Listen here, on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you listen to podcasts by searching for ‘Climate Papa.’
As the first episode of the year, I’m focusing on a bit of a personal work update. Today, I'm announcing the launch of a new climate venture fund, Stepchange. I use this week's episode to share the story behind the fund.
I struggled with putting this episode out—I felt self-conscious spending the time promoting my work so publicly. But I believe that investing our money, our time, and our social capital in these startups is the best thing that I can do right now to make a difference. These companies will be critical to our energy transition and to addressing big elements of the climate crisis. This is how I’m spending most of my time. This is my toolkit, my hammer—and I’m going to swing it.
So yes, this episode is me introducing Stepchange.
The episode plays out in three parts:
We review the Stepchange thesis on climate investing, discuss how the fund came to be, and chat with our venture partners: Anay and Arthur. We also meet three of our fund advisors: Steph, Ari, and Ian.
I interview founders from the fund’s first four investments: itselectric, Bayou Energy, Line.Build, and Rhizome.
I chat with fund collaborators and investors (LPs): Aaref from Bain Capital Ventures, Julie Sandler from PSL, and Marc Bridge.
Thanks so much for listening today. I'm really excited to get Stepchange out into the world. Here’s to 2024.
Referenced in the episode:
A new venture fund in Seattle aims to accelerate adoption of climate technologies that slash carbon
The Guide to Software in Climate Tech, written by Ben and Nathan
Line.Build: Dasha & Steph
Music: Slynk & Lazy Syrup Orchestra - Mellow Kinda Hype (Balkan Bump Remix)
A bit more about Stepchange—
Stepchange is an early stage venture fund founded and led by Ben Eidelson (aka 'Climate Papa') that invests in product-led companies that will make a step change impact on climate. Stepchange puts product leaders at the core of everything we do—from who we invest in and how we support them, to who we seek as LPs, partners, and advisors. We partner with founders at the very beginning, making $100-200K investments in the first round of funding.
We will invest along the spectrum from pure software businesses to software-enabled hardware devices:
If you’re interested in learning more about the fund, get in touch: ben@stepchange.vc and anay@stepchange.vc
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