Category Visionaries Steff Gerhart, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of ecoLocked: $6 Million Raised to Transform Buildings into Carbon Sinks
Dec 12, 2024
15:18
ecoLocked, backed by over $6 million in funding, is pioneering a revolutionary approach to carbon removal by developing CO2 negative concrete admixes. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, co-founder and co-CEO Steff Gerhart shared insights into how the company is leveraging biochar technology to transform the construction industry's environmental impact while scaling carbon removal solutions.
Topics Discussed:
- The critical need for scaling carbon removal technologies beyond emission reduction
- Biochar's dominance in the carbon removal market and its scaling challenges
- Construction industry's massive environmental impact (15% of global emissions)
- Product development and market validation in the conservative construction sector
- Geographic expansion strategy across European markets
- Building trust and credibility in the risk-averse concrete industry
GTM Lessons For B2B Founders:
- Target Early Adopters Strategically: Steff revealed their approach to finding first customers by focusing on concrete producers who already marketed sustainable products and had previous startup partnerships. She explained, "We look for customers who are already marketing their material as environmentally less harmful, sustainable...and we checked that they had either partnered with startups before or they have done some innovative approach within their own operations."
- Time Your Market Entry Carefully: The team deliberately delayed broad marketing efforts until their product was market-ready. Steff shared, "It was always a big question for us, when should we really go out and become very vocal about what we are doing? Because we knew it would take some time and there's the risk then that you go out...but you're not ready. And until you get ready, you are kind of yesterday's news."
- Balance Technical Transparency with Vision: In a risk-averse industry, ecoLocked found success by carefully balancing technical transparency with maintaining excitement about their solution. Steff noted, "We kind of need to balance these conversations by obviously being open in what our product can and cannot do...without scaring them away or not getting them excited."
- Invest in Education Before Sales: For innovative products in traditional industries, education is crucial. ecoLocked invested in creating infographics, videos, and thought leadership content to help potential customers understand carbon removal and sustainability concepts. As Steff explained, "A lot of people are not very knowledgeable about sustainability, about carbon removal...This is a whole new topic that they have never been in touch with before."
- Consider Funding Strategy Carefully: Deep tech startups face unique fundraising challenges compared to digital products. Steff advised, "If you rise in deep tech, in climate tech...you need hardware. In our case, we needed a laboratory. This is a whole different story in terms of how quickly the hockey stick goes up and how much money you need early on."
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