Climate Tech Founders | June 2023

Imagine this...

?You just closed your latest round, this one led by strategic investors. You draft a press release, peppered heavily with quotes from all of them. It's a bit of a scramble, but you manage to get some mentions in the media, including an article in Axios and some local newspapers and trade publications.

?But you want more. Well, to be clear, you?need?more.?

?Your space is hot. It's an industry, an emerging technology, that everyone is talking about. Yet your name is not one of the handful of players mentioned in industry pieces. And your business development team needs it.

"Brand awareness" is not directly trackable to revenue, but it opens doors. To get those important meetings with potential customers, your team needs air cover.

Then, a few days after the funding announcement, you get a message from a team member with an opportunity...

It's a morning news show. Broadcast television. Filmed live at the studio in New York.

And unlike many broadcast opportunities, where you're a talking head brought on to comment on the overall sector, you will have leeway to talk specifically about your company and technology to 200,000 live viewers and millions across digital channels.?

This particular network is also where research shows is heavily?watched by your target audience: Decision-makers at large commercial and industrial companies.

You realize a very important truth:?

"This is an effective way to directly influence my customers."

In this case, the founder realizing this was Tony Pan , CEO and co-founder of Modern Hydrogen .??Watch him on the daily FOX Business morning show.

As you can see, Tony is poised, articulate and conveys his message clearly and succinctly.?

?So this is a (success) story about PR, yes.?

It's about assessing an opportunity, making difficult decisions, and stepping out of your comfort zone to do what's best for your company.?

?But it's also a story about mitigating risk.

?Because Tony actually wasn't ready for broadcast television. It had been years since he had formal media training. And the interview was in THREE DAYS.

Tony did the best possible thing in this scenario. He realized he was unprepared, and, having no in-house comms lead (yet), worked with our head of marketing and communications to:

• Get a deeper understanding of the audience
• Formulate 3 strong talking points
• Rehearsed his answers, recorded videos and sent for feedback
• Iterated on the message and made it stronger
• NAILED the "relatability" factor...

What do we mean by that??

Tony had his team overnight a jar of solid carbon (the byproduct of their pyrolysis tech) to his hotel in New York.?

?On the show, he held up his "prop" and told Maria Bartiromo that it is?the result of just 30 seconds of a home furnace burning.?The look on her face was priceless.

Later, she went ahead and said, "So, your company can suck the carbon out of natural gas."

YES, Maria!

Founders, take note.?This is what a successful PR campaign looks like.?

Opportunity assessment + risk mitigation + obsessive preparation, and then the execution of your simplified message to a targeted audience.?

So if you're ever in a situation where you're not sure about a particular PR opportunity, ask yourself these questions.?

• Where do my customers go for information?
• Whom do they already trust?
• What influences them, and how can I be a part of that group?

If the media property in question aligns with these questions, you have your answer. And then it's just a matter of putting the time in to prepare.

In the News

Modern Hydrogen raises $32.8M Series B-2, featured on Axios

Modern Hydrogen (fka Modern Electron) closed a $32.8M Series B-2 with strategic investors NextEra, National Grid Partners and Miura (Japan) to scale its pyrolysis technology for utilities and manufacturers.?Read story on Axios: Climate Deals

Cruz Foam profile story on CBS News Bay Area

The SOA (Sustainable Ocean Alliance) introduced what Cruz Foam is doing to the broader audience by inviting a CBS news correspondent to the manufacturing facility.?Watch broadcast news segment

Halo's remote-operated car sharing service covered by TechCrunch

The company is testing its remote-driver system with a small subset of vehicles in Vegas and hopes to expand that pilot to customers in June or July of this year, writes TechCrunch.?Read article

Monarch Tractor named to CNBC Disruptor list – for the second time

It's difficult enough to make the list of Top 50 Disruptors, but Monarch Tractor has managed to make the list not just once but twice. Two years in a row!?Watch CNBC video

Dendra explains its holistic approach to mine rehabilitation

Dendra Ecology Manager Guy Smith talks to Australian mining how an ongoing, multi-year approach to mine rehabilitation can enable positive social, environmental and economic outcomes which impact a company's bottom line.?Read article

Revterra featured in "5 on Funding"

Patrick Flam, CFO of Revterra ,?outlines?his top five priorities, including launching a pilot-scale manufacturing facility, obtaining regulatory and safety certifications, and IP protection measures.?

Portfolio Spotlight: Okra Solar

ICYMI:?We recently highlighted Okra Solar , a new addition to our portfolio in a newsletter. See our recent LinkedIn posts on the reasons why we decided to back this solar mesh-grid technology company.

The short of it

The long of it

Parting Thoughts

About At One Ventures: What We Look For

We back early-stage (Seed, Series A) companies that are using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint. We also look for companies that are pioneering new industries that are actively regenerative to planetary health. Lastly, we look for companies that have significant potential to be healthy, scalable businesses, because the positive impacts we invest in only last as long as the businesses that carry them.