Welcome to my two-minute newsletter from Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI).
So glad you’re here! 👍🏼
I’m on a mission to empower 250,000 entrepreneurs and investors to tackle climate change through startups, finance, and personal growth. 🚀
I do this in a few ways. And I need your help to spread the word. 🙏🏼
Teacher — I’m a professor @ Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, Coursera, Institute for Defense and Business, and Maven.
Podcast host — I’ve interviewed 140+ climate CEOs and investors on my way to 1,000 episodes @ Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI).
Climate optimist — My weekly LinkedIn posts on climate startups and personal growth greet millions of eyeballs each year. Come join me here.
Climate CEO coach — I created and lead North America’s top peer group community for growth-stage CEOs, founders, and investors in climate tech, sustainability, and clean energy. With monthly group meetings, annual retreats, guest speakers, and 1:1 executive coaching calls, our members help each other boost revenue, impact, capital raised, clarity, confidence, work-life balance, and team effectiveness. This community is creating billions of dollars of market value and millions of tons of greenhouse gas reduction.
Oh yeah, I forgot to say: “Hi, I’m Chris Wedding.”
I’m a former rainforest researcher in the jungles of Costa Rica and Panama, nicknamed “Nature Boy,” who became an environmental private equity investor, impact investment banker, serial founder, climate CEO whisperer, meditation practitioner for 25 years, and Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006. (go ahead, Google it). 😜
And equally important…
I’m also an expert in failure with way too many mistakes to keep to myself: Startups that didn’t work out. Business partnerships that fell through. Big deals that didn’t close. Visions that lacked operational follow-through. Capital raises that missed the mark. Trust that was breached. Over 90% of what I try fails. (Hopefully quickly.)
Finally, I’m not Beyoncé.
Huh?
This newsletter was originally called ZERO.
I thought it was pretty clever — as if I was capable of one-word names like Prince or Beyoncé.
Admittedly, I lack their flair (and skills).
So, I went back to the basics:
Our climate CEO peer groups are at Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI).
Ditto for my podcast interviewing 140+ climate CEOs and investors.
And ditto for this weekly newsletter.
Simple is better.
But…
Here was my prior thinking behind the name ZERO.
I intended to curate trends and tools to help catalyze…
ZERO greenhouse gas emissions
ZERO species extinction
ZERO pollution
ZERO distractions from what’s most important
ZERO inefficiency
ZERO racial and gender inequity
ZERO apathy and inaction
Are these goals realistic?
Probably not.
Are they worth striving for?
Yep.
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week because it’s usually a choice.
~ Chris
Founder @ Entrepreneurs for Impact
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P.S. Over 100,000 CEOs are members of CEO peer groups. Are you? Check out our community for climate tech CEOs at Entrepreneurs for Impact.
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(As these photos show, I’m an actual human writing this newsletter. Not AI. 🤖)
