Fabian Heilemann, founding partner at AENU, is a former entrepreneur turned VC heavyweight focused on climate tech. He discusses his shift from generalist VC to dedicated impact investing, emphasizing the need for accountability in impact metrics. Fabian addresses the challenges of raising an evergreen fund in a bear market and why mission-aligned founders demand more than just capital. He highlights the urgency of tackling global issues like climate change and biodiversity collapse, advocating for a holistic approach to investing that aligns economic interests with environmental sustainability.
46:32
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Impact VC Narrow But Effective
Impact investing narrows the investable universe but can still achieve attractive returns.
Integration of an in-house impact team enhances value beyond financial capital.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Founder Shift Driven by Parenthood
Serial entrepreneurs with children often shift their focus toward climate impact and legacy building.
One CEO vowed to overcompensate for environmental damage caused by his prior business success.
insights INSIGHT
VC Model Challenges Deep Tech
Venture capital’s 10-year fund cycle clashes with impact tech’s long timeline and illiquidity.
Structural innovation, like evergreen funds, faces institutional resistance despite benefits.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Welcome to the Impact Highlight series, powered by EUVC, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.
This week, August Solliv is joined by Fabian Heilemann, founding partner at AENU, a climate-focused Article 9 fund reshaping what institutional-grade impact investing looks like in Europe.
A former serial entrepreneur turned VC heavyweight, Fabian spent nearly a decade at Earlybird before launching AENU alongside his brother. Today, he leads a €170M early-stage climate tech fund with one clear mission: backing ventures that can decarbonize at gigaton scale.
In this episode, we dive into Fabian’s journey from angel investor missteps to system-level innovation, and what it takes to truly build an impact-native VC platform—beyond surface-level ESG.
We talk about why the old fund structures don’t cut it for deep tech and climate moonshots, what real accountability looks like for impact metrics, and why mission-aligned founders are starting to demand more than just capital.
🎯 This Episode’s Themes
Why Fabian walked away from generalist VC to go all-in on climate
The hard truths of raising an evergreen fund in a bear market
What it takes to measure impact—beyond the marketing slide
How AENU’s founders “walk the talk” in company operations
Why biodiversity collapse may hit harder than climate
Here’s what’s covered:
00:00 | Meet Fabian: From founder to Earlybird GP to climate VC
03:30 | When the science became too loud to ignore
06:00 | Early mistakes in angel investing—and how it shaped AENU
08:45 | Building AENU: Clean slate, pure play, Article 9
12:00 | Impact metrics that matter: CO₂e saved or removed
15:30 | Walking the talk: Travel policy, green ops & founder integrity
18:45 | Challenging the 10-year VC fund model
22:30 | Why climate tech exits need more patient capital
26:00 | The failed evergreen experiment—and what it taught them
30:00 | Climate vs. biodiversity: The next systemic wave
EUVC 