CleanTechies

**Check out the new takeaways section at the end of the episode!!**In this episode, Somil and Silas chat with Zecca Lehn, GP of Responsibly Ventures, backing U.S. PreSeed startups in both Social and Sustainable Tech. He uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guidepost for his investments.We breakdown the specifics of his investing thesis including what is “customer love” and what it means to be ethical in investing, Zecca is especially good at using data and data reporting – we heard a lot of really unique insights from him on how he uses data in his operations. We also dive into his experience as an impact investor, the good, the bad, and the ugly. ---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **1:45 Introduction and Background**10:23 Early Interest in Sustainability**13:43 Investing in Sustainability and Social Good**15:52 What is Customer Love?**17:13 Ethics and Honesty in Investing**25:26 Balancing Returns and Impact**27:21 Data and Reporting in Venture Investing**30:52 Subjectivity in Measurement and Reporting**31:57 Challenges of Collecting and Using Data**34:05 Privacy and AI Concerns in Impact Investing**37:09 The Power of Follow-on Investors**39:50 Maintaining Focus and Presence**42:08 Climate Anxiety and Perspective**45:16 The Role of Returns in Climate Investing**52:04 Addressing Desertification as an Impact**54:05 Takeaways----- Links: **Zécca Lehn | Responsibly Ventures**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Fast fashion is destroying the world. Imagine if we could make threads that are fully recyclable ... over and over... Well, that's what Oliver Shafaat is trying to do with Sci-Lume Labs. They use agricultural feedstock, and are using low-heat methods so they aim to be able to achieve cost parity. What they are working on is difficult, but would be world changing. Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **01:16 Intro**02:16 The Challenges of the Apparel Industry**04:34 The Inspiration Behind Bylon**11:45 Evaluating Polymers**13:59 Starting a Company**15:22 Funding the Company**18:45 The Process of Making Fibers**23:19 Sourcing Feedstocks**25:27 The Sustainability of Bylon**28:31 Recyclability and End-of-Life**30:21 IP and Business Model**32:04 Scaling Up and Challenges Ahead**34:58 Pilot Conversations**38:49 Interest from Clothing Manufacturers----- Links: **Oliver Shafaat | Sci-Lume Labs **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Topics include challenges in philanthropic investment in climate, importance of carbon removal, transitioning from journalism to philanthropy, efficiency and scalability of philanthropic capital, donor profiles and funding sources, genesis of Terraset and the 'anti-GHG' approach, and optimism and urgency for the future.

 If you LOVE technology that allows for decarbonization TODAY, then Somil & Silas' conversation today with Lori Dunn from Optimus Technologies will interest you. Discover how Optimus is revolutionizing the transport sector by producing bolt-on systems that allow truck drivers to utilize 100% biodiesel and reduce their overall emissions by up to 90%. Learn from Lori how they are navigating the challenges of funding, team alignment, and strategic planning for the future. Join us as we explore the journey from seed to series A, and the transition from small to big company energy.Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel -----Topics:**1:43 Small vs Big Energy Company**4:37 Decarbonizing Diesel Engines**7:00 Challenges to Decarb the Diesel Industry**9:39 Understanding Fleet Managers' Problems**11:37 Previous Attempts**14:33 The Long Game of Hardware Innovation**19:25 Joining Optimus**25:36 The Technology of Optimus**29:07 Communicating Value to Investors**33:16 Revenue Model and Cost Structure**37:42 Scaling Manufacturing and Funding**42:33 Metrics and Partnerships**44:30 Early Stage Manufacturing**46:34 Manufacturing In-house vs Outsourcing-----Links:**Lori Dunn | Optimus Technologies **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on XSupport the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Ben Eidelson, Co-founder of Stepchange, discusses product-led climate companies, 2 exits to big tech, starting a climate fund, and how his kids changed his life. Topics include product-led companies, PMs in climate, active listening, founder potential, vulnerability in relationships, and the impact of 'Climate Papa'.

Today we speak with Virginia Klausmeier, President & CEO of Sylvatex, a company aiming to commercialize technology that was originally developed by her father. The technology is a waterless method to produce Cathode Active Materials (the chemicals that go into the production of various types of batteries). We cover a lot of things. The primary topics being Onshoring Battery Production, Getting to Bankability, and How their Technology works. Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox 🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel ----- Topics: **1:23 Intro**7:11 Battery Mfg in the US**9:11 Onshoring Battery Mfg**9:42 The Opportunity**15:54 Motivation**17:12 The Story of Sylvatex**19:16 Starting a Company**21:03 Taking the Leap**24:13 Waterless Cathode Production**30:51 State of Sylvatex**42:11 Pilot Funding**42:41Milestones for Commercialization**45:05 Getting to Bankability**47:29 Debt Financing for Modular Manufacturing**48:25 Navigating the Unknown----- Links: **Virginia Klausmeier | Sylvatex **Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Founder and CEO of Pathways, Leise Sandeman, discusses digitizing supply chains for environmental impact analysis. Topics include decarbonizing construction materials, identifying climate-friendly materials, finding the right investors, and the challenges in the built environment sector. Insights on sustainability, material innovation, and the importance of transparency in climate-friendly solutions.

Silas speaks with Ryan Jeffery, Sr. Managing Director of the Sustainability Accelerators at Gener8tor, a collection of Accelerators that serve the rest of the country outside of SF, NYC, and Boston, where the majority of VC dollars go. (Take the CleanTechies Listeners Survey to help us better serve you)Ryan started as a founder. Later, he became a VC and eventually ended up in Gener8tor running the sustainability-focused accelerators because of his desire to be closer to the founders and more involved. He shared a lot of great data on where funding goes, his story, why investing in underserved founders is, beyond being the right thing to do, also leads to better returns. Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎-----🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  -----🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨-----📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel-----Topics:**4:00 Joining Gener8tor**7:40 Biz Model, Challenges, & Financing an Accelerator**8:56 Partnering w/ Corps**11:35 Focus on Underserved Areas**13:54 The Role of Non-Silicon Valley States in Climate Transition**22:00 Value Add of an Accelerator**34:13 Collab in Non-Tech Hub Areas**40:27 Gap for These Founders**42:03 Role of AI in Solving Climate Change**49:40 Milestones for Hard Tech Companies**57:46 Hiring & Building a Team**59:57 Raising Tips**1:06:44 Advice to Investors**1:08:19 Getting into VC-----Links:**Ryan Jeffery | Gener8tor**Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showEvery ClimateTech Entrepreneur needs a reliable partner for their legal needs. Why settle for less than the best? 💪🏽Reach out to Goodwin Law today; the law firm of choice for hundreds of ClimateTech Entrepreneurs worldwide. They have you covered from funding docs to offtake contracts to IPO and M&A support. GoodwinLaw.com (and tell them CleanTechies sent you!)

Robin Lane, CEO and founder of Transect, discusses improving site selection, permitting challenges, and the cost of solar. She shares her experiences with developers, growing as a founder, and the future of infrastructure projects. The podcast also covers building trust, becoming an entrepreneur in the climate industry, and the development of Transect's geospatial data product.

Peter Sun, founding team at Climactic, an early stage fund investing in ClimateTech, talks about the impact of AI in climate tech and the opportunities for software in decarbonization. They discuss the challenges of implementing transmission lines, the value of data in climate tech, and starting a climate VC fund. Peter also shares insights on evaluating companies for automation and efficiency.