This is ZERO #2
Climate Change Investment Brief, Climate CEO interviews, podcast and book recommendation, getting punched in the mouth
[Note: This is a repost from August 4, 2020. I’m in the process of moving my newsletter to Substack.]
Good morning!
As in future issues of ZERO, I’ll cover some of the following topics…
Climate solutions — energy, carbon, materials, forests, agriculture, mobility, infrastructure
Entrepreneurship — strategy, productivity, leadership, self-improvement
Investment — venture capital, project finance, private equity, ESG, impact
In a 5-minute skim, my goal is to give you at least 1 useful nugget to help you keep fighting the good fight.
And if you’re wondering what in the heck this is, I included some background below my signature.
First, some shout outs.
But before we get started, I want to highlight some climate leaders doing great work.
Jason Jacobs, serial entrepreneur and creator of My Climate Journey — A podcast, Slack community, and weekly email with fantastic intel and network re: climate solutions
Cody Friesen, CEO of Zero Mass Water (creates water directly from air) — Recently raised $50 million
Jan Wurzbacher, CEO of Climeworks (direct air capture of carbon dioxide) — Recently raised $75 million
Prime Impact Fund — Recently raised a $50 million fund to support seed stage companies addressing climate change
Unilever — Recently announced a 1 billion Euro fund, Climate & Nature Fund, to “be used by Unilever’s brands over the next ten years to take meaningful and decisive action”
Amazon — Recently announced the $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund to “support the development of sustainable and decarbonizing technologies and services”
Sharing and signing.
If you like ZERO, please consider sharing this to 1-2 friends today.
If you’re new, you can sign up for future ZERO emails here.
Free resources I am creating.
THE TORCH — An interview series with climate CEOs (meant to provide inspiration in some dark times)
CHRIS’ NOTES — 1-page of excerpts from best-selling business books worth reading
"You are a Badass” by Jen Sincero
“The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson
“The ONE Thing” by Gary Keller
“Essentialism” by Greg McKeown
The Climate Change Investment Brief — A monthly report we put together that includes investor profiles, new funds, and recent investments (seed, VC, project finance).
Article — Has COVID-19 Killed Renewable Energy? Consider These Six Data Points
Ebook — 15-minute read
What I’m reading, watching, or listening to.
PODCAST - Kevin Hart via Tim Ferriss — Whatever you think you know about him, forget it. He’s much more than a comedian. Serious dedication. Candor and vulnerability. Mindsets to emulate. This is going on the list for my kids’ homework. They’ll especially love the occasional foul (harmless) language. :)
NETFLIX - Down to Earth with Zac Effron — If you thought this former pretty boy and Baywatch star was just about no-carb diets and smiling pretty, think again. He teams up with wellness expert Darin Olien to travel the world exploring Blue Zones, environmental sustainability, and the good life...with a healthy dose of goofing off. We’re also making our kids watch this one.
BOOK - Entrepreneurial You — By fellow Duke colleague, Dorie Clark — If you’re looking for a way to diversify your revenue streams based on knowledge-based businesses, then this is your book. The first tip: Clone yourself so you can do it all. JK. “You can have anything you want, but not everything you want.” - Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates (financier, philanthropist, author)
BOOK - The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do — This is a refreshing read on how to prioritize, think for yourself, and stop “should-ing” all over yourself. Oh yeah, and if this title sounds familiar, you’re right. It’s a play on the Marie Kondo book about decluttering your home and life (also a great read): The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Slightly different approaches by the authors...
Quotes I’m pondering.
"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." — Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion and ear biter — COVID might just be that punch. On what basis are you developing your new plan?
“Sitting in meditation is like pouring apple juice with lots of pulp. After a while, the tiny pieces of apple fall to the bottom, and the juice becomes clear.” — A version of teachings from Buddhist legend, Thich Nhat Hanh — Do you have habits that allow you to make clear decisions, or are you sometimes victim to acting with a clouded mind?
“When deciding whether to do something, if you feel anything less than ‘Wow! That would be amazing! Absolutely! Hell yeah!’ — then say ‘no. When you say ‘no’ to most things, you leave room in your life to really throw yourself completely into that rare thing that makes you say ‘HELL YEAH!'" — Derek Sivers: author, entrepreneur — What would your answers be re: the various things you’ve committed to? If it’s not “hell ya,” then how might you delegate or delete those commitments from your day?
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." — John Lennon — Despite being a student of Buddhism and meditating for 25 years, but also being a Type A human “do-er” (vs. being), I still often “live” outside of reality, in the future. Urg.
CEO suggestions?
I’m launching an invite-only Climate CEO/CXO Mastermind for just 20 business leaders in energy, agriculture, carbon, materials, forests, finance mobility, with $5M to $50M in revenue or capital raised, and a dedication to personal/business growth. If that describes you, schedule a call or apply to join here.
Want to be interviewed?
I’m putting together a series called THE TORCH to recognize business leaders in climate change. The goal is to share their insights and provide some light in these dark times. Interviews will be shared with 25,000 investors, business professionals, etc. Apply to be interviewed here.
Join a CEO panel on climate change innovation?
I’m putting together a Fall webcast for the 24,000-member Impact Entrepreneurs LinkedIn group. I’m looking to create a diverse panel of CEOs (i.e., gender, race, sector, geography). If interested, email me with this subject line: “IMPACT PANEL.”
Wrapping up.
If you have feedback on how ZERO can be more useful to you, please email me. What do you want to see more of? Less of?
If you like ZERO, please consider forwarding this to 1-2 friends today.
If you’re new, you can sign up for future ZERO emails here.
Onward and upward.
Chris
P.S. If you’re curious about where the name ZERO comes from, check it out here.
--
Dr. Chris Wedding
Entrepreneurs for Impact, Founder
Executive Masterminds for entrepreneurs and investors tackling climate change
Invite-only peer groups. Executive coaching. Investor data. Leadership development.
(919) 274-7988
P.S.
As a reminder, here’s the [crazy and hopeful] reason why I chose the name ZERO.
In these bulleted emails, I write about, and hopefully inspire, the following:
ZERO greenhouse gas emissions
ZERO species extinction
ZERO pollution
ZERO sacrifice in long-term financial returns from doing the right thing
ZERO distractions from what’s most important
ZERO inefficiency
ZERO racial and gender inequity
ZERO apathy and inaction
Are these goals realistic? Probably not.
Are they worth striving for? Yep.
-----------------
P.S.S.
In case we haven’t connected in a while, here’s some background: We may know each other from one of the following roles.
Entrepreneurs for Impact (Founder) — Climate CEO/CXO masterminds (leadership development, confidential peer advisory, executive coaching)
IronOak Energy Capital (Managing Director) — Investment banking for climate tech, energy, environment
Cherokee Investment Partners (former Senior Adviser) — $2B private equity and venture firm, with a strong environmental thesis
Two Bullet Tuesday Newsletter (Author) — Now defunct. I’m switching to ZERO instead.
Duke University (Executive in Residence)
UNC Chapel Hill (Professor of the Practice)