?? Entrepreneurs for Impact #138: Having trouble raising VC? Try these 8 alternatives

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Today’s topics.

1. ?? Meet 50+ players in the voluntary biodiversity market [graph]
2. ?? Having trouble raising VC? Try these 8 alternatives
3. ?? Learn business strategy with 10 cheat sheets (2M views on LinkedIn)
4. ?? Become a better storyteller: We remember stories, not facts

1.

?? Meet 50+ players in the voluntary biodiversity market [graph]

When I conducted field research in the rainforests of Central America 30 years ago, I did not imagine this…

A profitable way to invest and preserve biodiversity.

Luckily, that’s changing.

Consider these biodiversity finance headlines:

• Investing in nature is gaining traction. Will it be enough? (Penta)
• The birth of a biodiversity offset market (Environmental Finance)
• Over 300 firms commit to nature-based reporting framework (Pension & Investments)

Thanks to Simas Gradeckas, founder at Bloom Labs, for this cool market map below of 50+ players facilitating profitable investments in this sector.

2.

?? Discover 8 funding alternatives to venture capital

If you’re tired of hearing “no” or being ignored by VC investors (God bless you, my friends), consider these eight alternatives.

And thanks to climate tech ecosystem builder extraordinaire Daniel Kriozere for organizing this online resource — Climate Capital Stack to help y’all out.

This website covers:

• Who is eligible for each type of funding
• When to use each one
• Pros/cons
• What the process is like to get them

3.

?? Learn business strategy with 10 cheat sheets (2 million views on LinkedIn)

Thanks to Kevin Box for the 40+ hours he put into creating these highly visual distillations.

They cover negotiations, decision matrices, Blue Ocean Strategy, cognitive bias, and productivity.

Access the cheat sheets here.

4.

?? Become a better storyteller: We remember stories, not facts

I love data and spreadsheets.

Not like a little. I mean a LOT.

However, that tendency can limit entrepreneurial success — and relationship building.

Why?

• People are 22x more likely to remember stories vs. facts (according to Stanford University research)

Why is that true? (Thanks to John Millen for these.)

• Stories paint mental images — We think in pictures.
• Stories light up more of our brains — Perhaps a 5x increase.
• Stories release feel-good chemicals in our brains — Including dopamine, the “chemical of more.”

How do you become a better storyteller?

Learn from the leading expert, Nancy Duarte:

• Blog — 4 storytelling techniques to bring your data to life
• Blog — A beginner’s guide to public speaking
• Her online courses — Choose one here

That’s all, y’all.

Make it a great week because it’s usually a choice.

~ Chris

Dr. Chris Wedding

Founder @ Entrepreneurs for Impact

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P.S. Did you know that CEOs who are members of CEO peer groups tend to grow their businesses faster than their peers? Check out our community for climate tech CEOs at Entrepreneurs for Impact.

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(As these photos show, I’m an actual human writing this newsletter. Not AI. ??)