Pitch deck advice to raise $1 billion
Plus, $53M for female climate tech founders, climate investing from Gordon Gekko to the Dalai Lama, the power of mudita, and your desires are stupid
Good morning, folks.
In today’s 3-minute read, we’ll cover these 5 juicy nuggets below — as delicious as that peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on white bread that you devoured at the swimming pool during your childhood summers.
Climate Startups & Investment
#1 — 💸 Pitch decks helped me raise $1 billion
#2 — 👍🏽 $53M for female founders
#3 — 🎙️ Climate investing, from Gordon Gekko to the Dalai Lama
Productivity & Living the Good Life
#4 — 🙌 Do you hate your peer’s success?
#5 — 😋 Your desires are stupid
I hope you enjoy it!
Chris
#1 — 💸 Pitch decks helped me raise $1 billion.
OK, well not me.
I’m just the messenger for Brett Adcock — Founder/CEO @ Figure, Archer ($2.7B IPO), & Vettery ($100M exit).
In 15 ridiculously succinct Tweets via LinkedIn, he says:
Steal [my pitch deck framework] for free.
Yes, sir.
Here you go. Two teasers below, plus…
Get the pitch deck tips here.
#2 — 👍🏽 $53M for female founders.
Did you know that…
49% of all businesses started in the US each year are led by women?
But…
2% of all VC funding goes to women-led ventures.
Yikes.
We need a solution that’s as easy as a package being delivered to your front door.
Oh yeah, you know what name I’m going to mention.
Amazon’s new $53M commitment falls within their Climate Pledge Fund and will focus on the following:
Female entrepreneurs doing work in transportation and logistics; energy generation, storage, and utilization; manufacturing and materials; circular economy; and food and agriculture
Climate tech startup incubators and accelerators, such as Greentown Labs and Elemental Excelerator
How big is their Climate Pledge Fund?
Oh, just $2B.
And how many women-led companies have they backed in their first 20 investments?
Uh, zero, based on this summary.
So let’s hold off on the celebration for now.
But as they say:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
The second best time is right now.
Learn more about gender equity + climate tech in this excellent Greenbiz article.
#3 — 🎙️ Climate investing, from Gordon Gekko to the Dalai Lama
My guest in this recent podcast was Howard Fischer, the Chief Evangelist at Gratitude Railroad and CEO of Basso Capital Management.
Gratitude Railroad's mission is to support investors in moving capital from traditional finance to impact investments that create deep social and environmental impact, without compromising financial returns.
His bio on the Gratitude Railroad website is delightful in its brevity and insight into who he is. And I quote:
Uphill over downhill; Snow over sand; Read over watch; Trees over skyscrapers; Pizza over steak; Conversation over gossip; Disagree over agree; Instinct over spreadsheets; Relationship over contract.
In this episode, we talked about the following:
His 40 years in hedge funds
How his rebirth in 2013 while not religious was like a metaphorical move from Gordon Gekko to Dalai Lama
His financial reckoning during the 2008 financial crisis when his hedge fund went from $3B to $300M
The risks in wearing the golden handcuffs of fat paychecks from big-brand employers
How philanthropy is broken and government is not a great problem solver
Why we have to move more profit-driven capital to the climate sector
Examples of the climate investments they’ve made at Gratitude Railroad, including a focus on organic waste management
His theme of “Free the Money” and related investments in Climate First Bank and First Women’s Bank
Why we can’t ask people to eat their broccoli (sorry, you have to listen to understand what this means)
Some of his favorite books, such as The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World, Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche, and The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis
And lots more
Listen to the podcast here.
Hope you enjoy it!
And give Howard a shout-out on LinkedIn or Twitter by sharing this podcast with your people.
#4 — 🙌 Do you hate your peer’s success?
Let me ask the question differently…
Are you practicing schadenfreude?
Huh?
I hope not.
This German mouthful combines “schaden” (damage) and “freude” (joy). That is, “I get joy when I see others suffering (or damaged).”
But what about the opposite?
The Buddhists call it “mudita” — a Sanskrit and Pali word meaning “sympathetic joy” or “vicarious joy.”
For more on this delightful (and sometimes difficult) way of relating to our fellow human doings, check out this podcast from my shortlist, Ten Percent Happier — #292 The Opposite of Schadenfreude.
#5 — 😋 Your desires are stupid.
OK, maybe we’ll just say they're misguided.
Mine, too, sometimes.
Consider this quote:
You can have everything in life you want…if you will just help other people get what they want.
Motivational legend Zig Ziglar did it again — slapping us lovingly upside the head.
(Oh damn, was that a 2x4 pine stud he just used?)
It’s really about others, not me.
What they want and need. Not my desires.
Get what you want, but only after solving others’ problems.
And if you liked that quote, you might like this one from ole’ Ziggy, too:
People often say that motivation doesn’t last.
Well, neither does bathing — that’s why we recommend it daily.
Who can you bathe in extra motivation today?
(But keep it clean.)
That’s all, y’all.
Make it a great week, because it’s usually a choice.
⚠️ Oh yeah, I’m trying something new to get to know some of you wonderful newsletter readers…
If you want to hop on Zoom with me, please pick a time here.
Chris
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Chris Wedding
Founder @ Entrepreneurs for Impact
Climate CEO peer groups | Podcast
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P.S.
I’ve got two open seats in the invite-only peer groups I run for growth-stage CEOs and investors. Today’s 34 members represent over $10B in market cap or AUM. If you have interest in joining, drop me a line here.