Entrepreneurs for Impact

Today’s podcast is a rebroadcast of one of our most popular episodes ever. Jaqueline van Ende is the CEO of Carbon Equity. They also have some big news... They’ve raised another €60 million in 4 months for their third climate tech fund. The goal is to raise €125 million in all which will be invested through private equity and venture capital funds in the EU and the US and eventually into at least 150 climate tech companies. Since its founding in 2021, Carbon Equity has raised over €250 million from more than 900 investors. To date, the company has invested in 120+ companies through 18 funds, which together, despite being early-stage innovations, already generate more than €1.7 billion in revenue. 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Jacqueline - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlvdende?originalSubdomain=nl  Carbon Equity - https://www.carbonequity.com/ Their white paper - https://www.carbonequity.com/whitepapers/the-climate-tech-opportunity 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 85+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $30B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Montauk Climate is a venture studio that launches and grows startups in the mobility, adaptation, energy, decarbonization, and sustainability sectors. Evan is a serial founder, power trader, board member, and investor with 20 years in the energy sector, including roles as Head of Venture Investing at Riverstone, a $40B energy investment and infrastructure firm. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How a venture studio works How he incentivizes experienced corporate executives to help build and lead the startups they launch Why compute is the current of the future, and how AI could be using 10% of global power in the years to come Why adaptive insurance using IFTT parametric functions is needed in a future disrupted by climate change 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Montauk Climate - https://montaukclimate.com Evan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanc1 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

WeWard is an app that rewards users for walking more each day. To date, they have 20 million users walking an extra 24% than before having the app. They provide rewards from corporate partners for hitting certain walking goals, and they’ve generated eight figures in revenue while doing so. Yves has over 10 years of experience in creating and scaling innovative solutions for physical retail, as well as a background in machine learning, big data, web and mobile development, applied mathematics, and cognitive science, with degrees in entrepreneurship and Silicon Valley innovation from Ecole Polytechnique and UC Berkeley. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How he taught himself behavioral psychology to apply it to his ventures What he learned from Pokemon Go to build WeWard How they earn revenue from three sources and which is the biggest Why they’ve given $1M to charity as a startup themselves Plus, you'll feel extra cool listening to this one because of his French accent! 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: WeWard - https://www.wewardapp.com Yves - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvesbenchimol Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products (book) - https://shorturl.at/Worpf Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion - https://shorturl.at/zpjFx Lenny’s newsletter (product development) - https://www.lennysnewsletter.com Duolingo (app to learn new languages) - https://www.duolingo.com 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Liminal uses ultrasound and machine learning to create a new way to inspect battery manufacturing, elevate cell quality, and improve cost and safety. They’ve raised over $35M from investors such as our friends at ArcTern Ventures, EIF, and Northvolt, as well as the federal government, including ARPA-E and NSF. Andrew brings a PhD and post-doc work at Princeton University to the creation of this venture. He’s also an Active Fellow and Board member, as well as a skilled photographer. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How they sell to customers (it’s not what you think) How they generate revenue from three sources of value How a random Youtube video about bouncing batteries led to the creation of this technology How he reads the late-night scribbles on the notepad by his bed each morning 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Liminal - https://www.liminalinsights.com Andrew - https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-hsieh Acquired (podcast) - https://www.acquired.fm 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

SolarKal is a curated marketplace and trusted advisor that makes solar installations easy for commercial real estate owners. Their clients represent 100 million square feet of real estate, and their 200 vetted solar installers have generated $1.6 billion in project bids to date. And over 80% of positive ROI solar projects get built. Yaniv is a mechanical engineer, 2x founder, and MBA from Columbia with over a decade of experience in the solar industry. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How they get paid (it might not be what you think) How he bootstrapped the business for years until recently taking private equity investment  How they built their software and their roadmap going forward The origin of their name and how that relates to the reason that clients choose them 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: SolarKal - https://www.solarkal.com  Yaniv - https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanivkalish How I Built This (podcast) - https://www.npr.org/series/490248027/how-i-built-this 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Avnos provides a Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) solution that inverts the water paradigm in DAC, producing water (5 tons per ton of carbon captured), eliminating heat consumption, and reducing costs by 50% compared to other forms of DAC. Will is a serial founder, investor, and board member in climate tech. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How they accessed $100M in capital to grow this company How their technology does what seems impossible in the DAC sector How they accessed strategic investors and deployment partners on three continents Why walking his dog and disengaging the brain produces some of his best business ideas 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Avnos - https://www.avnos.com Will - https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-kain Recent $36M Series A capital raise - https://shorturl.at/d17tT  Acquired (podcast) - https://www.acquired.fm  Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Moneyball-Art-Winning-Unfair-Game/dp/0393324818   Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy - https://shorturl.at/muTC7 Third Derivative (climate tech accelerator) - https://www.third-derivative.org 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

My guest today is Astrid Atkinson, Co-founder and CEO of Camus Energy. Camus Energy is a VC-backed software company serving power utilities with analytics and forecasting, real-time monitoring, and advanced control for local resources to help decarbonize the grid. Astrid was a technical writer who worked her way up to become an executive in engineering at Google. She’s also a board member at the Gridwise Alliance and an Aussie who occasionally unveils her delightful accent. In her free time, she likes to find the connections between crocheting, dog training, and growing a world-changing company. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How she shortened the sales cycle of selling into power utilities What factors have helped her raise $26M in investor capital How the Myth of Sisyphys relates to her company name and the climate change fight What she learned from being a Google executive aat a time when the company experienced a one-million-fold load growth 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Camus Energy - https://www.camus.energy Astrid Atkinson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/astridatkinson Myth of Sisyphys - https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Sisyphus-Other-Essays/dp/0679733736 The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule (Paul Graham essay) - https://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html Man’s Search for Meaning (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

My guest today is Nigel Broomhall, Co-founder and CEO of Invisible Urban Charging. Invisible Urban Charging provides electric vehicles as a service, which means they design, install, own, and maintain chargers for investors, fleet managers, and corporates eager to electrify transportation while avoiding the capital expense and uncertainty associated with being a novice in the sector. They’ve signed partnerships with giants like CBRE to install over 1 million chargers. Nigel brings three decades of experience in power utilities, energy, and banking across multiple continents. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. Why he flew from New Zealand to the US for a 15-minute meeting and how it catapulted his company to faster growth Why he focuses on level 2 chargers, not fast chargers What he learned from pitching 283 investors How aiming for bigger goals is easier than more humble ambitions 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Invisible Urban Charging - https://www.iucharging.com Nigel Bloomhall - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelbroomhall Bridgewater Associates - https://www.bridgewater.com The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers - https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 Elon Musk (biography) - https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281 Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It - https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/B07VHQWQ93 Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And the Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time - https://shorturl.at/5CyxU Open: An Autobiography - https://shorturl.at/Tqhtp Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way - https://www.amazon.com/Losing-My-Virginity-Survived-Business/dp/0307720748 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike - https://shorturl.at/BifBH Superhuman (email tool) - https://superhuman.com Mushroom coffee - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mushroom-coffee 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

My guest today is Evgeny Klochikhin, Founder and CEO of Sheeva.ai. Sheeva.ai is a software and fintech company that enables payments within vehicles, making it easy to “charge and walk.” They are backed by strategic investors in the US, India, Germany, and Japan. Prior to Sheeva, Evgeny earned a PhD in innovation policy and technology and was a senior data scientist at the American Institutes for Research, a public relations specialist for the European Jewish Congress, and a journalist in Russia. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How a personal pain point was the origin of Sheeva’s creation Why they had to pivot and make big changes to their business model How they found motivated strategic investors in four countries Two traits that make founders unstoppable and how he found them 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Sheeva.ai - Sheeva.ai Evgeny - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evgeny-klochikhin-30aa714/ Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (book) - https://shorturl.at/BSWmz How to Eat the Rainbow: Tips for a Colorful Diet - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-the-rainbow 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews⁠ 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Aether is a molecular assembler platform that can extract lithium from previously inaccessible reserves. It uses robots and machine learning to search among trillions of enzymes for the right fit. Pavle is a first-time founder and almost college dropout (there’s a story to that!) who’s spent almost seven years building Aether and raising $49M along the way. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more. How he hopes to make the US the lithium capital of the world Which revenue models he’s pursuing with mining partners How he’ll use nondilutive funding to scale tech deployment Why “I don’t know” is a powerful phrase to build trust 🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS: Aether - https://www.aetherbio.com Pavle - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlejeremic Noahpinions (newsletter) - https://substack.com/@noahpinion The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World - https://shorturl.at/inj 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP: Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠ 📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER: Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. ⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ ✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW: To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: ⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews 🤔 PODCAST HOST: Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).