This is ZERO #1
The newsletter for climate startups and investors, productivity and personal growth aficionados, and world changers blazing a new path.
[Note: This is a repost from July 8, 2020. I’m in the process of moving my newsletter to Substack.]
As the world falls apart around us (slight exaggeration), I'm starting this new email to share some hope, or perhaps reminders that we can, and must, do better than this.
I'll cover 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.
Why the name ZERO?
I plan to 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.
Word of mouth.
If you like ZERO, please consider forwarding this to one friend today.
If you’re new, you can sign up for future ZERO emails here.
For background, we may know each other from one of these roles.
Entrepreneurs for Impact (Founder) — Climate CEO/CXO masterminds (executive coaching, investor intel, leadership development, confidential peer advisory)
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)
Free resources I put together.
Ebook — 15-minute read
Chris' Notes — 1-page of excerpts from best-selling business books worth reading
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World- Cal Newport
Rework- David Heinemeier Hansson & Jason Fried
Blue Ocean Strategy- Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne
Tribe of Mentors (part 1)- Tim Ferriss
Tribe of Mentors (part 2)- Tim Ferriss
The Climate Change Investment Brief — Investor profiles, new funds, and recent investments
June issue - Sign up here to get the June issue when it's finished
News I’m reading.
“How racism manifests in clean energy” (Greenbiz)
“Sustainable investing is set to surge in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic” (CNBC)
“Impact investing grows, along with need” (Pensions & Investments)
“This is climate tech” (Greenbiz)
“The 10 Commitments Companies Must Make to Advance Racial Justice” (Harvard Business Review)
Tools I’m learning about.
CRANE — Free tool that helps assess the emissions reduction potential of climate technologies. Built by Prime Coalition with support from NYSERDA, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, and three additional development partners – Greenometry, Rho AI and Clean Energy Trust.
Blinkist — App that has 3,500+ non-fiction books (business, leadership, psychology, mindfulness, etc.) summarized in [15] minutes via audio or text. Costs about $75 per year if bought via an affiliate like podcast host Tom Bileyu here (he’s also got awesome podcasts)
Quotes I’m pondering.
“What is the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?” — Gary Keller, The One Thing
“When CEOs are in their office, they believe they are smart. But when they leave the building, they actually get smarter." — Les Trachtman, Don't F**K It Up, How Founders and Their Successors Can Avoid the Cliches that Inhibit Growth
“You are the average of the 5 people spend the most time with.” — Jim Rohn, motivational speaker
“This shit [personal development] is not for sissies. If it was, everyone would be out there all in love with their fabulous lives.” — Jen Sincero, You Are a Badass
The Latin root for the word “decision” is “cis”, which means “cut” or “kill.” Essentialists make things better by subtracting, not adding on. — Greg McKeown, Essentialism
Invitations for you.
Apply to join our Climate CEO/CXO Mastermind — If you’re a CEO or CXO in the climate space (energy, agriculture, carbon, materials, forests, finance mobility), with $5M to $50M in revenue or capital raised, and an intense focus on personal/business growth, then maybe you’d be a fit for my new Mastermind. We provide executive coaching, investor intel, leadership development, and confidential peer advisory. The cohort is limited to about 15 executives. For now, there is still room. We plan to start in October. It is invite-only and aims for diverse leadership (gender, race, sector, geography). A phone interview can be scheduled here.
Refer a friend to our CEO/CXO to my Mastermind — If a referral joins, I’d love to make a donation in your name to a charity focused on the environment, poverty, or racial justice.
Get interviewed via THE TORCH — This is an interview series I’m putting together to recognize business leaders in climate change, and share their insights in order to provide some light in these dark times. Interviews will be shared with 25,000 investors, business professionals, etc. Apply to be interviewed here.
Panel on High Growth Startup Innovation for Climate Change — I’m putting together a 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 the 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?
After all, feedback is the breakfast of champions, even if it sometimes tastes rotten going down.
If you like ZERO, please consider forwarding this to one friend today.
If you’re new, you can sign up for future ZERO emails here.
Onward and upward.
Chris
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Dr. Chris Wedding
Entrepreneurs for Impact, Founder
Executive Masterminds for entrepreneurs and investors growing businesses to tackle climate change
Invite-only peer groups. Executive coaching. Investor data. Leadership development.
(919) 274-7988
P.S.
If you have kids and want to get them off tablets and into learning cool stuff, here's what's working — sometimes — for our three kids. (And then other times, we just throw in the towel.)
Mark Rober's YouTube channel
Entertaining science videos by former NASA scientist. 12 million subscribers. Examples include...