?? Entrepreneurs for Impact #170 (#ClimateTech): Guide for scaling climate tech

Welcome to the Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI) newsletter.

I write about climate tech startups, investment, and personal growth, with poor attempts at humor.

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Climate Startups + Investors

1.

New guide for scaling climate tech.

According to McKinsey, a successful transition to a low-carbon future requires…

• The creation of 1,000 climate tech unicorns and 300 decacorns (startups valued at $10B+) by 2030.

If this were 2021, investors would be salivating.

But now, their investment activity is more tempered.

Or perhaps “calcified,” in the words of climate tech founders.

So what?

Check out this new resource they produced:

• The Climate Brick — “a fundraising and scaling playbook for climate tech companies.”

They collaborated with investors and conducted 100 interviews to create actionable guides.

To continue the conversation, share your thoughts here on LinkedIn and tag me.

• What did they get right?
• What did they miss?

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2.

“Peak ESG” — Are we there?

Early in my career, we had terms like SRI (Socially Responsible Investing).

That term is now retired. Chillin’ on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean.

There was a similar thought last month in the Harvard Business Review.

• “It’s Time to Unbundle ESG”

It’s from my colleague Ronnie Chatterji at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and Harvard Professor Michael Toffel.

Google Trends suggests they might be right.

Why?

Strategies in “environment, social, and governance” are:

• Not always tied to the financial performance of every company
• Not always related to each other
• Highly politicized

So what?

We need new labels and a “scalpel, not sledgehammer” approach to linking ESG topics to a specific company’s financials.

Here’s Blackrock’s new thinking. Since they manage $11.5 trillion, they kind of matter.

I might also need to change the name of my Duke University course, “ESG Investing.” ??

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3.

Podcast: $45M for Fusion Energy Microreactors.

Brian Riordan , Co-founder of Avalanche Energy , was a recent guest on our Entrepreneurs for Impact podcast.

Avalanche is developing the world's first fusion microreactor, and it has $45M of investor backing from our friends at Congruent Ventures, Grantham, and Climate Capital.

Brian has one of the more entertaining bios in climate tech. Here are snippets.

• He’s an engineer hardwired to be “all-in”; he no dimmer switch and always chooses the red pill; wine-making, leather & wood workin’, campin’, bee keepin’, farmin’, salt-water lovin’ father to four awesome kids who think he’s an invulnerable jungle gym.

In this episode, you’ll learn these four things.

1. How they are reducing cost and regulatory hurdles often associated with conventional nuclear fission power
2. The scale-up risks they avoid by building small
3. The difference in transactional vs. authentic relationships
4. Why you must get destroyed in the gym for mental health

So what?

Listen to the episode and tell me what you are taking away from the interview.

Share your thoughts with a comment on my LinkedIn post.

Personal Growth => Business Growth

4.

10-minute survey to find your top strengths.

“The superheroes you have in your mind are nearly all walking flaws who've maximized 1 or 2 strengths." — Tim Ferriss (author and podcaster with over 1 billion downloads)

Their weaknesses are many.

But they’ve compensated by pouring fuel onto the fire of their top skills.

So what?

Discover your strengths and take?the free survey?from VIA Institute on Character.

You won’t be alone: 30+ million people have used it.

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5.

9,250 pull-ups in 24 hours.

BLUF: We don’t know how much we’re capable of.

I feel like a god when I do just 40+ pull-ups in a workout.

But I’m playing at level 1 of the game.

In contrast, Doug ‘Censor’ Martin plays at level 11 on a 10-point scale.

He’s a former esports competitor and Call of Duty world champion who set this Guinness World Record.

• 9,250 pull-ups in 24 hours!

And this was more than just a display of strength.

He also raised money for Project Purple, a charity for pancreatic cancer.

So what?

Where else in work and life are you playing at level 1 when you should be at level 11?

That’s all, y’all.

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

~ Chris

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P.S. Join me on LinkedIn. I post daily about climate tech startups, investment, and personal growth (with poor attempts at humor).

P.P.S. If you’d like to join our private climate CEO peer group or receive executive coaching, visit our website: EFI (Entrepreneurs for Impact)