6 questions from a $1.1B climate tech VC firm
Plus, 29 places for climate tech jobs, retiring way before age 65, and why incompetence grows exponentially and competence grows linearly
Good morning, folks.
In today’s 3-minute read, we’ll cover these 5 juicy nuggets below — as delicious as that freshly ground peanut butter at Whole Foods, topped with raw honey and chased by a glass of soy milk.
Climate Startups & Investment
#1 — 🥇 Here’s what this VC looks for in a climate tech startup
#2 — 📰 News flash: Climate is about people, not just startup exits
#3 — 🙋♂️ Want a job in climate tech?
Productivity & Living the Good Life
#4 — 📈 Price’s Law: The square root of people
#5 — 👵 Retire far earlier than age 65
Onward and upward,
Chris
#1 — 🥇 Here’s what this VC looks for in a climate tech startup.
Here are some wisdom bombs from Mia Diawara of Lowercarbon Capital.
Why should you listen?
They manage over $1.1B to invest in climate tech and carbon removal startups that “make real money slashing CO2 emissions, sucking carbon out of the sky, and buying us time to unf**k the planet.”
Here are sample questions they ask founders:
Why now? What’s changed in the past few years that makes your technology and business possible now?
What’s your unfair advantage? If the answer is “me/our team,” why are you one of 10 people in the world who could build what you’re building?
If you succeed, how will that affect concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?
What are your superpowers? How might they shape the type of company you’re best positioned to build?
What are the biggest gaps in the landscape that need more attention and innovation and the largest categories of emissions going unaddressed?
Are you ready to devote the next decade of your life to living and breathing this? Does it bring you joy, get you fired up, is it just about all you can think about?”
Read more from her Fast Company interview.
#2 — 📰 News flash: Climate is about people, not just startup exits.
Do we all hope to make a boatload of money by tackling climate change?
Heck ya.
And then to invest or donate a lot of dough to solve more environmental and social problems?
I hope so.
But this work is about more than just financial metrics like ROI, IRR, and MOIC.
It’s about this news from Yale Environment 360:
They report:
Three tribes will receive $25 million each to relocate homes, schools, and critical infrastructure…to more solid ground. Money will help tribes cope with melting permafrost, erosion, floods, drought, wildfires, and other climate risks.
As I imagine the morning news 20 years from now, I want to hear fewer headlines like these about climate refugees.
But we have lots more work to do. For communities. Not just climate.
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Photo credit: Romy Cadiente / Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
#3 — 🙋♂️ Want a job in climate tech?
Here is a list of some awesome climate tech companies whose CEOs and founders are members of our Climate Mastermind peer groups at Entrepreneurs for Impact.
Check ‘em out!
#4 — 📈 Price’s Law: The square root of people.
It states:
50% of the work in an organization is done by the square root of the total number of people who participate in the work.
So for a team of 25, just 5 people will produce 50% of the results.
Maybe you’re one of those 5.
Or maybe it’s your job to find these 5 people for your next hires.
This was inspired by my current Audible read, 12 Rules For Life by Dr. Jordan Peterson.
In this lecture, he explains it further by saying:
“As your company grows, incompetence grows exponentially and competence grows linearly.”
Too harsh?
Maybe.
By the way, this gets worse because of how math works.
100 employees, 10 of them do 50% of the work
10,000 employees 100 of them do 50% of the work
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Here’s more background on the origin of this Law. Thanks to Darius Foroux.
Derek Price, who was a British physicist, historian of science, and information scientist, discovered something about his peers in academia. He noticed that there were always a handful of people who dominated the publications within a subject.
#5 — 👵 Retire far earlier than age 65.
"Retirement is when you stop sacrificing today for an imaginary tomorrow."
- Naval Ravikant, SiliconValley gazillionaire entrepreneur-turned-philosopher
My wife heard this and said, “Great, you’re already retired!”
Not quite. Cash for three college tuitions, a mortgage, and decades of semi-retirement living are still very real.
I know. You’ve heard similar quotes before:
“It’s the journey, not the destination.”
Pause for a second. Hold back the cliche vomit machine.
But seriously, retirement is overrated. Love what you do now, or make a change.
Rip off the bandaid and bleed for a bit. You’ll heal just fine.
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
Cheers,
Chris
—
Chris Wedding
Founder @ Entrepreneurs for Impact
Climate CEO peer groups | Podcast