Climate CEOs (formerly Entrepreneurs for Impact): Scaling Climate Tech Startups

LiquiDonate matches unsold retail inventory with nonprofits, saving retailers millions, reducing waste, and optimizing donations with smart algorithms.LiquiDonate is a VC-backed software platform that matches and moves reclaimable items (such as online returns and unsold inventory) into the hands of nonprofits who need them, thereby saving retailers millions of dollars and keeping tons of waste out of landfills.Disney is a social impact innovator who started as employee number 15 at PostMates. She helped grow the company's customer service and Civic Labs divisions and won awards from TIME Magazine and FAST company. She’s also a feminist, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and an animal rights activist working to be a better-practicing ally for marginalized communities.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How online returns and excess inventory cost retailers $800B per year in lossesWhy you should create a Google Doc that tracks your hundreds of small and big wins in career and lifeWhat it’s like being a queer women CEO raising VC investment capitalHow they designed their product matching algorithm and logistics systems to optimize donations, tax credits, and low operating costs🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:LiquidDonate - https://liquidonate.com Disney - https://www.linkedin.com/in/disneypetit The Leading 100 (recognition for LiquiDonate) - https://the-lead.co/the-leading-100 Fast Company (recognition for LiquiDonate) - https://shorturl.at/9EOy7 Ezra Klein podcast - https://shorturl.at/hWJDa If Books Could Kill podcast - https://shorturl.at/3R5SO📈 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).

Ample delivers full EV charges in minutes with modular battery swapping—15% cheaper than gas, 5x cheaper than fast charging, and scalable citywide in weeks.Ample is a new energy delivery solution for electric vehicles. It uses Modular Battery Swapping to deliver 100% charge to any EV in a few minutes. They’re supported with $270M of investment from Shell, Moore Strategic Ventures, and strategic partners in Singapore and Thailand.John is a serial founder and executive in health, tech, and energy with multiple exits to Fortune 500 companies.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How to get to “yes” with customers by converting a harder capital expense to an easier operating expenseWhy their EV battery solution can be deployed in a whole city within a few weeks at far lower costs than EV fast chargersThe benefits of saying yes more than no to grow from uncomfortable experiencesWhich two books keep him grounded and mindful as a leader📈 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 SHOW LINKS:John de Souza - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndesouza1Ample - https://ample.com Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals - https://shorturl.at/negpnThe Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan - https://shorturl.at/nBK7W The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World - https://shorturl.at/EStK5 Beginner’s mind ("shoshin" in Japanese) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin 🤔 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).

From Jim Collins on resilience to JFK’s “do hard things” speech, this episode spotlights 100 carbon removal startups, 26 climate communities, and timeless wisdom for climate leaders.📈 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 SHOW LINKS:JFK’s 1962 speech on choosing to do hard things - https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/rice-university-1962091226 online climate startup communities to join - https://www.climatefinance.xyz/climate-slack-communitiesTop 100 CDR startups (from XPRIZE) - https://shorturl.at/5UaZuMooji (a Jamaican-born street artist, Christian mystic, and chai shop owner who became a teacher of the wisdom of India’s sages - https://mooji.org🤔 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).

Discover how the 2040 Fund is deploying all of its capital by 2040 to accelerate climate adaptation, resilience, and water innovation at scale.The 2040 Fund manages philanthropic capital for the 2040 Foundation and its founder, Jay Faison. Investments include private and publicly listed securities focused on climate adaptation and resilience. The 2040 Fund The Fund focuses on water systems and technology, the future of food, and energy transition. They plan to spend down all of its assets by the year 2040 maximizing impact in the near term.Mark is also a board member at PosiGen, investment committe member at Upwell Water, and former SVP at Bank of America.📈 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 SHOW LINKS:Mark - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbruinooge⁠ Upwell Water - ⁠https://www.water.llc⁠ Congruent Ventures - ⁠https://www.congruentvc.com⁠ First Street Foundation - ⁠https://firststreet.org⁠ Elemental Excelerator - ⁠https://elementalexcelerator.com⁠Trellis Climate - ⁠https://www.primecoalition.org/programs/trellis-climate⁠ Slow Productivity - ⁠https://calnewport.com/my-new-book-slow-productivity⁠ Sloww - ⁠https://www.sloww.co⁠The Billionaire Who Wasn't - ⁠https://shorturl.at/efhn7 Hydrow - ⁠https://hydrow.com🤔 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).

Yotta Energy is scaling solar-integrated batteries & microinverters for commercial buildings while CEO Omeed Badkoobeh shares wisdom from Tesla, entrepreneurship, & spiritual practice.Yotta Energy is a VC-backed distributed energy company based in Austin, Texas. They provide solar panel-level energy storage and microinverters for the commercial and industrial sectors. Yotta https://www.yottaenergy.comPrior to Yotta, Omeed worked in sales and business development for Tesla, Evoke Electric Motorcycles, and Build NATiVE. Other fun experiences include organizing Lego robotics competitions for budding STEM youth in China. https://www.linkedin.com/in/omeed-badkoobeh📈 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, ax-throwing champ, Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Discover how Earthshot Ventures backs early-stage founders tackling climate change with lessons from 200+ startup investments, $1.1B in follow-on funding, & why non-dilutive capital + DEI lead to stronger founder outcomes.Earthshot is an early-stage venture capital firm backing entrepreneurs making a dent in climate change. Their team has collectively invested in 200+ startups over the last fourteen years. https://www.earthshot.vcMike is an investor, entrepreneur, board member, and advisor to companies in clean energy, food & agriculture, buildings, and mobility sectors. He is formerly an Investor in Residence at Elemental Excelerator and Developer in Residence at Generate Capital. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-jackson-vc📈 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, ax-throwing champ, Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Discover how Sunstone Credit CEO Joshua Goldberg is financing C&I solar at scale with $1B in loan applications, 400+ solar partners, & fintech experience from founding multiple clean energy ventures.⭐ My guest today is Joshua Goldberg, cofounder and CEO of Sunstone Credit.Sunstone Credit provides flexible financing solutions for commercial solar loans with activity in 30 states and 400+ solar partners.Joshua is also a former cofounder and executive at Sunlight Financial, Astrum Solar, and Legends of Learning.--🌐 LINKS:Sunstone Credit - https://www.sunstonecredit.com/Joshua - https://www.sunstonecredit.com---🎙️ PODCAST TOPICS:Their $1B in loan applications. $21M in corporate capital raised. Why solar leases are stupid. How solar is sold at the kitchen table. Their activity in the $40k to $5M solar size range. The speed of their loan process averaging just 1-4 weeks.Please give Joshua and Sunstone Credit a shout-out on LinkedIn, Slack, or X by sharing this podcast with your people.---🙏 QUICK FAVOR:Please leave a review or rating on your podcast player. It means a lot, and I read every one.This helps more listeners discover the climate CEOs and investors I interview here. ---🌎 ABOUT ENTREPRENEURS FOR IMPACT:2-minute newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠  Climate CEO peer group community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Entrepreneurs for Impact is led by Dr. Chris Wedding — a 4x founder, 4x Board member, Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, ax-throwing champ, and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio). 😃

Tim Boeltken, Managing Director of INERATEC, discusses their $129M Series B funding to produce sustainable e-Fuel in aviation, shipping, and transport industries. Topics include their $14T market potential, BOO model, e-Fuel science, global expansion plans, team cohesion, and insights into German engineering.

SOSV’s Bill Liao shares lessons from managing $1B+ in climate & deep tech ventures, why he planted 100M trees before flying again, & his startup mantra: don’t die, don’t quit, don’t suck.⭐ My guest today is Bill Liao, General Partner at SOSV and Chairman at Ki Tua Fund.Bill is a rare kind of guy, in the best way. He’s a thoughtful and prolific investor, recognized as one of the Top 100 minority ethnic leaders in technology by the Financial Times, as well as the kind of person who refused to fly in an airplane until his nonprofit, WeForest, planted 100 million trees.SOSV is a venture capital firm that provides pre-seed, seed, venture, and growth stage funding to 1,000s of startups in the technology sector, with a focus on deep tech for human and planetary health.Ki Tua Fund is a growth-stage corporate VC firm focused on food and medicine.Hope you enjoy it!---🌐 LINKS:Bill:https://www.linkedin.com/in/billliao/?originalSubdomain=ieSOSV:https://sosv.com/Ki Tua Fund:https://www.kituafund.com/global/en.html---🎙️ PODCAST TOPICS:What the Founder Pledge is, and why he signed it. Insights from two startups he cofounded with billion-dollar IPOs. Why good advice is based on expensive experiences that didn’t go as planned. How doubt is a powerful driver for the scientific method. The power of humility. A coaching session for me on purpose. The business benefits of neural diversity. Why a one-person cap table is a red flag. Philosophy books that shaped his thinking. And lots more!Please give Bill, SOSV, and Ki Tua Fund a shout-out on LinkedIn, Slack, or Twitter by sharing this podcast with your people.---🙏 QUICK FAVOR:Please leave a review or rating on your podcast player. It means a lot, and I read every one.This helps more listeners discover the climate CEOs and investors I interview here. ---🌎 ABOUT ENTREPRENEURS FOR IMPACT:2-minute newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com  Climate CEO peer group community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Entrepreneurs for Impact is led by Dr. Chris Wedding — a 4x founder, 4x Board member, Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, ax-throwing champ, and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio). 😃

Discover how ZwitterCo is scaling the largest Series A in water tech with fouling-resistant membranes, industrial water efficiency, & solutions for the 75% of the world facing shortages.⭐ My guest today is Alex Rappaport, CEO and Cofounder of ZwitterCo.ZwitterCo is a VC-backed water tech company that uses zwitterionic chemistry (yes, that’s a real term) and extremely fouling-resistant membranes to reduce industrial water use, save energy, and reduce chemical inputs.Alex turned a startup bootcamp during his M.S. at Tufts University into an award-winning business and the largest Series A investment in water tech to date. Hope you enjoy it!Share this podcast with your people to give Duncan and Highland a shout-out on LinkedIn, Slack, or Twitter.---🌐 LINKS:ZwitterCo:https://zwitterco.com/ Alex:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-rappaport/ ---🎙️ PODCAST TOPICS:How ⅔ of the world is projected to be experiencing water shortages by 2025. Why water costs are rising faster than we think. His near-death experiences with water. How their filters don’t clog even in very dirty industrial environments. Tips on telling your company store more effectively. The link between water security and climate resilience. And lots more!---🙏 QUICK FAVOR:Please leave a review or rating on your podcast player. It means a lot, and I read every one.This helps more listeners discover the climate CEOs and investors I interview here. ---🌎 ABOUT ENTREPRENEURS FOR IMPACT:2-minute newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Climate CEO peer group community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Live online course about startup capital raising (coaching, peer feedback): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t.ly/V6xcB⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ DIY course about startup capital raising (170 slides, 70-item library, 250-investor list): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://t.ly/QCcl5⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Entrepreneurs for Impact is led by Dr. Chris Wedding — a 4x founder, 4x Board member, Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, ax-throwing champ, and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio). 😃