🌏 EV Charging Problems, VC Fundraising, 3-2-1 Sleep Method, Skip Vacation
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” (#162)
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Climate Startups + Investors
1.
Startup fundraising sucks: It’s not all your fault.
If you’ve tried to raise capital for your company recently, you may have thought:
Why isn’t there a hole in the wall from me banging my head against it so much?
It’s rough out there, and it feels personal. Sometimes it is.
Your business may have issues.
You may need to grow as a leader. (Don’t we all!)
Or the broader capital raising market is a rotting dumpster fire.
The data below from the National Venture Capital Association shows the bigger picture. See the tiny, humiliating bar on the far right.
VC investment activity in 2024 is as pitiful as a frog stuck in a box labeled "Free Dogs."
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2.
EV chargers have big problems.
A new study of 20,000 chargers and 19 million data points describes these challenges.
26.3% failure rate — Despite stations showing as operational, many test charges failed.
84% average actual uptime — This is less than 92%, as self-reported by stations.
One work order fixes 66% of issues — However, 3.5% of "problem stations" needed 4+ work orders.
10% of DC fast charging stations experienced outages lasting 6-9 weeks — And 40% of these came from one network. (Yikes)
There is a better way. The report walks through solutions to these problems.
This is even more crucial now that the number of U.S. public EV charging ports has doubled in three years.
Report author: ChargerHelp.
(Shout out to Kameale Terry, its co-founder and CEO, and EFI Climate CEO Fellow!)
Personal Growth => Business Growth
3.
Don’t take vacations. Instead, do this.
This summer, we returned to Japan with our three teenagers.
In a mixture of confusion and exhaustion, they asked:
“If we walk 10 miles a day and use seven forms of mass transit in 96-degree weather, is this really a vacation?”
Our response:
“Yes, but we instead call it a family adventure.”
At that point, it would have hurt my argument to reference Helen Keller. But she did once say:
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
She wasn’t referring to vacation, but I like her call to action.
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4.
Boost sleep with this “3-2-1” method.
I used to sleep like a baby.
Then, in my late 40s, I thought, “That’s too easy. Let’s try terrible sleep instead.”
Or my Oura ring got into my head. (“Damn those Sleep Scores!”)
Here’s a hack for better sleep:
No eating 3 hours before bed
No drinking 2 hours before bed — to limit bathroom use in the “wee” hours (dang)
No electronic screens 1 hour before bed
If only 88% dark chocolate at night wasn’t such a temptress…
How can I help you grow?
Join our private peer group for climate tech CEOs.
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That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week because it’s usually a choice.
~ Chris
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P.S.
If you were on vacation recently, check out my recent newsletter on Smaller VC funds produce better financial returns | 60 deep tech climate investors | 36 questions to fall in love with a cofounder | Pygmalion effect for team motivation