Tech Venture Capital
* IndieBio
* Orbit Startups
* dlab
* SOSV Climate Tech Summit
* Voyagers community event
* Climate Tech VC
* Work on climate
* Land Your Dream Job in Climate Tech by Yoann Berno
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Jul 12, 2022
Circular Carbon Chemistry - Making chemistry sustainable with Christian Vollmann
Christian Vollmann is the Founder and CEO at C1 / Circular Carbon Chemistry, a Berlin-based startup developing climate-friendly chemicals, for example, Green methanol.
He has been involved in over 70 start-ups to date and has built several companies from zero to successful exit, including a listing on the NYSE
We're receiving Christian on the show for his active involvement in the Climate Tech scene as both an entrepreneur and business angelListen and Learn
* From contributor to climate change to being part of the solution (1:45)
* How many startups have you founded and invested in? (3:02)
* How is methanol produced today? (4:14)
* What was preventing the production of green methanol before? (6:37)
* What are the economic prospects of C1 nowadays? (7:53)
* On reducing the ‘green premium’ on sustainable chemicals (9:15)
* Who are your customers today? (11:15)
* What is the most challenging bottleneck of a green chemistry startup? (13:50)
* Grabbing lots of capital early on or bootstrapping the first 2 years? (16:35)
* Does your path to scalability require bigger and bigger rounds? (18:00)
* How can we encourage successful founders to invest back into the startup ecosystem? (20:31)
* Tips and tricks to setting up an angel back office (22:40)
* What investment has brought you the most satisfaction? (23:59)
* What has been your strategy in angel investing? (25:12)
* What is your advice for people looking to start in ClimateTech? (26:21)
* Rapid fire round (28:O7)
* Fall in love with the problem or the founding team? (32:27)
Show Links
* Christian Vollmann's LinkedIn
* C1 Circular Carbon Chemistry
* Nebenan.de - social network for neighborhoods
* C1 Job opportunities
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Jul 5, 2022
Entrepreneurs For Impact - Building a bridge between the US and Europe in Climate with Chris Wedding
Chris Wedding is an ex-Private Equity investor, 3x founder, professor at Duke University, a Climate CEO Coach, and a MONK !
Today's episode is a little special. Both Chris and I are running Climate Tech podcasts. The difference is that Chris has been doing it for a lot longer than I have, and he sits on the other side of the Atlantic, in the US.
We talk about both ecosystems, and give LOTS of tips to Founders, and folks looking to switch careers and go all-in on the Climate Fight.Listen and Learn
* When did you decide to dedicate yourself to climate work? (1:29)
* How does ClimateTech compare to crypto, Metaverse, etc. in the US? (6:25)
* How has the economic downturn materialized in your day-to-day interactions? (9:20)
* What is a US ClimateTech success story? (11:39)
* Maturity of the ClimateTech (13:30)
* Teaching ClimateTech CEOs (14:16)
* Resources on how to get into ClimateTech (18:07)
* Do you see ClimateTech job opportunities to be on the rise? (20:49)
* Rapid fire round (21:59)
* Would you hire professional consultants to help with fundraising? (29:23)
* Would you advise to think about exits early on? (31:08)
* How would you attract talent for ClimateTech startups? (32:49)
Show Links
* Chris Wedding's LinkedIn Profile
* Chris’ course on Maven: Fund Your Climate Tech Startup
* Chris’ community: Entrepreneurs For Impact
* Chris’ course on Coursera: Renewable Energy and Green Building Entrepreneurship
* On Deck Climate Tech
* Terra.do and their Climate Tech investing course
* My Climate Journey
* The Founder's Dilemmas by Noam Wasserman
* Article: Six questions you should ask yourself before raising VC money
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Jun 27, 2022
Ynsect - Lessons from building the world's largest insect farming company with Antoine Hubert
Antoine Hubert is the CEO of Ynsect, the world's largest insect farming startup based out of France.
They were founded in 2011 and today they count more than 230 employees, have raised more than 450m EUR, which is half of ALL the investments made in the insect farming sector to date.
They are considered the FIRST Climate Tech unicorn out of France (or "soonicorn") and the only one in the insect farming space globally.Listen and Learn
* Ynsect’s key pivotal moments in their 10-year journey (01:30)
* Ynsect’s first fundraising and the early scaling up phase (3:00)
* How Ynsect managed to get to €150m in contracted revenue (4:30)
* The 3 main steps in the development of Ynsect: innovation, industrialization, internationalization (6:30)
* The 3 main bottlenecks they had to overcome: commercial traction, regulatory, technology (7:00)
* Why most investors are eager to invest in asset light businesses when the transition requires hardware investments (8:30)
* Why governments (Bpifrance, EIF, EIB…) should subsidize startups even more to develop global champions in manufacturing and life sciences (10:00)
* The competitive landscape in insect farming (11:00)
* Europe is importing 50% of its protein needs from South and North America, meaning we are hugely dependent (11:30)
* Why insect farming’s geostrategic importance led to quick regulations (12:00)
* Europe’s has the most advanced insect farming companies in the world (13:00)
* How their acquisition of Protifarm enabled Ynsect to start tackling the human food market (14:00)
* Why the bridge between pet food and human food is actually quite small (14:30)
* Why insect production is one of the most complex farming processes in the world (17:00)
* Ynsect is in the Top 10 patent filing companies in France and has more than half of all patents in the insect farming world (18:30)
* Ynsect’s strategy to scale internationally and become an insect giant (20:30)
* The structural shift that Ynsect had to do to enable growth (22:00)
* The most important lessons learned in the last 3 years (24:00)
* Why lifting the taboo of money is important to reconcile environmental activism and business (27:00)
* Why the best investment funds are entrepreneurs funds (29:30)
* How they succeeded in aligning all their stakeholders on financial returns AND impact (30:30)
* Why Antoine published a book to diffuse important ideas on planet, people and profit (31:00)
* They raised the minimum wage by 35% to €25k annually which represents a big change for workers (32:00)
* The joint efforts by La French Tech to support gender equality (34:00)
* Tackling the taboo of industrialization in order to relocalize factories, knowledge and workers in Europe (36:00)
* How they’ve revolutionized the working conditions. “The factory is so clean you can eat on the ground!” (39:00)
* The 5 Steps to land your dream job in Climate (41:00)
Show Links
* Antoine Hubert
* Ynsect’s website
* Pitch session at Ecosummit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTTNFC00ZSw
* Learn more about Ynsect at Hello Tomorrow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfNJDzL945M
* Ynsect’s investors: Demeter, Eco Technologies,
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Jun 13, 2022
Tier's Co-Founder donating 100% of his shares to Climate Impact with Lawrence Leuschner
Lawrence Leuschner is the Co-founder and CEO at Tier, Europe's largest micro-mobility startup based out of Germany.
You can now ride TIER’s electric scooters, bikes and mopeds in over 130 cities, from London and Paris to Berlin and Dubai.
They were founded in 2018 and today they count more than 900 employees, have raised more than $650m, and did 6 acquisitions to consolidate their leadership.
There's a lot we will learn in this episode from Lawrence as a top entrepreneur but also an impact investor. Lawrence has pledged his entire stake in TIER into his own Cimpact fund. I'm very curious to learn more about this.Listen and Learn
* How Tier started as the David vs Goliath in the mobility space against heavily capitalized US competitors (2:00)
* How Tier quickly became #1 in the Apple Store globally, ahead of WhatsApp (3:30)
* What happened to the millions of cheap Chinese bikes that disappeared overnight from Europe (4:00)
* Why the e-mobility landscape isn’t set and will continue evolving over the coming years (5:00)
* Why the initial model of e-scooters wasn’t sustainable with batteries lasting weeks (6:00)
* Repair, maintenance and recycling is now the name of the game (7:00)
* The new battery design coming in the next year continue pushing in a sustainable direction (8:00)
* The actual impact profile of e-scooters and how they manage to be net positive today (9:30)
* Today, 20% of Tier’s rides are replacing car rides, while 80% are replacing foot, bikes and public transportation (11:00)
* How they intend to replace to 80% (13:00)
* Growing 100% year-over-year (14:00)
* How they added 150,000 bikes by acquiring (15:00)
* Lawrence’s #1 learning from the past 2-3 years that he wishes he had known before (16:00)
* Why one of Tier’s four core values is to “trailblaze” (17:00)
* How hiring key people that have been on this rodeo is critical to enable growth (18:00)
* How to hire the best people in the current talent war, especially against companies that are printing money like Google and Amazon (19:00)
* Why Lawrence decided to create his own impact fund: Blue Impact ventures (20:30)
* How Lawrence decided to allocate all his shares of Tier into Blue Impact (21:00)
* Blue Impact’s playbook of decision to operate with minimal resources (21:50)
* How Lawrence ensured an evergreen structure for Blue Impact (23:00)
* The walk with his partner that convinced him to dedicate 100% of his shares to Climate impact (24:30)
* Rapid fire round (26:30)
* Tips and advice to help people penetrate the Climate community and get their dream job (29:00)
* The accelerated learning curve: what you learn at Tier in 1 year is what you learn in a corporate in 5 years (31:00)
* An experience at a startup is the biggest leverage in your career (33:00)
* How more collaboration between investors can help change Venture Capital from within (34:00)
Show Links
* Lawrence's LinkedIn
* Tier Mobility
* Video of Tier's products
* Donating 100% of his shares and exit proceeds via founders pledge
* Acquisition of NextBike by Tier
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Jun 8, 2022
Europe has everything to succeed in the Climate Race with Christopher Burghardt (ex-MD Europe of ChargePoint)
Christopher Burghardt is the ex-Managing Director Europe of ChargePoint, a US company that built the world's largest network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.
They went public in March 2021 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and became the World’s First Publicly Traded EV Charging company.
Today Christopher is a Venture Partner at 2150, an advisor to Goldman Sachs and an active Business Angel investing in startups and Climate funds (including Climentum Capital).
We cover the role of Transportation in the Climate transition but most of all talk about Europe's key ingredients for success in this Climate race.Listen and Learn
* Why Christopher decided to leave ChargePoint after their IPO (2:00)
* The place of hydrogen in transportation (3:00)
* The environmental profile of e-scooters and micro-mobility (4:30)
* The role of micro-mobility in cities (5:00)
* Should we chase more unicorns or regional leaders (10:00)
* Why Europe’s should create a market envir…
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May 31, 2022
Planted - Alternative meat: is Europe late to the party? with Pascal Bieri
In this episode we go deep into Europe's alternative meat space and discuss whether startups will win this race against US companies and food giants like Nestle.
Pascal Bieri is the Co-Founder of Planted, a Zurich-based startup developing meat from alternative proteins.
They produce alternative chicken, pulled pork, kebab and schnitzel and their products are available at restaurants and retailers across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, Italy and the UK.Listen and Learn
* US vs Europe: comparison of the alternative meat landscapes (2:00)
* Are we too late to the party in Europe? (3:00)
* Animals have a super inefficient way to transform proteins into a texturized product (5:00)
* The Europe meat substitute market is expected to grow to 3.5bn EUR by 2027 (6:00)
* Who will win between food giants like Nestle and startups like Planted (7:00)
* Why the super unnatural flavor used by mainstream food giants won’t satisfy consumers for long (8:00)
* The factor that…
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May 23, 2022
Norrsken VC - Impact investing in a market downturn with Agate Freimane
Agate Freimane is a General Partner at Norrsken VC, a €125m Swedish early stage impact VC investing in technology that solves some of the world’s greatest challenges.
She comes from investment banking at Morgan Stanley and then worked at a PropTech/Fintech startup: Brickvest.
In today's show, we will discuss with Agate:
* the state of Climate Tech in the Nordics
* the correlation between impact and financial returns
* What the current economic slowdown means for Climate Tech VC
* the biggest learnings from raising Norrsken VC and investing in 41 companies
Listen and Learn
* The Norrsken backstory: how 3 unicorn founders started 6 years ago a one-stop shop for impact investing (2:00)
* Agate’s views on the Climate Tech scene in Sweden and the Nordics (4:50)
* How Stockholm wants to become the global impact capital (5:00)
* The transition from a tech ecosystem to impact ecosystem (5:30)
* The power or role models to scale the ecosystem (6:00)
* How Northvolt…
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May 16, 2022
Zero Carbon Capital - Fixing Diversity in VC with Pippa Gawley
Pippa Gawley is the Founding Partner at Zero Carbon Capital, a UK Climate Fund investing in early-stage companies that are on a mission to fix climate change through deep science innovation
She worked with eBay in the UK, moved to Silicon Valley and is one of the "re-immigrants" as she moved back to Europe.
There's a lot we will learn in this episode from Pippa:
* how to crack the diversity problem in VC and Climate Tech in general.
* the level of maturity of the London and UK Climate tech scenes, how many funds exist and why there are so few Unicorns yet.
* How Pippa runs a VC fund with her husband.
I truly think you will enjoy this one. Pippa brings a unique perspective as a woman Fund Manager AND it's refreshing!Listen and Learn
* Zero Carbon Capital’s geographical scope, ticket size and strategy (1:40)
* Pippa launched the fund with her husband Alex Gawley (2:00)
* The biggest lessons she brought back from Silicon Valley to the UK (3:30)
* The Climate Tech spac…
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May 6, 2022
Übermorgen Ventures - The Climate Tech Evergreen Fund with Alex Langguth
Alexander Langguth is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Übermorgen Ventures, an early stage Zurich-based venture firm with early investments in climate innovators like Sunvigo, carbo culture and delicious data.
Alex has always shown a high level of transparency and collaboration with other Climate Tech investors. In this episode, I take you behind closed doors and give you maximum insights.
* We discuss Ubermorgen's evergreen fund model and why it actually helps to raise 1st-time funds.
* We hear Alex share how difficult it was to raise a first fund and how they run investment decisions
* And Alex and I rip on contrarian views, on what most people get wrong about being a fund manager and advice for job seekers and entrepreneurs
Listen and Learn
* The reasons why Ubermorgen picked an evergreen fund model
* The difficulty to sell this new model to LPs initially
* Alex’s expected ratio of institutional funds, evergreen funds, solo GPs in Europe in 10 years
* Ale…
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May 4, 2022
Planet A Ventures: The Human Side of Climate Fund Managers with Nick de la Forge
Nick de la Forge is a General Partner at Planet A Ventures, a German early-stage ClimateTech fund investing in start-ups that have a significant positive impact on our planet.
I really appreciate Nick as a human being and for his unique value system.
In this episode, we will be human, humble, and vulnerable and take you behind the scenes of raising and running a Climate fund.
In this episode, we cover:
* The serendipitous meeting that led to the creation of 3 European Climate Tech funds!
* Thoughts on how to bring more diversity in the Climate Tech space and generate more diverse Fund Managers
* The single trick that dramatically helped accelerate their fundraising
* Showing vulnerability, humility and resiliency are MUST HAVE values in this Climate Fight
Listen and Learn
* Planet A Ventures’ fund structure, scope and geography.
* Starting a Climate VC Fund feels like “assembling an airplane in mid-air”.
* The necessity of privilege to go for 2 years+ wit…
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Apr 29, 2022
Fusion: The Holy Grail of energy with Heike Freund from Marvel Fusion
This episode goes deep into Fusion energy which is essentially the energy produced by the Sun.
Fusion makes SciFi become reality. If achieved, it could alter humankind forever.
So we're glad to have one of the leading Fusion companies in Europe on the show.Listen and Learn
* Heike’s transition from Big Consulting at McKinsey to a Fusion energy startup.
* Why Fusion is considered the Holy Grail of energy.
* Picture of the world running on Nuclear Fusion (how would it change transportation, food production, manufacturing, space travel).
* The actual level of maturity of Nuclear Fusion. How long before it hits commercial energy production?
* Marvel’s technological innovation (ex: Laser technology vs Magnetic).
* The economic perspective of Marvel: how they intend to make money.
* Europe’s place in the global race to Fusion energy.
* 30 fusion startups out of 35 globally are in the US.
* Recently raised €35m from Earlybird, a generalist VC. Why they picked…
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Apr 27, 2022
Pale Blue Dot: Tips & Tricks to Raise your 1st Climate Fund with Hampus Jakobsson
Hampus Jakobsson is a General Partner at Pale Blue Dot, a Swedish seed-stage ClimateTech fund investing in startups that reduce and reverse the effects of climate change.
He was previously at BlueYard Capital, before that an angel with >100 angel investments. And before that, a serial founder.
This is an EPIC conversation between two European Climate Tech fund managers. Hampus shares a TON of insights and opinionated views. You don’t want to miss out!
* Fundraising for a fund vs fundraising for a startup
* How to do fundraising the right way
* Why smaller funds are better than large ones
* How they run investment decisions internally and invest when they fall in love with the founders
Listen and Learn
* Pale Blue Dot’s fund structure, scope and geography
* The reasons why fundraising wasn’t actually that painful for them
* The importance of filtering out the wrong LPs up front
* Why emerging Climate fund managers need to specialize today to raise their fun…
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