The NatureBacked Podcast

Single.Earth has minted the first tokens from the work nature does to owners of lands in Brazil and Europe, and has started to roll out MERIT tokens to the market, co-founders Merit Valdsalu and Andrus Aaslaid said in this special episode of the NatureBacked podcast.Learn about: the first over-the-counter deals upcoming consumer-launch the impact of crypto-winter  how to grow a team 10-fold in half a year is there an ICO coming? **In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sustainable technologies and sustainable business models are often intervened in today's world,, said Shahin Dashti, an investor at Frankfurt-based Futury Capital which is working on launching a new sustainability-focused fund.Learn more about the impact of market turmoil on startup investments and about the unique roots of sports and regional policies on the back of Futury. We had a rare chance to speak also about football in this episode!In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Shahin Dashti:**It's happening anyway if we want it or not because those are the laws of the market. Often sustainability is not only about the business model, which is sustainable for the planet, but also the sustainable business model itself. And that it's not only dependent on short-term trends but can last for a long time.**If you look at how many funds have been raised in the last years or months, this money has to be deployed contractually. So it means those fund managers, in the end, have to make the investments. There is no alternative to that other than giving the money back to the investors like the LPs, which I think will not happen that likely. So they have to make investments.**You could argue that now there's some headwind on the fundraising market. But as I said, I see this as an opportunity. And it means that all the good ones will survive.**Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Companies of the future will naturally focus on the environment and impact to be able to make a business for hundreds of years, said Alex Felman from Felman Family Office.Learn more about family offices and what makes investment firms of family wealth different from venture capitalist investors from the episode recorded on the sidelines of the TechChill conference in Riga.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Alex Felman:**I believe that most companies moving forward will have to be very impact- or environmentally-oriented with how they do business. **For example, we tend to invest to exit. And, I mean, that could be five years, it can be 15 years, it could be 20 years.Generally speaking, you probably want to have an investor who, once they're on the ride, is there until the ride runs out. It's probably an investor you want. **Looking at more environmental sustainability issues, we are actually looking at problems of these longer timeframes that may not fit into a more standard kind of VC timeframe. **If you're only trying to optimize for financial gain, it puts a very narrow perspective on your investment space. But suppose you're maximizing for other things or multiple things. In that case, it gives you much more flexibility to consider investment opportunities that you wouldn't consider otherwise. **Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many startups are working on climate adaptation, but there are less-crowded opportunities around climate mitigation, said Dama Sathianathan, partner at Bethnal Green Ventures.London-headquartered Bethnal Green Ventures has invested for 10 years in #TechForGood companies like Fairphone and over 100 other firms.Learn more about open opportunities in the climate tech sector from the episode recorded on the sidelines of the Latitude59 conference in Tallinn.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Dama Sathianathan:**I would love to see more (startups) around climate mitigation, like how do we think about disaster risk reduction in zones prone to natural disasters?I'd love to see more climate mitigation products and services.**The number of times I see carbon offsetting platforms or ESG data platforms, I'm like, Okay, now calm down. We have seen 100 over the past year. Perhaps there is something else that needs addressing and looking into.What are some of the needs we need to solve? There are loads around sort of conservation, biodiversity, even more, sustainable farming and agriculture practices, looking into increasing the security of our supply chains, when it comes to food supply chains, there are loads and loads of opportunities in this space.**There are so many amazing ideas out there. You just need to look. Go and find them.**Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A giant wave of purpose-driven founders, coupled with consumers raising interest in the environment, and the availability of climate-focused capital, should enable a rosy future for the climate tech sector, said Madelene Larsson, an investor at Giant Ventures.London-headquartered Giant Ventures has invested in some 20 companies and plans to invest a billion dollars over 2020s. It had just started to raise its second fund when we recorded the podcast in late May 2022.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Madelene Larsson:**Of course, it was a better environment to raise the fund before we saw the market pullback that we're currently seeing. We're not going to shy away from that. But we do hope there is fundamental support for purpose-led technology and climate tech. Right. So we are kind of progressing well with our fundraising.**I think this was sure increasing focus on the sector. And when investors start to focus on the sector, you also kind of automatically see more startups in the space, and, you know, people are coming up with new ideas because they see that the funding is there.**I think climate tech is quite a hot space at the moment. And there's for sure, you know, a lot of capital following that sector. So you see a fair amount of startups trying to greenify, if you will, are trying to be maybe more climate-friendly than they are.**I think there are some big opportunities to be had in-home electrification and kind of EV enablement. As I mentioned, I think consumers will be pushed to kind of going green, and they will be more affordable going green than it kind of has ever done before.**Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Startups should focus on their cash burn and seek to build a 36-month runway as the downturn in markets and economies has started, but it's a great time to be investing in deep tech as founders are increasingly keen to tackle world-changing challenges, Outsized Ventures' general partner Isabel Fox said in an interview on the sidelines of the Latitude59 startup conference in Tallinn in late May 2022.London-headquartered Outsized Ventures is a 2021-founded deep tech investment firm that invests in Seed+ rounds in founders that are going to have a big impact on the world for the better.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Isabel Fox:**I think people want to do stuff that's going to have a purpose and an impact. So you're finding more and more great talent wanting to address some of the world's greatest challenges.The first thing you'll see is more founders wanting to find solutions to our problems. So we definitely see an increase in fabulous people trying to work through whether that's carbon counting, whether it's sustainability projects, which they think can get off the ground. **I still think more money will come into the area. It sort of leads with the quality of the founders and the ideas, and what they're trying to build, and the money will be there for great founders, as you know, and I think that's starting to happen. But we need to obviously speed up what we're doing in order to save our planet.**You definitely hear from corporates that they're looking at it. But I don't think many of them actually even have a strategy. They're working through the plans with the consultants, and when you start to look at the costs of going carbon neutral by 2030, they've got to make a significant investment to get there. Of which I see sort of the start, but I'm probably like you: I'm not seeing them make that full, big commitment of quite a few 100 million, in some cases to sort of drive that. So I think, I think it will be right, I think there'll be panic right at the end. And people then want to sort of see how they can get out of it, rather than necessarily fulfill that obligation.**So my advice to founders has been: to watch the cash burn, get prudent on that, and try to increase your runway to 36 months. So you have the luxury of time, and hopefully, the world may have stabilized sooner than we think. I think being tight, and being focused is not a bad thing. I always think that it's about being savvy, it's about being prudent and nimble. **I think the stuff that we're backing and the stuff that you like are big plays that have a huge impact on the future of society. That's not going to change much. For me, actually, in deep tech, I think it's a great time to be investing. We still got the problems in the world; we still need to solve them. And these opportunities are so huge that even if we have a bad two-year period now in the macro economy, they're going to come through the other side, very, very strong.Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Startups creating new materials, including for food industries, can have a significant climate impact, making them interesting targets for the Nordic investment firm Inventure, partner Tuomas Kosonen said in an interview on the sidelines of the TechChill startup conference in Riga in late April 2022.Inventure is a Helsinki-headquartered seed-stage investor, known for its investments in companies like Wolt and Swappie.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Tuomas Kosonen:**We are not an impact investor. We are a pure financial investor, but in the past years, all ESG-related topics have raised their meaning, coming from all also from the portfolio and from LPs. We have to be very aware of all these topics.**That's something that is like super important on the agenda of pension funds, insurance companies, and public money. And, of course, it is super nice to see what kind of impact money can make. So if the big money or institutional investors would not care for it, most of the investors, at least, wouldn't put that much effort into that one. But actually, you might not even qualify for the money, like the LP commitment, if you're not part of that.**Especially what we have done in the past is on new materials, so like, plastic replacement, or like carbon nanotubes. That's something that has a huge environmental impact. So that's something we are now looking for in the coming two years. **Food-related companies will have a direct impact line quite fast, much faster, some material technologies. And then the food, I guess, is superheated as well. Yes, and we have looked at meat replacement companies; unfortunately not invested single one of them yet. There have been some quite interesting ones.Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The companies that will deliver the highest climate impact will also provide the highest financial returns, was the founding thesis of World Fund, said Alexis Caporale."And now we're seeing it, and it's just incredible. They just do better, they're more resilient, their customers are more engaged, and their teams are more engaged," he said.World Fund is a 350-million euros climate-focused VC, which has unveiled seven investments so far, including Treecard, Juicy Marbles, QOA and Space Forge.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Alexis Caporale:**The companies that will deliver the highest climate impact will also be the ones delivering the highest financial impact - that was the founding thesis of the fund. And now we're seeing it, and it's just incredible. They just do better, they're more resilient, their customers are more engaged, and their teams are more engaged. I mean, talent is probably one of the most complicated things that a company faces when they need to scale and purpose mission-driven founders are able to attract better talent, and for that, they remain in the company. **We see that those companies which focus on the energy transition, so basically, electrification and beyond, are getting lots of inbound from the market because everyone is trying to understand how to stop depending on Russian commodities. So for those companies focusing on electrification, there are more opportunities, but you have to you also have to be very careful because some of these opportunities can be just short-lived.**Everyone is gonna be tweeting about the economy, VCs, and how valuations were crazy, and how we're never gonna do that again.**For Barcelona, climate tech is really, really, really moving a lot. Spain has some characteristics in some industries, like food, for example, or agriculture. There are lots of things going on in Barcelona; you will see Barcelona becoming a hub for climate tech. Sooner rather than later.**Check out the following Barcelona-based climate tech startups: Wallbox, Heura, Submer, FlexiDao, Holaluz.com and TAPP Water.Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stockholm-headquartered Norrsken VC is on a mission to find not just unicorns but impact unicorns, startups valued at over $1 billion which at the same time can impact the lives of more than 1 billion people, Agate S. Freimane said on the sidelines of TechChill startup conference in Riga. The VC firm was born out of Norrsken Foundation – a non-profit foundation founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, co-founder of Klarna - with the belief that entrepreneurs building rapidly scalable businesses are our best bet to solving the hardest and biggest problems of our time.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Agate S. Freimane:**"Why we coined the term unicorn was because it was so rare. And these days, it's not that rare anymore. The bar has lowered, though, I think, impact unicorn is still pretty rare ... it's a really high bar."**"Even if you have a very deep, meaningful impact, if you don't have a strong business model, you're not able to attract capital - you're not able to grow. So hence, you don't really scale your impact."**"Maybe someone says that there are just not enough startups in this space. It's also because a lot of entrepreneurs thought that there's no point starting these businesses, that there is no capital, and it's kind of what comes first, you know, exactly the chicken or egg. Do the startups come first or capital? Maybe at the moment, there is a lot of capital, but that's just going to inspire more entrepreneurs to dare to actually start businesses in these sectors."**"I think Europe is at the forefront of the climate tech movement globally. What I see right now is that Europe is at the forefront of the public sector and the regulatory environment for taxonomy. And so we see in Europe, more so than anywhere else in the world regulation pushing big old school businesses on the path of sustainability. But the reality is that a lot of these businesses don't have the tools to achieve this. And then, it's up to the startups to fill that gap to enable the industries to shift."**Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speedinvest was among the first European early-stage VC firms when its founders started to take Silicon Valley's getting-hands-dirty practices from their own entrepreneurs' journey to the Old Continent, said investor Andreas Schwarzenbrunner.Vienna-headquartered Speedinvest has invested in some 250 companies, including 20 investments in climate tech startups. The firm manages assets of about half a billion euros.In the NatureBacked podcast of Single.Earth, Tarmo Virki talks with investors and entrepreneurs about their vision of the new green world.Subscribe to the NatureBacked newsletter on LinkedIn. **A few key takeaways from Andreas Schwarzenbrunner:**"I think there's a gap between the software digital-focused climate tech companies versus ones that are really into more development of new ideas, R&D, infrastructure, and hardware."**"I think there the investor scene needs to adapt because if you're serious about climate tech, and if you are serious about decarbonization, and reducing emissions, the investor scene, including us, has to realize that there is no way around hardware.At the end of the day, if you really look at the hard problems in climate tech, there are so many things that can't be solved otherwise. It's about reducing emissions when you use concrete and steel; it's about new ways of electrified mobility and charging infrastructure.If you look at energy storage and hydrogen solutions, there's no way around building storage facilities and all those things. Investors need to adapt and realize that if you're serious about it, you have to tackle these problems."**"We also see that this climate tech is basically a maturing asset class ... you can see the rise of investors in climate tech, money that goes into that space. And for us, we also want to double down on this, and we want to continue to invest and even invest more in climate tech companies over the years to come."**Follow NatureBacked across platforms:Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google PodcastsTwitter | Instagram Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices