Josh Thompson

Last week, I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on navigating FOAK in climate tech at the Greentown Labs Summit in Boston (which had >600 people!!). Here’s a quick rundown of what was shared by Katherine St. James of Spring Lane Capital, Paris Smalls, PhD of Eden GeoPower, and Hannah Friedman of Planeteer Capital: 🌱 What is the definition of FOAK? We discussed how the term can be controversial - it's almost too general because it doesn't identify what kind of "First" FOAK refers to - first team project? First geography? First of a technology in a sector? First time for the integration of a system? It's also too specific because it has the word "first" in it, which can be anathema to later stage / project finance investors. 💰 Partnerships for Funding FOAK Projects We discussed how important it is to build a blended capital stack & use off-balance sheet capital for a project so you're not using the most expensive equity dollars to fund an infrastructure project with low-ish IRR. We also talked through being creative about using corporate partners to provide in-kind services or ink some agreement (at least an LOI) to attract this funding. 🏛 Role of Government We talked about how government capital is seen by investors & how it can be catalytic for FOAK. Government capital can provide validation that a startup has passed a rigorous diligence process by a third party - and incentives like grants or credits can help improve returns for the first project- but it's important to be doing this in conjunction with getting customer validation and to be able to present line of sight to competitive economics without concessionary capital. 👥 Advice for FOAK startups The panelists offered some very specific pieces of advice for startups going through FOAK: how to get creative with things like revenue sharing agreements or convertible notes, getting smart with project development early on (like with DeveloperU), being careful about using FOAK too liberally with certain investor groups, getting the right commercialization / FOAK talent in and around you early Huge thanks to the panelists and the team at Greentown Labs (Jill Kirkpatrick, Julia Travaglini, Aisling Carlson, etc you rocked it!!) for hosting this discussion on bridging the FOAK gap. Also immensely enjoyed the rest of the agenda. Check out the full recap & videos here: https://lnkd.in/d9ApYe9Y #ClimateTech #FOAK #ClimateFinance #ProjectDevelopment #GreenTech #CleanEnergy

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Calling all early-stage climate tech founders in the US, we'd love to hear from you!! Just a couple of weeks left to apply to NETI's Climate Tech Bootcamp Cohort 3.0, a pre-accelerator program powered by Climate Tech Bootcamp OHUB and Greater New Orleans, Inc. – GNO, Inc., part of H2TheFuture, a Build Back Better Regional Challenge of The Economic Development Administration. This bootcamp is a 10-week pre-accelerator program for climate tech and new energy entrepreneurs in the United States that have an interest in building in or expanding to South Louisiana. ‍ Five (5) founders from the program will pitch for a $100,000 (US) investment on the terms of their current round. Application is in the comments and here's a quick overview as well: - 📆 When: September 3 - October 31, 2024 - ⏰ Deadline to Apply: August 27, 2024 - 💻 Location: Virtual - 🆓 Cost: Free. The $5,000 per person fee is waived thanks to GNO, Inc. and The Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge. - 💰 Funding: Up to $100,000 US (equity investment) in current round to the top startup selected at the end of the cohort. - 🈺 Cohort Size: 25-30 entrepreneurs - 🌍 Cohort Geography: United States - 📈 Stage: We welcome applicants from multiple stages, though having a minimum viable product is ideal.

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Prime Coalition has long taken a different tack to climate finance compared to its for-profit brethren. It makes the usual venture-style investments in startups through Azolla Ventures and also helps philanthropists direct their money to climate-related projects that it deems high impact. Trellis Climate follows the latter model with a focus on middle stages, where capital has grown scarce. #climatetech #climateVC #climatefinance

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Summary: The article discusses the challenges faced by climate tech startups as they transition from the lab to commercial outfit. These companies, which work on hardware and infrastructure projects for climate solutions, struggle to raise necessary funds and often face difficulties in scaling up production. Key takeaways: The transition from early-stage startup to commercial operation is difficult, especially for hardware and infrastructure projects in the climate tech industry. The lack of financing options and specialized expertise for these types of projects creates a "commercial valley of death" that many companies struggle to overcome. Startups often fall into the trap of trying to expand their business too quickly, losing sight of their core value proposition and failing to ensure proper execution. Counter arguments: Some may argue that this "first of a kind" problem is not unique to the climate tech industry and can be seen in other industries as well. Others may argue that with the increasing focus on climate change and need for sustainable solutions, more funding and support will become available for these startups. #venturecapital #vc #startups

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Check out my recent post on why President Trump is the forcing function for us to solve the “Missing Middle” and catch the industrial Tsunami of onshoring coming to the US!

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POV: Critical role of community and education in the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

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Today marks a groundbreaking moment for BLCK VC and our fellow collaborators—Diversity VC, All Raise, 2Gether-International, SomosVC, StartOut, and VetsinTech—as we proudly announce the launch of the Diversity Data Alliance. This important alliance underscores our unwavering commitment to nurturing a venture capital and entrepreneurial ecosystem abundant in equity and inclusiveness. By standardizing and linking our data, we empower ourselves with the essential tools to track deeper trends that have, until now, eluded us to identify and fill funding gaps for historically excluded investors, founders, and operators. We can’t change what we do not measure, and now with the Diversity Data Alliance, we're now equipped to do both. Join us in this mission. Learn more and get involved: https://lnkd.in/eEZKdrac #DiversityDataAlliance #BLCKVC #VentureCapital #MeasureToChange

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NY friends! Please come see me at Tech Day on my panel discussing the future of the NY tech ecosystem and what I hope to bring to it!

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New year, new cohort!!! Please help us spread the word. We're looking for top-notch early-stage climate tech startups in the U.S. for NETI's Climate Tech Bootcamp Cohort 4.0, a pre-accelerator program powered by Climate Tech Bootcamp (a Riffle Ventures program), OHUB and Greater New Orleans, Inc. – GNO, Inc., part of H2TheFuture, a Build Back Better Regional Challenge of The Economic Development Administration. This bootcamp is a 10-week program for climate tech and new energy entrepreneurs in the United States that have an interest in building in or expanding to South Louisiana. ‍ Five (5) founders from the program will pitch for a $100,000 (US) investment on the terms of their current round. Application is in the comments and here's a quick overview as well: - 📆 When: April 2 - May 30, 2025 - ⏰ Deadline to Apply: March 24, 2025 - 💻 Location: Virtual - 🆓 Cost: Free. The $5,000 per person fee is waived thanks to GNO, Inc. and The Economic Development Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge. - 💰 Funding: Up to $100,000 US (equity investment) in current round to the top startup selected at the end of the cohort. - 🈺 Cohort Size: 25-30 entrepreneurs - 🌍 Cohort Geography: United States - 📈 Stage: We welcome applicants from multiple stages, though having a minimum viable product is ideal.

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HUGE thanks to everyone who came to Riffle Ventures and LabStart's #climateweekNYC event yesterday on how to close the "Zero to One" gap in #climatetech. We often say "Now all we have to do is deploy" or "We have all the solutions we need now we just need to scale them". But keep in mind that to roughly 40% of the technologies needed to hit 2050 net-zero goals are still not in the market, and these numbers don't reflect what's needed to enable climate adaptation and resilience either. Perhaps most importantly, of the solutions that are in the market, are they reaching those in most need, and are they being built and distributed equitably? Point being, the Zero to One phase matters. More early-stage entrepreneurship and co-creation is needed than we often think, and we can't solely focus on scale and deployment if we haven't even built much of what we need still. The unique mix of funding, technical inputs and infrastructure, talent, as well as longer timelines for testing and piloting make a lot of our highest impact climate solutions quite distinct from other technology verticals. On top of this, we face humungous equity and inclusion gaps throughout the tech and startup community writ large. Getting the Zero to One phase right gives us a chance to expedite the pathways into the market for climate technologies while also making sure these solutions are created and distributed equitably. We were extremely fortunate to be joined by leaders in this field - Halcyon, Autodesk Foundation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, ClimateWorks Foundation, CATAL1.5°T LATAM, Stepchange, Salesforce, King Philanthropies, Enduring Planet, Fractal Climate and many others! Feeling very, very grateful to have such wonderful colleagues like Suma Reddy Ashdeep S. Cyntia Abarca Nigel Keen and Alhan Fakhr alongside amazing partners and leaders like Deepa Lounsbury Megan Holcomb Troy Daley John Meissner Felipe Gonzalez Rosas Cristian Dávila Rafael Lorenzo Piñón Andrew Don Mitch Gainer Saleem Chapman Fred Tan Daniel J. Barker Emmanuelle Palikuca Shereen D'Souza Anay Shah Sara Bender, Ph.D. Adria Wilson, Ph.D. Shaina Horowitz Esther Nai Midori Takasaki Dimitry Gershenson Jennifer Wagner John Alexander, CEPA®, CSRIC® and many more (apologies for the Linkedin mention limitation)!

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🗽🌳 Exciting News for NYC Tech Community! 🚀 Join us for an invigorating Venture Walk & Talk, proudly part of NY Tech Week! Scheduled for June 4th from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the scenic Maine Monument in Central Park, this unique event is hosted by Founders Committee Ventures. 🌟 Why Join Us? Imagine a relaxed stroll through the beautiful pathways of Central Park, where you can disconnect from the digital world and engage with NYC’s finest founders, angel investors, and venture capitalists. This is more than just a walk; it’s an opportunity to forge meaningful connections, share innovative ideas, and enjoy the great outdoors—all within the heart of Manhattan. ✨ Event Highlights: - Network with industry leaders and peers - Brainstorm new ideas in a refreshing setting - Enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of Central Park Whether you’re looking to collaborate on new projects, explore potential investments, or simply enjoy a break from the office routine, the Venture Walk & Talk is the perfect occasion. 👉 Registration is open but spots are limited and approval is required. Don’t miss out on this chance to be part of something special during #TechWeek. Lace up your walking shoes, grab a coffee, and let’s make strides together in the tech ecosystem! 🔗 https://lu.ma/wj9o67iy See you there for a breath of fresh innovation! #NYTechWeek #TechNetworking #StartupLife #VentureCapital

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✨ Breaking: BFM Fund Announces New Fund.- BFM Fund A seed-stage fund focusing on founders who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color, promoting diversity in venture capital. https://www.bfm.fund Please share to let other #Founders know For the ❤️ of Startups #Fusion42 #Startups#Venturecapital

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Excellent blog post on the realities of Climate & VC. While these are "tough times for the transition," there are also many opportunities. Significant capital will continue to flow, with Corporate VCs playing a larger role in financing this transition. Through this process, they will strengthen their LP positions in funds tackling climate challenges. I receive weekly calls from large Holding & Corporate VCs seeking introductions to Climate / Energy / Infra VC Funds. When I ask about their target sub-verticals within Climate / Energy, they often mention that they default to focusing on specific regions due to limited resources and coverage. In other words, rather than evaluating whether a DACH VC is better positioned for solar or grid-tech compared to a Nordic or US VC, they simply pursue whichever regions they can access—a haphazard approach at best. I always advise LPs to evaluate VCs within their operating market context. Since sourcing is crucial in venture capital, Holding Cos. and Family Offices should carefully assess a VC's location, regulatory context, and market environment before investing and building a portfolio of Funds. I've heard "I wish I had discovered this VC / region sooner" far too many times... * At ComposeVC's Built World Fund, we do not invest in Climatetech or Energytech directly, only as it relates to our Built World thesis.

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I really enjoyed recording this episode of The Digital Industrial Podcast with Ty Findley. We talked about common misconceptions for deep tech, the "Why Now" for the category, and differences between investor diligence for deep tech and traditional tech. https://lnkd.in/eKtwjauu

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As Energy & Climatetech is one of the tracks at TechChill, I’ll be out there this week, looking for founders ambitious to ramp up their activities. SFV is in search of just that. A few noteworthy speakers to look out for if you’re attending and are curious about cleantech in general: 📣 Julia Bialetska from S.Lab striking the stage with the topic of “Eco-innovations unwrapped”. A great person, a recognized founder hitting the heights. 📣 Andris K. Berzins from Change Ventures, Jarna Hyvönen from Volare Solutions and Janis Putrams from Aerones are discussing “The dilemma of commercializing deeptech”. It is never an easy task and never should be too easy either, right? 📣 Agate S. Freimane from Norrsken VC brings us insights on “Building a thriving climate economy”. A topic Norrsken is superb at and gets to the nuts and bolts of making a real impact. At side-events: 📣 Beamline Accelerator is hosting the “DeepTech Demo Day”! 📣 EIC dials in on details on “Funding your deeptech startup to scaling in the EU”!

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Summary: Crosscut Ventures, a venture capital firm in Los Angeles, is launching a $100 million fund focused on hardware-centric technologies, particularly in the areas of energy and power, space and underwater exploration, and advanced manufacturing. This shift in focus is driven by the emergence of talented entrepreneurs from companies like SpaceX and a recognition of the potential impact that hardware startups can have in solving big problems like climate change. Key takeaways: Crosscut Ventures is shifting its focus from solely investing in software startups to also including hardware startups, particularly those addressing frontier tech. The firm sees a growing number of talented entrepreneurs coming from companies like SpaceX and recognizes the potential impact of hardware startups in solving big problems like climate change. With the launch of the new hardware-centric fund, Crosscut is also bringing on a new partner with expertise in growth and project finance to help bridge the funding gap for hardware startups. Counter arguments: Some may argue that investing in hardware startups is riskier and more capital-intensive compared to software startups, making it a less attractive option for investors. Others may question the broad range of verticals that Crosscut Ventures is targeting with its new fund and the potential lack of specialization in any one area. #venturecapital #spacetech #vc

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Summary: The article discusses the rise of open source startups and the challenges between philanthropy and profit. With the support of OSS Capital, many open source startups have successfully raised funding and gained growth. Key takeaways: Open source companies can be successful in generating sustainable revenue outcomes while maintaining philanthropic values. OSS Capital has invested in around 80 open source startups, with notable exits such as Remix and partnerships with established companies like Automattic and Insight Partners. OSS Capital promotes the belief that capitalism is the ultimate manifestation of philanthropy and is well-suited for accelerating open source innovation. Counter arguments: Some may argue that the pursuit of profit goes against the ethos of open source and could lead to the commercialization and privatization of open-source projects. Others may argue that not all open-source startups are successful and that relying on capitalism as the primary funding source could limit innovative ideas and diverse perspectives. #venturecapital #vc #venturecapital #opensource

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A SAFE and convertible note had a baby and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was the midwife- out popped the D-SAFE! 👶🏽🎉 A new #climatetech funding instrument was announced by Elemental Excelerator last week. One of the company’s main goals is to support smaller, up and coming companies during the awkward “Scale Gap” phase between #VC funding and natural growth. It’s called the #DSAFE (Development Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and it aims to aid the process by giving companies a small amount of cash to overcome initial risks and expenses during the developmental stages of a product launch or company. How does it work? D-SAFE has a redemption clause meaning companies can choose to have their payments offered as a loan or convert to equity at the investor’s discretion. Funders and companies will have clear communication and expectations about where the money is going and how it will be applied to either the company or the projects at hand. Financiers and companies will work together with more #transparency, and that’s a great boon for #startups and VC alike. As of this month, Elemental has already invested using D-SAFE in eight different companies, including Dimensional Energy and Origen — both companies investing in innovative and out-of-the-box solutions to environmental issues! Seems like a win-win on the surface. What do you all think about the D-SAFE? Alfredo Coppola Momoka Ueda Tim Wagner Stephen D. Torres Olya Irzak Natsuho Toyama Noriya Tarutani Shin Ogawa

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Big Opportunities for Emerging Venture Funds The venture capital world is changing fast. Emerging fund managers face tough competition, opening up some great opportunities. Highlights: - More Competition: With over 10,000 funds, emerging managers must stand out. - Smart Strategies: Many are cutting their fund targets and teaming up with big firms to stay in the game. - Niche Focus: Specializing in specific sectors can give emerging funds a big advantage. - Strong Networks: Building relationships with larger VCs is crucial for finding great deals and growing. Even with the challenges, emerging managers can thrive by being innovative and leveraging their unique strengths. This could reshape the venture capital scene for the better. #VentureCapital #EmergingFunds #Investment #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Funding #Opportunity

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