Yair Reem is a Partner at Extantia Capital, a climate-first venture capital firm accelerating the path to a decarbonized world by backing daring entrepreneurs with breakthrough ventures. He co-founded BeyondBlack, a fund for investments in technologies reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and advises European startup CEOs on strategic narratives. Formerly Managing Director at Hasso Plattner Ventures, Yair was also a cyber technology leader at Israel’s Unit 8200. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Technion, an Executive MPA from Hertie, and an AMP from Wharton.

This episode delves into:

First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Explained

Strategic Partnerships

Cap Table Management

VC Risk-Taking

Brand Building in VC

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(00:00) - Episode Trailer

(01:04) – Intro

(01:34) – What is The Foaking Awesome?

(04:09) – What does Foak mean?

(06:20) - Are VCs Ready to Embrace First-of-a-Kind Opportunities?

(08:10) – Which are the Sectors full of Possibilities?

(10:25) - Can Nvidia’s Success Be Replicated in Future Industries?

(11:12) - Is Investing in Nuclear Fusion the Next Big Challenge for VCs?

(11:51) – Where are we in terms of TRL?

(12:50) - Does the Stage of Funding Determine When to Build the First Factory?

(13:46) - Is Partnering with Corporates Essential for Startup Success in Climate Tech?

(16:37) - When Should Startups Add Strategic Investors to the Cap Table?

(17:54) - Do Startups Need Corporate Connections, or Can VCs Bridge the Gap?

(18:45) - Are Corporate Partnership Managers the New Must-Have in Climate Tech?

(21:11) – Deep Tech Engineer vs Software Engineer – What is the Difference?

(23:14) - What Makes Climate Hardware Sexy to Big Financial Players?

(24:40) - What Common Cap Table Errors Scare Away Investors?

(26:28) - Should Founders Fight or Fold? Navigating Long-Term Potential vs. Short-Term Survival

(30:12) - Are Ego-Driven Valuations Hurting Startup Founders?

(32:08) - Why 20% Matters: Balancing Venture Builder Impact on Cap Tables

(33:31) - Choosing Between Co-Leads or a Dominant Lead Investor: What’s Best?

(36:34) - Is Risk Aversion Stifling Innovation in VC?

(39:50) - First Principles of VC: Balancing Risk in Turbulent Markets

(41:43) - Conscious Choices: Team Effort vs. Individual Initiative

(42:05) - Authenticity vs. Quantity: The Struggle in Digital Engagement

(44:39) - Team Dynamics: Internal vs. External Strategies for Time Management

(47:26) - Risk and Reward: Inviting Others to Innovate in VC

(49:29) - Expanding Reach: Should VC Messaging Extend Beyond LinkedIn?

(50:56) – Role Models in VC

(53:14)- YouTube as a Knowledge Foundation: Do VCs Trust Video Learning?

(57:52) - Differentiation Strategy: From Tech to Brand, Creating a Category of One

(01:01:23) - Breaking the Exit Taboo: IPOs and Strategic Acquisitions in Impact Business

(01:03:41) - Exchange of Goods and Society: The Role of Money in Innovation

(01:05:04) – Outro

Ben is a climate tech expert who writes deep guides to energy topics on his blog, benjames.io. His guides to batteries, carbon removal, hydrogen and SAF are read by thousands of investors and analysts around the world.

This episode delves into:

-Fusion vs. Fission

-Levels to Unlock Fusion

-Challenges in Fusion Reactor Design

-Role of AI in Fusion Research

-Economic Viability and Policy

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(00:00) – Intro

(01:45) - How Does Nuclear Fusion Compare to Other Clean Energy Innovations?

(16:24) - Why Are Small Fusion Reactors More Challenging to Build Than Large Ones?

(18:37) - Who Will Win the Fusion Race: Government Projects or Private Companies?

(20:48) - Are Tokamaks, Stellarators, or Laser-Based Systems the Future of Fusion Energy?

(22:47) - What Role Does Machine Learning Play in Advancing Fusion Simulations?

(24:47) - How Can Policy Frameworks Boost the Growth of Fusion Technology?

(25:52) - Which Fusion Technology Holds the Most Promise for Investors?

(26:52) - Outro

Ben is a climate tech geek who writes deep guides to energy topics on his blog, benjames.io. His guides to batteries, carbon removal, hydrogen and SAF are read by thousands of investors and analysts around the world.

This episode delves into:

• The Existing and Future Uses of Hydrogen
• Challenges with Hydrogen Production and Transport
• Comparison Between Hydrogen and Electric Vehicles
• Controversy about Blue Hydrogen
• Investment Opportunities in Hydrogen Space

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(00:00) – Intro

(02:33) - Unlocking Hydrogen: How Does It Fuel Our Future?

(13:52) - What Breakthroughs Are Needed for Affordable Green Hydrogen?

(15:30)- Electric vs. Hydrogen: Why Are Electric Vehicles Winning?

(16:59) - Why Is Transporting Hydrogen So Challenging?

(20:37) - Why Is Blue Hydrogen Controversial?

(22:06) - Where Are the Hottest Investment Opportunities in Hydrogen?

(23:23) – What is the Future of Hydrogen Economy

(24:07) - Outro

On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re diving into an engaging conversation with Benjamin Kayser, a former French Rugby international with a 16-year long career. Today, Benjamin is a renowned commentator of international rugby games on TV, both in France and the UK, and his voice is easily recognizable by all Rugby fans.

More relevant to this podcast, Benjamin is the Co-founder and Partner at Teampact Ventures, a Venture Capital fund that specializes in human capital. We discuss a range of important topics affecting the VC industry, focusing on their core thesis: the idea that human capital, like in sport, is a central ingredient of sustainable success.

This episode delves into:

- Connecting Elite Athletes with Startups: Teampact Ventures Model

- Shared Traits of Elite Athletes and Founders: Resilience, Drive, Ambition, and a Growth Mindset

- The Birth of Teampact Ventures: Athletes' Willingness to Overcome Barriers and Make a Positive Impact

- Personal Branding as a Powerful Tool: Connecting on a Human Level and Differentiating in Business

- The Olympics: Showcasing Dedication, Talent, and Diversity

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel!

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Join the Climate Insiders newsletter, The only newsletter you need to invest in climate tech. Every Saturday I share one actionable tip to invest successfully in climate tech. Join 3,500+ investors and get access to investing tips and strategies to invest today: https://climateinsiders.substack.com/

Looking for 5 Winning Strategies for Climate Investing? Here's the exact system used to generate a 5.5x return in 6 years investing in outlier climate tech companies ONLY: https://climate-insiders.ck.page/590a53f906

(00:00) – Intro

(01:47) - Teampact Ventures: A Platform for Athletes to Drive Social Impact

(05:42) - Does Sports Training Prepare You for Business Leadership?

(08:36) - Finding the Yin in Your Yang: How to Avoid Burnout in Business

(13:05) - Can the Flame of Athletic Drive Sustain Business Success?

(15:48) - Convincing Top Athletes to Give Back: What’s the Strategy?

(18:47) - What CEOs Can Learn from Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer?

(21:52) - What Are the Secrets to Balancing Talent and Team Dynamics?

(27:23) - How Can Founders Create a Culture That Values Self-Worth?

(29:07) - Why Is Feedback Frequency Crucial for Employee Engagement?

(30:39) - Turning Negative Feedback into Growth Opportunities: How?

(33:07) - Are Women the Key to Unlocking a More Empathetic Business World?

(38:04) - Do You Measure Success by What You Earn Now, or Where You'll Be in Five Years?

(42:08) - Salary Transparency: Does It Simplify or Complicate the Hiring Process?

(44:05) – The role of Media: What Inspired Ben’s Podcasting Journey?

(47:42) - Why Authenticity in Content Creation Attracts More Than Just Attention

(50:17) - Can Allowing Personal Projects Boost Employee Engagement and Innovation?

(54:07) - How Do Founders Balance Personal Branding with Company Identity?

(56:19) - Are People Losing Interest in Global Sporting Events Like the Olympics?

(59:00) - Outro

On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re diving into an engaging conversation with Alexandra Perez, a seasoned investor in climate tech. We discuss a range of important topics affecting the VC industry and the role of women in investment.

Most recently, she worked for the Climate Tech Fund: 2150.

This episode delves into:

- Challenges Women Face in the World of Investment

- Finding the Balance: Vision and Realism in the VC Industry

- Balancing Ruthlessness and Empathy in Tech and Venture Capital

- Empowering Women in Leadership: Maintaining Authenticity for a Sustainable Culture

- Addressing Gender Equity in Workplace Policies Regarding Parental Leave: Exploring Creative Solutions

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel!

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Become a member now: https://www.climateinsiders.com

Join the Climate Insiders newsletter, The only newsletter you need to invest in climate tech. Every Saturday I share one actionable tip to invest successfully in climate tech. Join 3,800+ investors and get access to investing tips and strategies to invest today: https://climateinsiders.substack.com/

(00:00) Intro

(01:45) How can we get more women to become angel investors?

(03:00) Challenges that women face in the world of investment

(07:04) Finding the Balance: Vision and Realism in the VC Industry

(09:28) Balancing Ruthlessness and Empathy in Tech and VC

(12:19) Reevaluating Hiring Practices: Slower Growth for Long-Term Retention

(14:36) Could Female Leadership Change Industry Layoff Practices?

(15:37) Reconciling Risk Appetite and Success in the VC Industry

(17:13) How can we Empower Women in Leadership: Maintaining Authenticity for Sustainable Culture

(20:36) The Impact of Genuine Check-Ins: Personal Story of Alexandra

(25:40) Maintaining Peak Performance: The 80% Rule - Learning Lessons from Top Athletes

(30:22) Addressing Gender Equity in Workplace Policies in context of Parental Leave: Exploring Creative Solutions

(35:30) Outro

On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re sitting down with Anna Alex, Co-founder of Nala Earth. Nala Earth is a nature management platform that measures, improves and reports your company’s impact on nature & biodiversity.

Anna is a serial entrepreneur from Berlin, dedicating her life to nature and the planet. Prior to Nala Earth she founded Planetly and Outfittery. As an angel investor, Anna focuses on the big challenges of the world in climate and nature.

Anna founded Planetly in 2019, the worldwide pioneer in Carbon Accounting SaaS. In only 3 years Anna scaled Planetly to 250 employees and over 350 customers leading the technical innovation in this space. In 2021 she sold Planetly to a US Software Company.

This episode delves into:

- Investor expectations and the pressures post-funding.

- The reality of building multiple startups in the climate industry.

- The shift towards sustainable and environmentally friendly businesses worldwide.

- How to manage burnout as an entrepreneur and delegation.

- The importance of building a strong culture and hiring top talent.

- The role of venture capital in scaling climate tech solutions.

- How to create real KPIs that make a difference like biodiversity in climate tech

- How to have a larger impact on climate by focusing on biodiversity and nature conservation.

- Integrating nature and biodiversity into business models through ventures like Nala Earth.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel!

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Become a member now: https://www.climateinsiders.com

Join the Climate Insiders newsletter, The only newsletter you need to invest in climate tech. Every Saturday I share one actionable tip to invest successfully in climate tech. Join 3,500+ investors and get access to investing tips and strategies to invest today: https://climateinsiders.substack.com/

(00:00) Intro

(00:47) Anna Alex's purpose

(01:03) Avoiding burnout as an entrepreneur

(04:17) Hiring A players vs B players

(06:41) Building culture by hiring senior talent first

(09:41) Bootstrapping vs raising capital

(12:26) Being a "founding angel"

(17:11) Structuring ownership as a founding angel

(20:31) Lessons from Selling Planetly

(26:14) How climate tech exits enabling more investment

(30:30) Focusing on nature with Nala Earth

(33:31) Making nature measurable for businesses

(35:14) Nala's five nature indicators

(40:57) Increasing public awareness of biodiversity

(43:32) Nature's local risks and implications

(45:03) Helping companies measure and manage nature

(49:36) Reframing our relationship with nature

On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re sitting down with Prof. Dr. Martin R. Stuchtey, founder of The Landbanking Group. The Landbanking Group has the ambition to change the way we use land and reward nature globally.

Dr. Martin R. Stuchtey is also the founder of SYSTEMIQ which is focused on transforming markets and business models in key economic systems: land use, materials, energy, finance and urban spaces.

This episode is a deep dive into:

- The role of nature in our economic systems.

- Why we need to preserve nature for future generations.

- How to shift from an extractive to a regenerative economic model.

- The potential for nature-based assets for the next generation and the economy.

- The importance of Nature as Wealth and including natural capital on balance sheets.

- The problem with convincing the masses of the economic benefits of investing in nature.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our channel!

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Invest in climate moonshots with Climate Insiders. Join 300+ members and become a shareholder of the best climate tech startups alongside us, from $1,000.

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Join the Climate Insiders newsletter, The only newsletter you need to invest in climate tech. Every Saturday I share one actionable tip to invest successfully in climate tech. Join 3,500+ investors and get access to investing tips and strategies to invest today: https://climateinsiders.substack.com/

Show Notes:

(00:00) Preview and Intro

(00:51) People Love Nature, Yet they Do Little to Protect it?

(03:54) Why Nature Capital is as Important as Human Capital

(08:18) Decoding The Bretton Woods Approach

(10:49) Who is Responsible for Protecting Nature’s Capital and Bringing Economic Change?

(12:36) Why Nature Capital is a Risky Asset Class

(19:54) Why Modern Economic Models Might Need a Reset

(25:04) Nature on the Balance Sheet: Will Accountants Lead the Change?

(28:07) Importance of Educating the Masses on Nature Capital

(31:25) The Influence of Global Narratives in Protecting Nature Capital

(38:47) The Role of Consultants in Driving Change

(42:45) Systemic Change in Sustainability: The Role of Established Entities vs. Newcomers

(46:11) The Emerging Influence of the Middle East in Global Climate Strategy

In today's show, I'm joined by Leslie Kapin, Director of Impact at Astanor Ventures, one of Europe's largest Impact funds.

Whether you work for a climate or impact fund, are looking to start one, or are simply curious about what's happening in the impact world behind the scenes, you'll love this value-packed conversation.

We cover:

- The impact journey of Astanor: how they started from scratch five years ago and now publish one of the most useful impact reports in the industry.

- How to measure impact, when to do it, and who should be involved in an impact team. How can venture capitalists support founders in their own impact journey?

- When and how to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

- Why would a fund choose to become a B Corp?

- And what can we do as a collective space to collaborate more, reduce overlaps, and speed up the process for everyone.

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ABOUT CLIMATE INSIDERS:

Learn all the insights from the top Climate Tech Founders and Investors. Listen to the stories behind the startup successes, understand the drivers of investment decisions, and become a true Climate Insider.

Check us out at: https://www.climateinsiders.co

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ABOUT THE GUEST:

Leslie joined Astanor in 2019 and is responsible for monitoring sustainability and impact at Astanor. She brings more than 13 years’ experience in global asset management within both the private and public sector.

After 9 years with global asset manager Russell Investments as a research analyst and portfolio manager for the Asian equity markets in London, Paris and Sydney, Leslie joined the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel where she was responsible for the selection of all the investments for the BIS’s Pension Fund for three years.

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SHOW NOTES:

00:00 – Intro

01:02 – Who is Leslie Kapin?

01:27 – What is Astanor Ventures?

02:50 - From Vision to Impact: Navigating Sustainability

07:18 – Examples of enabler companies

08:23 – Should impact funds venture into software territory?

09:37 - How do the dynamics between hardware and software industries influence the pursuit of pure, direct impact?

10:23 - Was the path to milestones clear in hindsight, or did it unfold gradually, step by step?

13:15 - Collaborative Evolution in Impact Standards

16:389 - What does B Corp certification mean in financial terms? Is it primarily a marketing strategy, or does it entail binding commitments?

18:11 - Balancing Priorities for Early-Stage Founders: Impact, Growth, and Certification

20:57 - Unlocking the Treasure Trove: Notion Page and the Potential for Open Source

21:38 - Fostering Collaboration: The Call to Share and Support

23:49 - What is a necessity in the climate tech space?

25:32 – How many people are dedicated to impact measurement?

26:46 - Should there be a mental threshold or a numerical benchmark for funds considering commitment to article 9?

28:07 - Is the norm to conduct LCAs before the investment, or is there a strategy that involves assessment during divestment?

31:30 - Summing Up the LCA Process: Internal Guidance and External Expertise

34:12 - Impact Creation Report: Unpacking Astanor's Transparency and Inspiring Replication

37:11 - What is the next evolution in impact measurement at the fund level?

39:10 - Embarking on the Impact Journey: Guidance for New Entrants

40:29 – WhatsApp groups and communities – directions how to find them

41:29 - Navigating the Imposter Syndrome: A Candid Perspective

42:19 – Outro

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ABOUT THE HOST:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/yberno/

Yoann Berno is committed to the democratization of climate tech investing, with a goal to contribute significantly to the...