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!

Want to go deeper?

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.

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!

Want to go deeper?

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.

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/

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...

In today's show, I'm welcoming Lubomila Jordanova, the visionary co-founder and CEO of Plan A.

We dig into a lot of personal stuff:

-how to become a great Woman CEO, the sacrifices to make, tips to avoid burnout

-how to build a personal brand while building an organization

-how to face the unavoidable imposter syndrome and structure a support network that takes you out of your bubble

And collect insights on the business side:

-how to combat greenwashing

-where should money go: Software vs Hardware innovation

-how Plan A wants to scale to 1 million companies in the next 10 years

-Whether COP28 was a success, and the role of Oil & Gas in the Climate fight

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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:

Lubomila Jurieva Jordanova is the co-founder and CEO of Plan A. The Berlin-based startup has developed an end-to-end platform that enables companies to measure, monitor, and reduce their environmental footprint and improve their environmental, social, and governance performance using machine learning and science.

Plan A's carbon accounting software, which assists businesses in reducing their emissions, has been used by over 400 companies since its launch and has reduced clients’ emissions by 8 percent on average this year. Lubomila is also the co-founder of the Greentech Alliance, a community of over 1,000 startups connected to over 500 advisors from venture capital, media, and business backgrounds. She is passionate about addressing climate change and believes there is nothing more powerful than collaboration and true commitment to impact.

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SHOW NOTES:

00:00 – Intro

00:54 – Who is Lubomila?

02:38 – Journey from Berlin to Global Impact – how it all started?

04:19 – Tips and trick on how to deal with mental health

06:40 – Do you have to be an extrovert to succeed in the climate environment?

07:48 - Balancing Yin and Yang: The Power of a Diverse Support Network

09:54 – The imposter syndrome

10:39 – Is pure authenticity sufficient?

12:11 – How to build a personal brand on LinkedIn?

14:00 – What is the best marketing strategy?

15:49 – How to balance internal and external matters in climate world?

18:03 – How to avoid burnout?

19:13 - Balancing the Short Game with the Long Game

21:42 - The Power of Personal Brand in VC Fundraising

24:38 - The Future of Social Impact in VC Decision-Making – What is the best approach?

26:20 - Streamlining Net Zero Journey Tracking for Corporations

29:05 – How to deal with greenwashing?

33:13 - Creating Transparency for Consumers: The Role of Green Brand Labels

36:48 – Software vs Hardware – where should the money go?

39:13 – Rapid fire questions; COP 28

41:13 – The role of oil and gas

42:42 – The issue of carbon offsets

45:14 – What is the end game in planning at the company level?

46:16 – 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 fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering individuals striving to make a difference in addressing climate change, he is renowned as the podcast host of Climate Insiders. In this role, he dedicates himself to showcasing the perspectives of...

In today's show, I'm receiving Robert Höglund, one of top experts in Carbon Dioxyde Removal (or CDR). He manages the Milkywire Climate Transformation Fund, and co-founded the CDR market overview CDR.fyi.

This discussion is perfect for those who are just getting started or want to explore the state of CDR in more depth.

We cover:

-The various forms of CDR technology

-Which one is ahead of the game today, and why that might change soon

-The role of governments in driving this industry

-Price predictions for the Carbon price

-The impact of Oil & Gas, and whether they hinder progress.

-We discuss how providing more data through platforms like CDR.fyi and spicing up the industry through competitions like the XPrize Challenge can break the glass ceiling of CDR and truly accelerate its growth.

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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:

Robert Höglund is an independent advisor working with carbon removal and climate policy. He manages the Milkywire climate transformation fund and sits on the board of Mistra sustainable consumption. He previously headed Oxfam Sweden's policy and communications team and took part in the Science-based Target Initiatives' Net-zero expert advisory group.

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SHOW NOTES:

00:00 – Intro

00:06 – Who is Robert?

00:37 – Why attend COP 28, and what can actually be achieved?

02:33 – Is carbon removal distracting us from reducing emissions?

04:32 – The difference between carbon removal and carbon capture

05:39 - What needs to happen for DAC to turn into a real scalable solution and reach gigaton scale carbon removal?

07:33 - Climate Solutions Debate and Anticipation of Project Surge

09:09 – Is there a best portfolio approach? Is there one technology that stands out?

10:25 – What makes biochar the winner?

11:12 – Challenges in scaling up machine production

11:49 – How can carbon be permanently trapped?

14:00 – Potential consequences in the process of exploiting the mines

16:05 - Climate Tech's Domino Effect and the Quest for Unlimited Energy

18:00 – How to finance cheap energy projects? What are the prices?

21:20 – Price predictions for the KDR market

22:41 – Is it better to set a certain price bracket?

23:35 – Why do politics seem so ineffective?

25:41 - The Prolonged Horizon and the Role of Oil and Gas in Climate Initiatives

29:21 - KDR ecosystem's vulnerability to big oil - dependencies on pricing, regulations, and permits. What can be done?

31:11 - Strategies for Accelerating Phasing Out of Dominant Industries

32:30 - The Complex Challenge of Behavioral Change and Fossil Fuel Dependency

35:24 – The role of KDR – what results derived from it?

37:15 - Turning Climate Solutions into a Competition: The Impact of X Prize Carbon Removal Challenge

39:34 -What are Realistic Expectations for Carbon Removal Projects and Early-Stage Challenges

40:00 – 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 fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering individuals striving to make a difference in addressing climate change, he is renowned as the podcast host of Climate Insiders. In this role, he dedicates himself to showcasing the perspectives of trailblazers in environmental sustainability.

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Mentioned in the...

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In today's show, I'm receiving Marie Ekeland, the founder of 2050, a French Climate Tech fund. She's a superstar investor in the French Venture ecosystem. She was a Partner at Elaia Partners where she invested early on in Criteo (which IPOed at the Nasdaq and remains one of the biggest success stories of the FrenchTech). Then she founded Daphni, a Generalist VC fund.

In 2012 she co-founded France Digitale, bringing together French VCs & entrepreneurs to make the French digital ecosystem thrive

She's been BUSY and loves to take on new challenges.

This time it's Climate Tech! She launched 2050, with profound innovations at the Fund construction level to TRULY solve the systemic crisis that we're facing.

We cover a lot, and it gets technical, but there's a LOT to learn from someone as inspiring as Marie:

-ALIGNMENT, what that means as a Fund Manager, why it's not easy during bearish cycles when fundraising is made extra hard

-the future of the Venture Capital industry to REALLY solve this Crisis - it's not only technological but also Juridic and structural

-why they created a Chief Knowledge Officer and an open source Climate Tech course with the University of Paris Dauphine to spread knowledge and leverage the commons.

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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:

Marie Ekeland is co-founder of Daphni, a venture capital firm that invests in European tech startups and is supported by an online platform and an international community of experts. She began her career in 1997 at J.P. Morgan in New York as a computer scientist. Since 2000, Marie has been acting as a VC, first at CPR Private Equity, then, from 2005 to 2014 at Elaia Partners, leading investments in Criteo, Edoki Academy, Pandacraft, Teads, Wyplay, and Ykone. In 2012 she co-founded France Digitale, bringing together French VCs & entrepreneurs to make the French digital ecosystem thrive. She serves as a board member for Parrot, Showroomprive. Marie holds an engineering degree in mathematics and computer science from Paris Dauphine University as well as a master's degree in Economics from the Paris School of Economics.

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SHOW NOTES:

00:00 – Intro

00:05 – Who is Marie?

00:35 – Why 2050?

02:22 – Are we going to hit rock bottom?

03:19 – The transition from generalist VC world to climate

04:58 – The new fund model and the specificities of 2050

08:47 - The Challenge of Proposing New Ideas in Challenging Times

09:41 – Is it better to focus on one problem rather than a wide range of problems?

13:22 - The Debunking of Incremental Mindset and the Core Dilemma of Venture Capital

15:42 - The ultimate goal of changing decision-making models and the role of visionaries in driving new industries

21:33 - How to maintain fundraising when faced with potential compromises that may disrupt internal alignment?

25:22 - The Impact of Market Cycles on Decision-Making; How to Remain Strong?

31:45 - Insights into fund construction dynamics

35:56 - Innovations in Fund Structure and the Role of Chief Knowledge Officer

39:59 – Is Creative Commons open source for everyone?

40:05: How are Hybrid and Esoteric Roles funded?

41:04 – How are the findings of Creative Commons published?

42:03 – 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, to contribute significantly to the fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering...

In today's show, I'm receiving Timothee Parrique, Dr. in economics at Lund University. He is a rising scholar, who made a big splash at the European Commission Beyond Growth conference. His book on Degrowth has sold more than 35,000 copies. He is a brilliant guy and a true artist with words.

We talk about:

-Why Timothée thinks Climate Tech VC and green growth are fairy tales

-Degrowth as an alternative, what does that even mean?

-How to engage the Top 10% and motivate them to embrace a new narrative

-Whether a Covid-scale catastrophe will be the triggering event for our system to move away from Capitalism

-Why the well-being economy should be our collective future

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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:

Timothée Parrique (pronounced “tea-mo-tay pa-rick”) is an economist, originally from Versailles, France. He is currently a researcher at the School of Economics and Management of Lund University (Sweden).

He holds a PhD in economics from the Centre d’Études et de Recherches sur le Développement (University of Clermont Auvergne, France) and the Stockholm Resilience Centre (Stockholm University, Sweden). Titled “The political economy of degrowth” (2019), his dissertation explores the economic implications of degrowth.

Tim is the author of Ralentir ou périr. L’économie de la décroissance (September 2022, Seuil), a wide-audience book adaptation of his PhD dissertation.

Tim frequently writes about green growth and decoupling; he is the lead author of “Decoupling Debunked – Evidence and Arguments against Green Growth” (2019), a report published by the European Environmental Bureau (EEB).

Tim is passionate about the philosophy of science and academic writing. When not ranting about economics stuff, Tim likes to surf, climb, and do backflips on his mountain bike – yes, it’s possible. (He also spends more time than he would like to admit playing chess online.)

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SHOW NOTES:

00:09 – Intro

00:55 – Who is Timothy?

02:03 – Is Climate Tech BS?

05:30 - The Quest for the Holy Grail of Energy

08:14 – Is green growth really possible?

13:24 - The Need for a New Narrative in Climate Change

18:32 - Rediscovering the Sweetness of a Slower Economy; Does it Actually Work?

24:03 – How do we convince the top 10% that degrowth is the way to go?

28:58 – What is the plan? What is the first domino that tickles the rest of the dominoes?

33:16 – Have we reached the "end of history" with liberal democracy and consumerism as the dominant forces?

36:18 - The Need for a Catalyst of Change

39:31 - The complex relationship between activism and politics

43:54 - The concept of timing and its crucial role in effecting change

47:49 – How can people play an impactful role today? Is joining a climate VC or startup the way to go?

51:37 – 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, to contribute significantly to the fight against global warming. Passionate about empowering individuals striving to make a difference in addressing climate change, he is renowned as the podcast host of Climate Insiders. In this role, he dedicates himself to showcasing the perspectives of trailblazers in environmental sustainability.

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Mentioned in the podcast:

Timothee Parrique - https://www.linkedin.com/in/timoth%C3%A9e-parrique-7b593450/

Timothee's Book: "Ralentir ou Périr" -...