📉 The U.S. empire is falling (maybe) + 40 investors in industrial tech
Your 3-minute summary of climate tech, startups, better habits, and deep work.
Good morning, folks.
In today’s 3-minute read, we’ll cover these juicy nuggets:
🏭 Top 40 investors in industrial tech.
🎯 How might I “climate align” my portfolio?
🦸♀️ Mo’ money and awards for 5 of my favorite climate CEOs.
👏 Thanks to these 11 rockin’ climate CEOs, investors, and world-changers.
💰 “Fund Your Climate Tech Startup.”
📉 The U.S. empire is falling. Maybe.
Enjoy.
Chris
🏭 Top 40 investors in industrial tech.
In case you missed the memo, it’s now cool to invest in hard tech, not just software.
As 8 Rivers Capital Cofounder Bill Brown says:
Software alone can’t solve climate change.
(But those gross margins and recurring revenue make us want to believe otherwise!)
We have to radically change the heavy hard things that you can touch, kick, and curse.
To that end, here’s a list of the top 40 industrial tech investors from futurist Trond Arne Undheim.
Climate tech is not all they do. But I bet that focus is on the rise.
Read more via his Forbes article.
🎯 How might I “climate align” my portfolio?
Tough question.
But below is a visual for what it might look like by category (not security).
And here’s the report it came from:
The ABCs of Climate Investing: How Families Can Unlock the Trillions Needed for Climate Solutions
Shout out to Adam Rein and the team at CapShift for this research.
Also awesome mission — “Impact investment solutions for the $1 trillion charitable investment market of donor advised funds and private foundations.”
We need more of this capital to come off the sideline.
🦸♀️ Mo’ money and awards for 5 of my favorite climate CEOs.
Check out the awesome climate work that these trailblazing climate CEOs are doing.
I’m stoked to have them as part of our Climate CEO Mastermind peer group at Entrepreneurs for Impact.
Headlines
Blake Sturcke, President of Encore Renewable Energy
$20M in new capital from Lacuna Sustainable Investments and Javelin Capital to grow their distributed solar development business in the Northeast US (more)
Lauren Salz, Cofounder and CEO of Sealed
$29M in new capital from Fifth Wall, Robert Downey Jr.’s FootPrint Coalition, and CityRock for financing home energy efficiency retrofits (more)
Jay Lipman, Cofounder and President of Ethic
Selected as one of the top 15 LinkedIn Top Voices in the Green Economy (more)
Mo Vargas, CEO of BayoTech + Jordan Ramer - Founder and CEO of EV Connect
Both companies were selected for the Global Cleantech 100 list (more)
👏 Thanks to 11 rockin’ climate CEOs, investors, and world-changers.
I want to raise my glass of ginger kombucha (of course) in appreciation to these guest speakers in my Duke University spring courses on “Energy Finance” and “Climate Tech Startups & Investors.”
Y’all are keepin’ it real for the next generation of leaders.
Dr. Eric Toone — Technical Lead and Investment Committee member of Breakthrough Energy Ventures (climate tech VC)
Howard Fischer — Cofounder of Gratitude Railroad (impact investors)
Dave Snydacker — CEO of Lilac Solutions (next-gen lithium mining)
Josh Santos — CEO of Noya (decentralized carbon capture)
Dr. Taj Eldridge — General Partner of Include Ventures (investing in diverse fund managers)
Deepinder Singh — CEO of 75F (tech for energy efficiency in building portfolios)
Tiffany Huynh — Venture Fellow at Earthshot Ventures (climate tech VC)
Jonathan Phillips — Director of the Energy Access Project at Duke University (global connector for off-grid clean energy in developing countries)
Brad Dockser — CEO of Green Generation (green building advisory and finance)
Mo Vargas — CEO, BayoTech (decentralized hydrogen production and delivery)
Dr. Johanna Wolfson — Managing Partner at Azolla Ventures (climate tech VC)
💰“Fund Your Climate Tech Startup”
Over $100 billion has been invested in climate tech since 2020.
But it's still hard to fund most startups.
Here’s one way to increase the odds of success.
Join me for a brand new two-week boot camp (details below) from June 1 to 14 called “Fund Your Climate Tech Startup”.
Live. Cohort-based. Online. Personal. Feedback from peers.
Class size is capped at 25 entrepreneurs (current or future).
Enroll here:
https://maven.com/entrepreneurs-for-impact/fund-your-climate-tech-startup
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Why climate tech startups?
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With this course, you will get…
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Is it right for you…or a friend?
📉 The U.S. empire is falling. Maybe.
Should we listen to the advice of any ole’ billionaire?
Super rich = super smart on every single topic on Earth?
Nope.
But what if it’s the founder of the world's biggest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, which manages $154 billion?
That’s Ray Dalio and below is his latest book.
Why does his book matter?
He says that lessons from 500 years of prior empires suggest there are six stages.
And stage #6 = “See ya suckers!” to folks in charge.
His research suggests that the US is in stage #5. 🤔
Here’s the book.
Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail
Or watch the video.
Over 11 million people thought it was also worth watching.
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
— Chris
P.S. Heard of TErD talks?
Sometimes trying to be a good parent surprises you.
Last week, we tried to “enlighten” our three kids by watching various TED talks again.
In response, our 16-year-old said, “Oh joy, more turd [TErD] talks!”
Yep, that’s sarcasm, potty humor, and wordplay all in one.
For now, I’ll just call that a success. 😅
—
Dr. Chris Wedding
Founder and Chief Catalyst, Entrepreneurs for Impact
”The only peer group for growth-stage climate CEOs, founders, and investors”