The inception of Cliamte Capital Stack was prompted by my curiosity about why startups were raising equity from venture capitalists for the wrong reasons—usually in place of equipment finance. I asked myself the question, why?
During my path to breaking into climate VC, I also started exploring this question. I realized that raising equity is not always the best option for hardware startups, but early-stage startups have limited access to non-dilutive options. Additionally, businesses that may be eligible for non-dilutive options are unaware they can pursue them. As a result, I started investigating how startups can receive funding to deploy and scale (lab-scale to commercial-scale).
Meanwhile, I started Climate Capital Stack to educate founders, it has become a passion of mine to demystify the capital stack, map the ecosystem, and help bridge connections.
I’ve learned about lots of solutions, but many important questions remain:
How can we finance higher-risk emerging technologies?
How can we help middle-stage companies that are often overlooked?
How can we mainstream climate financing?
I’ll explore these questions and more in this newsletter. My goal is to foster conversations and share up-to-date information that reflects the dynamism of this sector.
My passion is at the intersection of climate and finance.
I spent 5+ years building relationships with investors and founders in the broader climate space. In November of 2022, I quit my full-time job to go 150% into climate (my full story/background can be found here). I now wear many different hats within the sector and am actively pursuing an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.
I previously worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) as a Product Manager and a Nuclear Safety Engineer. My other professional experience includes FreshRealm, where I supported various business operations to support market expansion, customer success, and business strategy. I hold a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Davis.
