$15B to Decarbonize Infrastructure | 4 Graphs on Carbon Prices | 16 Agtech and Foodtech Deals
Plus, climate advice from Nest's Founder, negotiation tips from a former FBI exec, an interview with a zero-plastic online grocery startup CEO, and a "tech ring" to track heart rate and sleep health
Morning y’all,
I hope last week's holiday treated you all well.
For us, we froze on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, including a 7-mile hike on the beach to see the wild horses in Corolla, with no sightings. But at least one of our three kiddos enjoyed the kites flying high with Christmas lights on the biggest sand dunes on the Atlantic coast. :)
Oh yeah, and…
🎁 I have an invitation for you.
If you click this button below, share this newsletter with 10 of your friends, and email me 2 sentences about why you read ZERO, then I’ll put your name in my special Tilley hat.
Next, on Friday, December 10, I’ll pick five lucky souls (?) to take part in two mastermind group sessions with me (e.g., brainstorming, strategy, tools).
And I’ll give those five winners, and their companies, a shout-out in a future ZERO newsletter issue.
Cool?
💸 Our Podcast — $15B+ for Decarbonizing Infrastructure with Dr. Dmitriy Antropov from Partners Group
On our Climate Torch podcast, I recently chatted with fellow investor and personal growth optimizer Dr. Dmitriy Antropov, Co-Head of private infrastructure integrated investment at Partners Group ($119B+ in AUM).
He has been with Partners Group since 2008 and has 17 years of industry experience. His team focuses on (1) clean energy generation, (2) energy and resource efficiency, (3) low carbon fuels, and (4) carbon management. They seek to invest anywhere between $200M and $1B+ in individual companies or assets.
Here’s an excerpt:
If you had to start over, what are 1-2 tips you’d give yourself in order to be faster, more effective, and higher impact?
Be careful about when you bootstrap versus invest for growth. Both are needed. As investors, it is in our DNA to make money. However, being visionary, especially in such an area as climate investing, cannot be underestimated. So my advice to myself is to have a big vision and then keep operationalizing it — breaking it down into steps, securing and committing resources to achieve them, and calibrating in reasonable intervals.”
What are some habits and routines that keep you focused, healthy, and sane — e.g., meditations, exercise, productivity hacks?
I am a big fan of cold exposure and start my day with a five-minute cold shower.
Meditation — every day, ideally twice a day — is an important one.
On the productivity side, turning off all notifications — emails, messages, and notifications, and having a separate folder for CC emails (which I don't read) — has been a booster.In general, I find it extremely important to take care of your physical state. Being able to prioritize sleep, fitness, and my alone time helps me to be a better leader, better husband, and better parent.
Listen now:
📈 Carbon prices are up.
Maybe you’re a fan of carbon credits (regulated markets) or carbon offsets (voluntary markets).
Or maybe you think they are a crutch, a “get out of jail free” card, or flawed in many ways.
Regardless, I think they’re here to stay, to expand, and to become one part of the net-zero plan for most companies, countries, and countries.
As possible proof points, consider the following bullish reports and links.
Taskforce for Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets — July 2021 report and list of 450+ big-brand members
McKinsey & Company’s article — A blueprint for scaling voluntary carbon markets to meet the climate challenge
CarbonCredit.com’s report — The Ultimate Guide to Understanding Carbon Credits
Are they right? Who knows. I’m on that train sitting right next to you.
And check out what carbon prices have done in the last few months.
Shout out to CarbonCredits.com for this data and to our Climate Mastermind member that shared it with me — Doug Willmore, CEO of World Tree, a reforestation company planting one of the world’s fastest-growing trees.
🎁 Our Podcast — Leader in Zero-Plastic Online Grocery Shopping with Zuleyka Strasner, CEO of Zero.
On another episode of our Climate Torch podcast, I caught up with Zuleyka Strasner, Founder of Zero, an online marketplace for sustainable groceries, home goods, personal items, and more, on its way to becoming the largest sustainability platform for consumers in the country.
Here’s an excerpt:
If you had to start over, what are 1-2 tips you’d give yourself in order to be faster, more effective, and higher impact?
The first is to trust in myself. In a startup, you’re always dealing with some new problem or setback, but we have always and without fail, found our way through them, as scary as it may have been at the time. The second is to be quick about what stays and what goes, whether it’s ideas, processes, or people. Holding on for too long doesn’t work.
Do you have any requests, announcements, or final advice for our listeners?
Being a founder/CEO requires you to be many things to many people. Sometimes it’s the most rewarding thing in the world, and sometimes it’s the most difficult. The only path is to trust in yourself and to listen to those around you — the people you hired (who you hired because they’re experts after all), your customers, and the people who support you (mentors and advisors).
Listen now:
🌿 16 deals in agtech and foodtech — Thank you, AgFunder News.
OMG. Every time I see AFN’s compilation of new financings and funds like this one from November 25, I drool.
Such. Great. Curation.
Here are two samples from AFN to whet your appetite (and yes, it’s spelled correctly):
Animal-free dairy startup New Culture raises $25 million in Series A funding. The oversubscribed round comes ahead of New Culture launching its animal-free mozzarella product in 2022. (AFN)
Biotech startup RWDC Industries closes a $95.1 million Series B2 round led by Temasek. Funds will go towards expanding production of the company’s biodegradable biopolymer material that can aid in transitioning consumer goods brands to more sustainable packaging. (RWDC Industries)
📘 Negotiation tips from a former FBI hostage negotiator.
If you’ve never read this book — Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss — then here is your summary (shout out to Elle McFarlane from Oberlo).
Here’s an excerpt:
Voss states that when you hear “no” while attempting to negotiate, it usually means one of the following seven things:
I’m not ready to agree.
You’re making me uncomfortable.
I don’t understand.
I can’t afford it.
I want something else.
I need more information.
I want to talk this through with someone else.
If this sounds personal, well, it is.
As entrepreneurs, you know that we hear “no” a lot. Like, really, so damn often.
But shhh, don’t tell anyone. Naive optimism can be a great condition under which to start a new venture.
💍 New kind of fitness tracking — One ring to rule them all.
If you’re into biohacking or longevity, then I’ve got the perfect Christmas gift for you: The Oura Ring
Or shall I say, it will be one of my perfect Christmas gifts — along with the new zafu and zabuton for channeling my (sometimes sleeping) inner Zen monk.
This finger wearable tracks the following:
Sleep Score — measures REM sleep, light sleep, deep sleep, nightly heart rate, and bedtime schedule
Activity Score — analyzes our exercise vs. rest
Readiness Score — combines biometrics like sleep, activity, body temperature, and HRV (heart rate variability)
Finally, an app worth paying attention to on vacation.
That’s all, folks.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
— Chris
🔥 P.S. Are you making things easy or hard?
Consider this quote from the founder of Nest, the smart thermostat that sold to Google in 2014 for $3.2B.
“People are motivated to do the right thing, but only so far as it is more convenient. As we build, let us embrace human nature as our challenge. Technology that stands the test of convenience will ultimately stand the test of time to drive lasting change.
How can we make doing the right thing easier than doing the wrong thing? Figure that out, teach others how to do the same, and we will put ourselves in a position to save the world.”
—
Dr. Chris Wedding
Founder and Chief Catalyst, Entrepreneurs for Impact
The Only Private Executive Mastermind Community for CEOs, Founders, and Investors Fighting Climate Change
