Trailblazing Gigacorns with Extantia (feat. Sebastian Heitmann)

Sep 19, 2023

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In today's show, I'm receiving Sebastian Heitmann, co-founder and General Partner of Extantia, a European Climate Tech fund based out of Berlin.

We cover:

- The Path to Extantia: Strategies and Hindsight in Structuring Climate Funds

- Gigacorn Hunter: Identifying the Next Big Climate Startup

- Impact Measurement Debate: Essential Process or Early-Stage Overkill?

- Deep Diving in New Sectors: Effective Due Diligence Tips

- Announcements for the Super Climate conference to continue boosting Climate Ecosystem

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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:

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ABOUT THE GUEST:

Sebastian Heitmann is a General Partner at Extantia Capital, a €200 million platform dedicated to investing in innovative technology solutions for climate crisis mitigation and adaptation. This platform encompasses Extantia Flagship, which supports scalable deep decarbonization ventures, Extantia Allstars, collaborating with mission-driven climate tech venture capital fund managers, and Extantia Ignite, a sustainability hub advancing expertise in climate innovation and ESG practices.

With a diverse background spanning various industries, including sports, community building, and software, Sebastian is an accomplished entrepreneur. He holds an educational background from the Harvard Business School and currently resides in Berlin, Germany.

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SHOW NOTES:

00:09 – Intro

00:52 – Introduction of the guest

06:01 – The bridge between the Kite World and Climate

09:31 – Is the early investment strategy the right strategy?

11:34 – Fundraising and the Limits to the Institutional Capital

15:53 - Navigating Risk and Opportunity: A Closer Look at Project Evaluation

17:27 - The delicate balance between visionary thinking and cautious decision-making when investing.

20:42 – Is taking the institutional route the right choice for fund managers?

22:20 – How to effectively identify a Gigacorn?

25:45 – Does climate saving mean not investing in new buildings?

28:26 - Balancing Environmental Responsibility with Tech Innovation

29:21 – How to know if the funders are telling the truth?

32:08 - Is there any core or fundamental belief that has changed recently?

35:11 - The art of selling science

36:01 – Super climate – where it’s headed?

39:58 – What is happening with the Berlin chapter?

42:00 – Is there still room for more emerging fund managers, more funds, or is the game set at least for a while?

43:40 - The intersection of finance, climate action, and the race against time – the need for urgent actions

45:42 – Outro

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ABOUT THE HOST:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/

Yoann Berno is committed to the democratization of climate tech investing, with a goal to contribute significantly to the fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering individuals striving to make a difference in addressing climate change, he is renowned as the podcast host of Climate Insiders. In this role, he dedicates himself to showcasing the perspectives of trailblazers in environmental sustainability.

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Mentioned in the podcast:

Extantia https://extantia.com/

Sebastian Heitmann https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-heitmann-3259ab45/

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