

Climate CEOs: Scaling Startups
Dr. Chris Wedding — Climate Tech CEO Coach | CEO @ EFI
The leading weekly briefing for climate founders and CEOs. Hosted by Dr. Chris Wedding, executive coach and CEO of Entrepreneurs for Impact (EFI), a peer group with 100 CEOs & investors representing $40B in enterprise value and assets under management. Climate CEOs delivers playbooks from the front lines of climate tech, with insights on raising capital, scaling startups in clean energy, batteries, carbon capture, and the circular economy, plus the founder mindset, mindfulness, daily habits, book recommendations, and resilience needed to thrive.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 11, 2024 • 57min
Avnos: $100M for Direct Air Capture + Global Deployment
Avnos is developing next-gen direct air capture tech that cuts costs 50% while producing water, scaling globally with strategic partners across three continents.Avnos provides a Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) solution that inverts the water paradigm in DAC, producing water (5 tons per ton of carbon captured), eliminating heat consumption, and reducing costs by 50% compared to other forms of DAC.Will is a serial founder, investor, and board member in climate tech.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How they accessed $100M in capital to grow this companyHow their technology does what seems impossible in the DAC sectorHow they accessed strategic investors and deployment partners on three continentsWhy walking his dog and disengaging the brain produces some of his best business ideas🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Avnos - https://www.avnos.comWill - https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-kainRecent $36M Series A capital raise - https://shorturl.at/d17tT Acquired (podcast) - https://www.acquired.fm Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Moneyball-Art-Winning-Unfair-Game/dp/0393324818 Powers: The Foundations of Business Strategy - https://shorturl.at/muTC7 Third Derivative (climate tech accelerator) - https://www.third-derivative.org 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jun 28, 2024 • 48min
Camus Energy: $26M for Grid Software + Scaling One-Million-Fold
Camus Energy provides advanced software for utilities to decarbonize the grid, cut sales cycles, and scale operations that handle massive load growth.My guest today is Astrid Atkinson, Co-founder and CEO of Camus Energy.Camus Energy is a VC-backed software company serving power utilities with analytics and forecasting, real-time monitoring, and advanced control for local resources to help decarbonize the grid.Astrid was a technical writer who worked her way up to become an executive in engineering at Google. She’s also a board member at the Gridwise Alliance and an Aussie who occasionally unveils her delightful accent. In her free time, she likes to find the connections between crocheting, dog training, and growing a world-changing company. In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How she shortened the sales cycle of selling into power utilitiesWhat factors have helped her raise $26M in investor capitalHow the Myth of Sisyphys relates to her company name and the climate change fightWhat she learned from being a Google executive aat a time when the company experienced a one-million-fold load growth🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Camus Energy - https://www.camus.energyAstrid Atkinson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/astridatkinson Myth of Sisyphys - https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Sisyphus-Other-Essays/dp/0679733736 The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Talent-Code-Greatness-Born-Grown/dp/055380684X Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule (Paul Graham essay) - https://paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html Man’s Search for Meaning (book) - https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 80+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jun 20, 2024 • 54min
Invisible Urban Charging: 1M EV Chargers + Ambition Over Humility
Invisible Urban Charging provides EV charging as a service, partnering with giants like CBRE to scale rapidly while avoiding capital risk and navigating the global energy market.My guest today is Nigel Broomhall, Co-founder and CEO of Invisible Urban Charging.Invisible Urban Charging provides electric vehicles as a service, which means they design, install, own, and maintain chargers for investors, fleet managers, and corporates eager to electrify transportation while avoiding the capital expense and uncertainty associated with being a novice in the sector. They’ve signed partnerships with giants like CBRE to install over 1 million chargers.Nigel brings three decades of experience in power utilities, energy, and banking across multiple continents.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.Why he flew from New Zealand to the US for a 15-minute meeting and how it catapulted his company to faster growthWhy he focuses on level 2 chargers, not fast chargersWhat he learned from pitching 283 investorsHow aiming for bigger goals is easier than more humble ambitions🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Invisible Urban Charging - https://www.iucharging.com Nigel Bloomhall - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigelbroomhall Bridgewater Associates - https://www.bridgewater.com The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers - https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205 Elon Musk (biography) - https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281 Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It - https://www.amazon.com/Never-Split-Difference-Negotiating-Depended/dp/B07VHQWQ93Never Eat Alone, Expanded and Updated: And the Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time - https://shorturl.at/5CyxU Open: An Autobiography - https://shorturl.at/Tqhtp Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way - https://www.amazon.com/Losing-My-Virginity-Survived-Business/dp/0307720748 Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike - https://shorturl.at/BifBH Superhuman (email tool) - https://superhuman.com Mushroom coffee - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mushroom-coffee 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jun 13, 2024 • 44min
Sheeva.ai: In-Vehicle Payments for a Trillion-Dollar Market
Sheeva.ai enables seamless in-car payments, turning a personal pain point into a global fintech solution backed by investors across four continents.My guest today is Evgeny Klochikhin, Founder and CEO of Sheeva.ai.Sheeva.ai is a software and fintech company that enables payments within vehicles, making it easy to “charge and walk.” They are backed by strategic investors in the US, India, Germany, and Japan.Prior to Sheeva, Evgeny earned a PhD in innovation policy and technology and was a senior data scientist at the American Institutes for Research, a public relations specialist for the European Jewish Congress, and a journalist in Russia.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How a personal pain point was the origin of Sheeva’s creationWhy they had to pivot and make big changes to their business modelHow they found motivated strategic investors in four countriesTwo traits that make founders unstoppable and how he found them🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Sheeva.ai - Sheeva.ai Evgeny - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evgeny-klochikhin-30aa714/Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty (book) - https://shorturl.at/BSWmzHow to Eat the Rainbow: Tips for a Colorful Diet - https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-the-rainbow 📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

Jun 6, 2024 • 50min
Aether: $49M for Lithium Extraction with ML and Molecular Assembly
Aether uses robotics and machine learning to extract lithium from untapped reserves, aiming to make the U.S. a global lithium powerhouse while scaling with nondilutive funding.Aether is a molecular assembler platform that can extract lithium from previously inaccessible reserves. It uses robots and machine learning to search among trillions of enzymes for the right fit.Pavle is a first-time founder and almost college dropout (there’s a story to that!) who’s spent almost seven years building Aether and raising $49M along the way.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How he hopes to make the US the lithium capital of the worldWhich revenue models he’s pursuing with mining partnersHow he’ll use nondilutive funding to scale tech deploymentWhy “I don’t know” is a powerful phrase to build trust🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Aether - https://www.aetherbio.com Pavle - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlejeremic Noahpinions (newsletter) - https://substack.com/@noahpinion The Wizard and the Prophet: Two Remarkable Scientists and Their Dueling Visions to Shape Tomorrow's World - https://shorturl.at/inj📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

May 30, 2024 • 48min
LiquiDonate: VC-Backed Software Tackling $800B in Retail Waste
LiquiDonate matches unsold retail inventory with nonprofits, saving retailers millions, reducing waste, and optimizing donations with smart algorithms.LiquiDonate is a VC-backed software platform that matches and moves reclaimable items (such as online returns and unsold inventory) into the hands of nonprofits who need them, thereby saving retailers millions of dollars and keeping tons of waste out of landfills.Disney is a social impact innovator who started as employee number 15 at PostMates. She helped grow the company's customer service and Civic Labs divisions and won awards from TIME Magazine and FAST company. She’s also a feminist, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and an animal rights activist working to be a better-practicing ally for marginalized communities.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How online returns and excess inventory cost retailers $800B per year in lossesWhy you should create a Google Doc that tracks your hundreds of small and big wins in career and lifeWhat it’s like being a queer women CEO raising VC investment capitalHow they designed their product matching algorithm and logistics systems to optimize donations, tax credits, and low operating costs🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:LiquidDonate - https://liquidonate.com Disney - https://www.linkedin.com/in/disneypetit The Leading 100 (recognition for LiquiDonate) - https://the-lead.co/the-leading-100 Fast Company (recognition for LiquiDonate) - https://shorturl.at/9EOy7 Ezra Klein podcast - https://shorturl.at/hWJDa If Books Could Kill podcast - https://shorturl.at/3R5SO📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

May 23, 2024 • 50min
Ample: $270M for EV Battery Swapping That’s Cheaper, Faster, and City-Ready
Ample delivers full EV charges in minutes with modular battery swapping—15% cheaper than gas, 5x cheaper than fast charging, and scalable citywide in weeks.Ample is a new energy delivery solution for electric vehicles. It uses Modular Battery Swapping to deliver 100% charge to any EV in a few minutes. They’re supported with $270M of investment from Shell, Moore Strategic Ventures, and strategic partners in Singapore and Thailand.John is a serial founder and executive in health, tech, and energy with multiple exits to Fortune 500 companies.In this episode, you’ll learn these four important takeaways and much more.How to get to “yes” with customers by converting a harder capital expense to an easier operating expenseWhy their EV battery solution can be deployed in a whole city within a few weeks at far lower costs than EV fast chargersThe benefits of saying yes more than no to grow from uncomfortable experiencesWhich two books keep him grounded and mindful as a leader📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:John de Souza - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johndesouza1Ample - https://ample.com Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals - https://shorturl.at/negpnThe Abundance of Less: Lessons in Simple Living from Rural Japan - https://shorturl.at/nBK7W The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World - https://shorturl.at/EStK5 Beginner’s mind ("shoshin" in Japanese) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshin 🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

May 16, 2024 • 16min
Top 100 CDR Startups, Climate Communities, and the Stockdale Paradox
From Jim Collins on resilience to JFK’s “do hard things” speech, this episode spotlights 100 carbon removal startups, 26 climate communities, and timeless wisdom for climate leaders.📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:JFK’s 1962 speech on choosing to do hard things - https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/rice-university-1962091226 online climate startup communities to join - https://www.climatefinance.xyz/climate-slack-communitiesTop 100 CDR startups (from XPRIZE) - https://shorturl.at/5UaZuMooji (a Jamaican-born street artist, Christian mystic, and chai shop owner who became a teacher of the wisdom of India’s sages - https://mooji.org🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

May 9, 2024 • 48min
Climate Philanthropy: $1B Family Office + 2040 Deadline (Spending Down for Maximum Impact)
Discover how the 2040 Fund is deploying all of its capital by 2040 to accelerate climate adaptation, resilience, and water innovation at scale.The 2040 Fund manages philanthropic capital for the 2040 Foundation and its founder, Jay Faison. Investments include private and publicly listed securities focused on climate adaptation and resilience. The 2040 Fund The Fund focuses on water systems and technology, the future of food, and energy transition. They plan to spend down all of its assets by the year 2040 maximizing impact in the near term.Mark is also a board member at PosiGen, investment committe member at Upwell Water, and former SVP at Bank of America.📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:Mark - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbruinooge Upwell Water - https://www.water.llc Congruent Ventures - https://www.congruentvc.com First Street Foundation - https://firststreet.org Elemental Excelerator - https://elementalexcelerator.comTrellis Climate - https://www.primecoalition.org/programs/trellis-climate Slow Productivity - https://calnewport.com/my-new-book-slow-productivity Sloww - https://www.sloww.coThe Billionaire Who Wasn't - https://shorturl.at/efhn7 Hydrow - https://hydrow.com🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next-gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, 2x ax-throwing champ (huh?), Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).

May 2, 2024 • 44min
Distributed Energy: $36M Batteries + Microinverters (Tesla Lessons & Spirituality in Leadership)
Yotta Energy is scaling solar-integrated batteries & microinverters for commercial buildings while CEO Omeed Badkoobeh shares wisdom from Tesla, entrepreneurship, & spiritual practice.Yotta Energy is a VC-backed distributed energy company based in Austin, Texas. They provide solar panel-level energy storage and microinverters for the commercial and industrial sectors. Yotta https://www.yottaenergy.comPrior to Yotta, Omeed worked in sales and business development for Tesla, Evoke Electric Motorcycles, and Build NATiVE. Other fun experiences include organizing Lego robotics competitions for budding STEM youth in China. https://www.linkedin.com/in/omeed-badkoobeh📈 JOIN EFI’S CLIMATE CEO PEER GROUP:Become an EFI Climate CEO Fellow — Join North America’s top private peer group community for growth-stage CEOs in climate tech and sustainability. We’re a community of 75+ CEO Fellows, Alumni Allies, and Mentors (investors and post-exit CEOs) representing over $20B of market value or financial assets for climate solutions. Apply here: https://www.entrepreneursforimpact.com📣 READ EFI’S NEWSLETTER:Join over 20,000 entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators who get our three-minute read about changing the world through startups, finance, humor, and wisdom. https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com✍🏼 LEAVE A PODCAST REVIEW:To help more people discover the climate tech CEOs and investors we interview, please take one minute to review or rate this podcast. Since we don’t take any sponsors for this podcast, we appreciate this small gesture of your appreciation. Here are instructions: https://ratethispodcast.com/guides/where-can-people-leave-podcast-reviews🤔 PODCAST HOST:Dr. Chris Wedding is the founder of EFI (climate CEO peer groups), cofounder of Terraset (carbon removal), Senior Advisor at Javelin Capital (investment banking), Board member at World Tree (regenerative forestry), Board Advisor at DG Matrix (next gen power electronics), Duke & UNC professor, ex-private equity investor, ex-investment banker, occasional monk, father of three, ax-throwing champ, Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2006 (Google it), and super humble guy (as evidenced by this long bio).


