Metasorbex? Corporation

https://lnkd.in/gPaKF9ik This is a high-profile bankruptcy – the most well-funded battery startup in Europe. It burned through $5.8B of debt. The lesson here is not the oversupply of #batteries or the drop in demand for #EVs. Those are external events and not controllable by the entity. The lesson is execution and unfettered expansion. Those are internal decisions. Northvolt tried to vertically integrate battery production – cathode material, cell production, battery module and pack assembly and battery recycling. Geographically, it expanded all over the place – Poland, Canada, Sweden and Germany. Doing one of the unit operations well (low cost and high quality) is tough. Doing them all is climbing Mount Everest without an oxygen mask. The tried and true still applies – staying focused and doing one thing well.

?? ???????????????????????? ?????????????????? ?? Start Up | Advanced Tech | Go to Market Edward Chan brings incredible expertise to the climate tech startup Metasorbex? Corporation that he founded and serves as its CEO.?He has decades of leadership experience with both technology startups & large companies and has a very impressive Chemical Engineering education with a BS from Caltech and a PhD from Princeton.? Metasorbex is an early-stage advanced materials company focusing on climate technology. They are solving the problem of the cost of carbon capture by 10x for hard-to-abate sectors.? Cleaner processing at reduced costs for manufacturers. He shares their journey through the challenges of early-stage funding and their vision for the future in a potentially massive market.? His keys to success: ????When you see a problem, don't ask what, ask why ????Hire people different than yourself ?? Check out the full discussion:??https://lnkd.in/gWf3VzPJ Follow?Metasorbex at: https://lnkd.in/g5EfJhzF #thebusinessspotlight #businessowners #climatetech #Cincinnati #entrepreneurship #aspireactioncoach #startup #businesscoaching #podcast?

https://lnkd.in/gGAvSXb7 The #COP29 conference is wrapping up tomorrow. This #COP is coined the climate finance conference. On the wish list is $1T/year to be transferred from developed countries to the Global South. The capital stack is low-cost loans and/or grants. For context, the global GDP is $110T. So, COP is asking for 1% of global GDP per year. One percent seems small, but it is still a lot of money even in the best of times. The details of this climate fund are fuzzy. Who exactly are the developed countries by nations? What are the rubrics to extract funds per nation? Is there a penalty if a nation falls short of its commitment? How do we allocate funds to the Global South? Who are those nations exactly? Is there an audit or assurance that the funds are used to fight climate? Who decides what those projects are? Is there a clawback if the funds are misallocated? At the end, will we achieve the 1.5 C goal or minimize the overshoot? A tough problem indeed.

https://lnkd.in/gYi_H-xf We all know raising venture capital is tough today. A major cause is the lack of exits which limits recycling of funds back to early-stage startups. This article provides a glimmer of hope. A public offering is the glitter and the crowning achievement, i.e. everyone gets paid. But there are other options, albeit not as Hollywood-like. Private equity firms are looking at high-quality late-stage startups. But the price to revenue multiples is suppressed. For non-AI firms, it went down to 6 – 12x from 12 – 15x. It is nonetheless a liquidity event for investors.

?? We’re honored to be named a Deep Tech Pioneer by @Hello Tomorrow! ?? Out of thousands of applications, our solution stood out to their experts, and we couldn’t be more excited. Join us at the 10th Hello Tomorrow Global Summit this March 2025—a powerhouse gathering for deep tech trailblazers, investors, and innovators pushing solutions from the lab to market. This is where connections turn into collaborations. Don’t miss it! ?? ??https://lnkd.in/gyWxpx2P

I was recently interviewed by #ToddRodden of #BusinessSpotlight. I don’t like to watch myself on videos. It is just bad form. But I couldn’t help but be drawn in by Todd’s questions. Those prompts set up a storyline that hold the attention of the audience. He made the interview into a science. My go-do: review it several times to codify a process for me to learn from so that I can communicate better.

https://lnkd.in/gswGy5yV #NicolaiTangen is a serious man. He runs #Norway’s trillion-dollar fund. His bank’s US investment is 47% of its portfolio; 29% is allocated to European countries. Two decades ago, it was the reverse. So, he knows something about America and the EU. His best insight is: “Americans have a lot of #AI and no regulation. In the EU, we have a lot of regulations and no AI.” It is hilarious but on point.

https://lnkd.in/g7MmKSxM For folks in the pre-seed or seed stage, this #WallStreetJournal article is relevant to your fundraising. It defines #angel investing as an individual with check size $25k - $50k. This type of solo angels is being squeezed out by #VCs moving upstream to earlier stage startups. However, the Journal did not report on angel groups that can write larger check sizes by an order of magnitude. One conclusion that I agree with is that we (founders) are looking for intros, follow on capital, and share passion for our business from early investors.

https://lnkd.in/gqMzMcU5 This is the right response to the blowback on cheap and dubious #carbonoffset credits. The impetus of offset was the 2015 #ParisAgreement to achieve #NetZero. Folks thought that by buying carbon “negative” credits from one part of the world to offset a company’s positive carbon emissions, they can claim carbon neutrality. If the price of carbon offset is cheap, e.g. $5/ton, and the cost of abatement is expensive, e.g. $100+/ton, this “accounting” option is attractive. But the climate community is calling BS. Good on them. Let’s spend the energy on solving the emissions problem.

Yesterday, we wrapped up the Founder Pitch Showcase, and from a programming perspective, it's never easy to rally so many people around a single goal. But the incredible dedication and unity within our community made it possible. I was deeply moved by the lengths our founders went to participate: - Sherry from Enthea flew all the way from Turkey just to pitch, then flew right back. (thank you for allowing us to delay your time in Chicago for a couple laughs and photos afterwards) - Another founder drove with her kids all the way from Minnesota. - One founder joined us fresh off a trip from Europe. After months of planning, we welcomed attendees from 11 different states, ranging from angel investors to managing directors. Moments like these remind me of the incredible support and unity within our community. One founder even had their stepmom join our virtual room to cheer them on—talk about family support. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to David, Mellini, and Arantxa for their invaluable contributions in preparing and supporting the founders. Also huge thank you to Titilayo, Alexandra, Grisel, and Tina for dropping some key gems during the fireside chat on supporting diverse founders. Titi shared a lot of glaring statistics on the state of diversity in the VC industry during the conversation and concluded with a statement: "Put your money where your mouth is." A powerful call to action that resonated deeply. Thank you to the many hands that touched this work, for the collaboration and unity that made it possible.