Climate Pioneers

Cherry Swayne
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Climate Pioneers Podcast

Hey everyone! Cherry Swayne here, founder of Above and Beyond Recruitment, angel investor, Carbon13 domain expert, organiser of online ClimateTech communities and mother of two small, wonderful children. Most importantly to you though, I’m your host of Climate Pioneers. Each season, we’ll talk to different experts within the ClimateTech space to provide you with knowledge, inspiration or at the very least, entertainment! Happy listening💫 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. S6: E8. Dr. Luke Charbonnier-Bevan (Zinc VC)

    1 DAY AGO

    S6: E8. Dr. Luke Charbonnier-Bevan (Zinc VC)

    I’m joined by Dr. Luke Charbonnier-Bevan from Zinc, an inception stage, impact-led investor. They invest at the start of new ventures that are tackling some of the most pressing and complex problems facing the health of people and the planet.    Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. 1:49 - What is Zinc and what are the different arms of it? 3:30 - How is Zinc different to other VCs? 6:07 - If you come across founders with a good idea but it needs a bit of work before you write that first cheque, do you put them through the venture builder first? 9:08 - How does Zinc support with helping deep tech companies to access lab space to develop their products? 11:32 - What are Zinc looking for in investments? 14:07 - What support do you offer companies when the founding team perhaps aren’t working so well together? 16:59 - Do you think it’s better to invest in an A team with a B idea, than a B team with an A idea? 20:02 - How much deep tech are you starting to see come through the venture builder? 22:44 - How does the mix of stages of companies affect the community of the venture builder, because everyone is at different points in their journey? 25:58 - What are the most common risk factors you see when assessing deep tech propositions, and how could founders start to counter those risks? 28:58 - How good do you think the UK is at supporting commercialisation of spin outs? 34:03 - Technical risk in deep tech across the technical readiness scale 35:25 - What investors want to see for deep tech 37:08 - How do you show that a deep tech company is scalable? 40:07 - At pre-seed stage, what minimum level of commercial traction would you expect a company to be able to demonstrate? 44:42 - What locations does Zinc invest in, UK-only or European too? 45:50 - What are you excited about for the rest of the year and 2025? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min
  2. S6: E7. Francesco Perticarari (Silicon Roundabout Ventures)

    6 DAYS AGO

    S6: E7. Francesco Perticarari (Silicon Roundabout Ventures)

    Francesco Perticarari is a deep tech super angel, community leader and founder of Silicon Roundabout Ventures. SRV's mission is to back entrepreneurs who are to shape the next-generation of technology and to provide superior returns to investors through venture capital funds. They do this by capturing the explosive growth of early-stage deep tech startups in the UK. Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. 1:46 - Francesco’s journey from computer science to investment  4:02 - Francesco’s work establishing a 15k-strong deep tech community across Europe before setting up the fund 6:05 - Why is deep tech a good investment? 10:29 - What was it like raising your first solo VC fund? 15:07 - What are you looking for in a good investment prospect? 18:04 - What is your due diligence process like? 22:31 - Why do you think Europe has such good potential for deep tech and do you think Europe is well-positioned to support from a wider ecosystem perspective? 28:12 - How Israel has supported tech founders and what we can learn from them. 30:57 - What would you like people to understand about the risk level within deep tech, and how to mitigate it? 35:08 - What do your portfolio companies have in common, whether that’s themes, founding teams, the problems they’re solving etc.? 41:15 - What support does Silicon roundabout offer to founders and why are you a good person to have on the cap table?  45:33 - Why have you decided to build your fund in public? 49:07 - How have you found 2024 for deep tech investment and how do you see the market developing in 2025 and beyond? 53:40 - What are you excited about for the rest of the year and how can people get in touch with you? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    57 min
  3. S6: E6. Dave Wardell (measurable.energy)

    3 SEPT

    S6: E6. Dave Wardell (measurable.energy)

    I’m joined by Dave Wardell, Chief Commercial Officer at measurable.energy, a company working to eliminate wasted energy in buildings via their combination of hardware and software. Dave is responsible for commercial operations, from marketing awareness, lead generation and business development to onboarding and customer satisfaction. Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. https://measurable.energy/ 1:51 - About measurable.energy, who is the solution for and what problem is it solving? 3:55 - Dave’s career journey to where he is today 4:59 - Where measurable.energy was with product market fit at the point Dave joined, just post-Series A 6:48 - How things at ME have evolved commercially over the year since Dave joined 10:50 - What is the software element that combines with the hardware of ME? 12:55 - What have the difference been over your career as you’ve moved from pure software and SaaS into a hardware-software blend? 15:23 - Do customers have a view of the ME software platform and data? 18:10 - What is the focus at ME post-Series A? 20:40 - What should pre-Series A businesses be thinking about from a commercial perspective? 23:31 - At what point should a commercial leader be brought in if there isn’t one within the founding team? And at what point does a sales function need to be established? 26:13 - Where are you currently at ME and what are the future plans? 29:22 - What changes could there be from a wider economic or regulation landscape perspective that could remove blockers for companies trying to scale? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    33 min
  4. S6: E5. Fahmida Khan (Prosemino)

    29 AUG

    S6: E5. Fahmida Khan (Prosemino)

    In this episode, I speak with Fahmida Khan, Innovation Specialist from Prosemino, the UK's first climate tech venture builder with lab space, offering pre-seed capital, specialising in electrochemistry, hydrogen, energy storage and advanced materials. Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. 2:08 - Fahmida’s journey from academia to venture building 18:08 - How is Prosemino different to other venture builders? 23:05 - Why Prosemino isn’t cohort based 24:27 - What support is on offer around commercial aspects of business e.g. marketing, finance, commercialisation, business planning etc.? 27:54 - Why have you chosen to invest in startups so early in their journey, unlike other venture builders who usually invest at the end of a cohort program? 32:43 - Does Prosemino help with non-diluted funding? 34:18 - What is the new Prosemino lab space like and what’s on offer? 37:26 - What makes a business a good fit for Prosemino? 42:23 - Are there common themes amongst the companies, ideas, founders or values that work with Prosemino? 45:05 - How long are companies incubated for and what is the alumni relationship? 48:44 - What improvements need to happen to help startups go further, faster? 53:10 - Would it help if there were more academics in investment and investors working in academia? 56:33 - How to join and contact Prosemino? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min
  5. S6: E4. Dr. Stafford Lloyd (Innovate UK)

    27 AUG

    S6: E4. Dr. Stafford Lloyd (Innovate UK)

    For this episode, I'll be joined by Dr. Stafford Lloyd, Innovation Lead for Clean Growth Strategy at Innovate UK - they are working on ways to catalyse private investment in climate tech.    Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. 1:45 - Stafford’s career path so far from aeronautics to Innovate UK 10:17 - What was the landscape like before you started your work at Innovate UK when it comes to driving corporate investment into climate? 15:29 - What solutions have Innovate UK come up with to drive investment flow and combat risk aversion? 19:02 - How do advance market commitments work well and how are you applying them to climate innovation? 23:06 - Innovations in concrete production and using advance market commitments to encourage investors 28:09 - Do you look for problems or solutions first, when trying to get advance market commitments (AMC)? 33:28 - How have AMCs been received by VCs when they’re looking to invest? 35:04 - Could AMCs work when securing other types of funding e.g. debt financing? 36:57 - What time scale is your current pilot running across and what is success for you? 39:13 - How does this AMC pilot scale beyond Innovate UK? 41:37 - What challenges do you commonly see deep tech businesses facing? 45:47 - Blending public and private investment 47:43 - What are you excited about for the rest of this year? 48:11 - Is there anything you think could be changed or improved to drive the pace of innovation? 51:58 - How to contact Stafford and Innovate UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
  6. S6: E3. Puja Balachander (Carbon13)

    22 AUG

    S6: E3. Puja Balachander (Carbon13)

    For this episode, I spoke with Puja Balachander, Director of Venture at Carbon13, the venture builder for the climate emergency. Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. https://carbonthirteen.com/ 2:14 - What is Carbon13? 4:39 - What challenges do you see deep tech startups facing? 8:24 - How is gaining commercial traction different for hardware than software, and what can hardware companies do to gain that traction? 14:55 - If a team doesn’t have existing knowledge within the team about commercialisation, how can they gain it and upskill themselves? 20:00 - What skills would a startup need as a minimum within the founding team for you to be interested? 23:55 - How does the support you give differ for deep tech than someone building a software-based business? 28:58 - What are the differences in IP with deep tech and what support do you give with de-risking and defensibility? 31:50 - How do you offer lab space within Carbon13? 33:05 - Are there any companies that you’ve seen come through Carbon13 that have done particularly well and what do you think set them apart? 37:20 - Showing your learnings to investors. 39:57 - What things do you think could be improved within the funding landscape for hardware companies to allow them to access the necessary funding? 41:53 - Are those that aren’t from an academic background at a disadvantage when it comes to grant writing? 44:38 - What thresholds do you need to meet for debt financing? 48:20 - What are you excited about for the rest of this year and what are the Carbon13 application dates? 50:20 - Where can people go to make applications to Carbon13? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    52 min
  7. S6: E2. Ian Lee (UK Power Networks)

    15 AUG

    S6: E2. Ian Lee (UK Power Networks)

    In this episode, I’m joined by Ian Lee, Innovations Project Lead at UK Power Networks. He is building corporate partnerships with startups that are innovating in the energy sector and beyond. Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min
  8. S6: E1. Shiladitya Ghosh (Mission Zero Technologies)

    8 AUG

    S6: E1. Shiladitya Ghosh (Mission Zero Technologies)

    For the first episode of series 6, I spoke with Shiladitya Ghosh, co-founder and COO at Mission Zero Technologies (DAC), who are working to scale affordable direct air capture, and have gone from lab to commercial plant in under three years! Across this series we will be discussing the challenges around scaling deep tech solutions within climate. I’ll be speaking to Investors, Founders, Venture Builders and other key ecosystem players all focused on scaling and commercialising groundbreaking, deep tech innovations. We will explore how to prepare for the challenges that deep tech companies often face around fundraising, scaling, team building and commercialisation; and we’ll hear from stories of those who have successfully scaled to Series A and beyond. Video versions of this and previous episodes are available here. 1:55 - Intro to Shil and his background 2:23 - What is Mission Zero about, what are you building and why is it exciting? 4:48 - Where did your passion for climate come from? Was your intention to always move into that space? 8:03 - How did you came together with your co-founders and how did you find your inspiration? 12:36 - How did you find a good lab space? 15:41 - How did you fund the lab space? 16:09 - How did you build relationships with investors and partners for such an early-stage technology, what do you think gave people confidence in you? 21:51 - Tell us about the plug-and-play aspect of what you’re doing 23:42 - How can you be sure that you’re partnering with companies who will use your technology for the right reasons? What is your due diligence process? 28:19 - How did you get from self-funded R&D to commercially funded opportunities and partnerships? 34:04 - How was the process of your Series A raise and what challenges did you face? 38:50 - What has your Series A unlocked for you? What do the next 12 months look like? 41:48 - What is the current make-up of your team? 43:02 - What do you think you did well in building the team and culture, and what were the challenges you faced? 46:46 - How important is it to you that new hires are mission-aligned and how they will fit with your culture? 51:02 - What are the main challenges you see on your way to Series B? 53:49 - Where do you see gaps for helping deep tech in the climate ecosystem, particularly in the UK? 57:04 - How positive do you feel about us scaling these CDR technologies to where we need them to be? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    60 min
See All (52)

About

Hey everyone! Cherry Swayne here, founder of Above and Beyond Recruitment, angel investor, Carbon13 domain expert, organiser of online ClimateTech communities and mother of two small, wonderful children. Most importantly to you though, I’m your host of Climate Pioneers. Each season, we’ll talk to different experts within the ClimateTech space to provide you with knowledge, inspiration or at the very least, entertainment! Happy listening💫 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Cherry Swayne
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Cherry Swayne
  • Show Website
    Climate Pioneers

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