Invested In Climate Non-dilutive climate investing with Enduring Planet, Ep #14
The thing that's most exciting for us working in climate is that we are witnessing one of the largest societal transformations that we'll probably ever see. And we're right at the start of it.
Over the next decade, we're going to see an explosion of growth and opportunity in this space. Last year, over $40 billion in venture capital went to over 900 climate tech companies. To put that in context, that's double what it was just the year before. And yet, this is just a fraction of climate entrepreneurship. In addition to these hundreds of venture backed startups, there's hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of small businesses, turning their sights to climate impact. Most are not a fit for or interested in venture capital, but they still have financing needs.
This is the market that Dimitry Gershenson and Erin Davis are serving with their startup, Enduring Planet. They offer non-dilutive funding on founder-friendly terms. While there's a ton of coverage of the venture capital market, Dimitry and Erin bring unique perspectives to the incredibly diverse and expansive field of climate entrepreneurship. Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of Enduring Planet and recently made a small investment in their seed round. I think you'll see why I'm so excited by their potential. Here we go.
In Today’s Episode, we cover:
- [4:30] What is Enduring Planet and what problem is it aiming to solve
- [6:02] The type of companies that Enduring Planet is looking to invest in
- [8:05] What it means to be founder-friendly and the experience founders can expect
- [10:36] What is non-dilutive funding and why might it be the best option
- [11:08] The market size and exciting areas for non-dilutive climate investments
- [15:06] How many companies Enduring Planet is looking at and the current reach
- [19:24] Serving underrepresented founders through corporate DNA
- [24:12] The breadth of companies emerging and the generational shift
- [27:37] Fixed income intermediaries as a missing piece of the climate innovation puzzle
- [31:18] What is revenue-based financing, how it works, and why it’s the first product
- [35:26] What revenue-based financing means for business and viability
- [39:04] Using technology to improve the process of evaluating investment opportunities
- [41:09] Enduring Planet’s growth goals for the next 3-5 years
- [44:30] Advice for individual investors interested in climate
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Dimitry Gershenson and Erin Davis
Connect With Jason Rissman
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