ClimateDoor's 5 lessons from 2023 and a look ahead to 2024

Hey Eko the Explorer here,

As 2023 draws to a close we reflect on the goals we set in 2022:

We've distilled 5 pivotal lessons from a year focused on scaling climate tech companies through the lens of a venture builder.

Lesson 1: People, Not Pledges Fuel Climate Action

We spent 8 days at COP28 in Dubai and another 5 days at ClimateWeek in NYC, with well over 100,000+ attendees.

We were reminded that real change emanates from action-oriented individuals, not just political pledges and agendas.

Both events were a hive of innovation, deal-making, and lively discussions about Indigenous communities, youth, and green job training.

We will be back at both events next year.

Lesson 2: The Climate Tech We Need Exists – Now Let's Scale It

With climate tech solutions abound, scaling, de-risking, and funding them remain our 3 greatest challenges.

It's not about technology.

It's about enabling innovation and scale through creative financing mechanisms and policies.

We will work tirelessly in 2024 to lift as many companies as possible out of the valley of death many find themselves in.

Having now worked with over 100 climate-related businesses in the last few years, check out 16 standout climate companies we worked with this year.

Lesson 3: No Silver Bullet for Climate Growth Financing

Navigating climate venture financing is intricate.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution.

Crafting the right mix of equity, grants, crowdfunding, convertibles, zero-interest loans, or debt depends a lot on context.

It's about blending these sources to create an attractive "capital stack" for investors to back your vision.

Lesson 4: AI is Revolutionizing Climate Economy Unit Economics

This year we invested thousands of hours and dollars in learning and applying AI skills.

AI’s lowest-hanging fruit for the climate executive is boosting the productivity and quality of work of their team from top to bottom.

These tools drastically improve the unit economics of the company and drastically affect ROI’s for investors.

We believe a custom AI toolkit is a must-have for every climate executive to streamline their entire organization and where we will be focusing a lot of our efforts in 2024.

Lesson 5: Staying Focused on the Plan

In 2023, we learned to say "no" to distractions as a business.

We focused on solving a limited number of problems for 1 customer.

We narrowed our horse-blinders to growth-stage companies with 5-25 employees, that are driven by sustainability.

We multiplied our results to finish up our strongest year and quarter to date, with over 8X the total revenues from Q4 2022

We're doubling down on this in 2024 and getting even more focused.

Working with Growth Champions

Our portfolio companies have achieved remarkable milestones:

Stardust Solar: Grew quarterly revenue sixfold in the past 18 months, became the fastest-growing solar franchisor in North America and signed a definitive agreement set for public listing in Q1 of 2024.

Polar Beer Taps: Patent-pending and recently commercialized the most effective, convenient, and energy-efficient beverage cooling machines on earth. 

Unify Partners: Matched 30 EU climate tech ventures to Canadian partners and supported clean economy development in 12 Indigenous communities. 

The Planet & Profit Newsletter

Newsletter #1 premiering this January.

Stay tuned as we delve into the ever-evolving world of the climate economy each week.

Discover how to seize opportunities arising from shifting policies, favorable market conditions, and exclusive opportunities.

We're excited to unveil our proprietary "Sustainability Sentiment Score" (SSS). 

This metric gauges weekly and monthly sentiment regarding the climate investment market outlook. 

A higher score signifies a more optimistic view of climate investments, while a lower score indicates the opposite.

This week's sizzling score (9.6/10) reflects a strong week in the markets, capital inflows into the growth stage climate companies, and a spike in the voluntary carbon markets, following a pre-Chrstimas dip. 

Shoot us a note to learn more about the methodology behind the score and follow along for the latest insights on sustainable investing!

Our other goals for 2024 include: 

• Release our patented climate tech venture growth platform and AI tools 

• Establish meaningful partnerships with (3) new portfolio companies

• Raise 10x more funding through investment and non-dilutive funding than we did in 2023

Challenges await, but together, we'll seize them as opportunities.

Cheers to a year of progress and impactful climate action.

Eko the Explorer