Steven Talbot

🌍💡 Embracing Interoperability: The Evolution of Carbon Markets 💡🌍 The landscape of carbon markets is rapidly evolving, with a significant shift towards fungibility and interoperability. What does this mean? We (at the SoHo Global Climate Fund) spoke with leading climate fund manager, Charles Bedford of Carbon Growth Partners, to shed light on this important trend in the carbon markets. It's about creating seamless connections between compliance and voluntary markets, allowing for the exchange and recognition of carbon credits across borders and sectors. This trend marks a pivotal moment in our collective efforts towards combating climate change. By enabling carbon credits to be fungible and interoperable, we're fostering a more efficient and scalable approach to carbon pricing and emissions reduction strategies. Companies and organizations now have greater flexibility to participate in markets that align with their goals. #CarbonMarkets #ClimateAction #Fungibility #Interoperability #Sustainability #Innovation #GlobalImpact

30

PE - Hedge Funds Hit by Lack of PE Exits (and one way that PE firms can boost exits) Financial Times: https://lnkd.in/edACss_X FYI - one way to get more PE exits is for the PE fund to have a domain expertise GTM and have deep knowledge on how to increase the Revenue Growth of portfolio companies which boosts cash, profits and margins. --- #pe #privateequity #business

24

4 Comments

REDD up by 27% YOY, for 1Q2024. If you read about Carbon crisis, prices crashing, double check the source. Likely the author has an agenda that opposes Voluntary Carbon Markets(VCM) and/or anything that smells of capitalism.

16

Great episode for early stage VC's and capital allocators to check out. https://lnkd.in/ekz7JHJd #vc #fundraising #venturecapital

10

Updated overview of a few of our active searches @ Coastal Recruiting All opportunities are full-time with Seed, Series A, or Series B VC backed companies - looking for those that want to build and scale. NY Ops: - Head of ML - Seed (Raising Series A) - Massive growth $2m arr -> $10m arr this year - 1st ML hire - ton of autonomy - Gen AI - $250k(flex) + strong equity - 3x full-stack - Series A (a16z) - HealthTech - $1m arr -> $4m arr this year - $180k - $220k + strong equity - Incredible founders - meaningful work - BE (Data + MLops) - Seed - "Deploying AI to eliminate the trillion dollar waste in healthcare admin work" - $200k - $250k + strong equity - Early engineer - bootstrapped Prop trading firm - $10m profit year 1 - $400k+ TC - Early Engineer - Seed (OpenAI backed) - $200k + strong equity - AI Infra SF Ops: - AI Eng/ Infra/ Platform / BE / Fullstack - Hiring across the board - Series A (Sequoia) - $200k - $300k + equity - AI for Eng - Incredible team and founders - Sr. FS - Series A - Web3 - $200k + equity - Team/Founders w/ previous exits - Product Lead - Series B ($60m) - Gen AI - $220k+ Strong equity LA Ops: - Sr. FS - Seed (raising series A) - AI - Core team of startup veterans - $200k+ equity - Beautiful office in Venice Beach Remote: - Principal Eng - Series A - AI Security - $250k - $300k + equity - AI BE - Seed/Series A (Open AI backed) - AI Productivity - $200k+ equity If interested in learning more - shoot me a message here or feel free to reach out to anyone you are connected with at Coastal. 🌊

27

3 Comments

Are Climate tech founders shifting towards debt financing for scaling instead of relying solely on venture capital?🌱💡 And could this approach be the way forward for sustainable success? #climatetech #debtfinancing #sustainablefuture #investment #venturcapital #emobility #energystorage #solar #renewables #startips #scaleups

13

4 Comments

Figures from PitchBook highlight just how much activity within VC industry has dropped over the last 12 months and the effect the market has had on the ability for funds to continue operating. For more information, check out the article below! #vc #venturecapital #dealmaking #fundraising

12

Does your SaaS venture have founder-market fit? In my latest podcast interview, Richard Anton, General Partner at Oxx, discussed the past, present & future of B2B SaaS investing. Richard explained why he believes Europe will strongly grow its share of global B2B SaaS investing relative to Silicon Valley. We explored the rise of generative AI, the emergence of PLG, and the importance of organisational health in a tech venture’s success. Richard also shared his investment philosophy which prioritizes growth-oriented, category-defining companies with proven “founder-market fit”. Check out the brief clip below & follow the links in the 1st comment to listen to the full interview #b2bsaas #venturecapital #generativeai

17

3 Comments

According to the latest report from Rock Health, digital health funding in Q1 2024 totaled $2.7B across 133 deals, with an average deal size of $20.6M. It doesn’t break out device-related investments, but most medtech founders I meet these days are being forced to chase tiny rounds made up of endless little checks, consuming valuable energy and slowing their progress. The benign neglect of this next generation of diagnostic and therapeutic devices is counterproductive and surprising. Given the crowded virtual care market, for example, I’d expect more such companies would be exploring medtech partnerships, investments or acquisitions that'd enable them to back integrate into delivering sharper, and more differentiated, care and treatment. This is exactly what Maverix Medical is doing from the other direction: Reshaping the entire spectrum of lung cancer care by integrating more advanced + effective approaches to screening and diagnosis, treatment and therapeutics, and even palliative care…And putting it all to work through an innovative provider network. One notable investor exception is Y Combinator partner Surbhi Sarna who’s been backing great teams like Selera Medical (YC W24) doing foundational work on ambitious medical devices. Without more support from investors like her, we’re going to increasingly find ourselves stuck with the incremental portfolio improvements from the incumbents, and that’s just not nearly enough.

58

5 Comments

#hiring If anyone knows an awesome engineer that would be interested in joining an emerging #AI company doing important work in #healthcare, please drop me a line! Andy AI is backed by General Catalyst, YCombinator, Greater Ventures, and others, and they’re looking to hire a full stack engineer (US based) who's excited about using AI to improve healthcare and reduce nurse burnout. Andy is AI software that automates clinical documentation for nurses who do home visits. A nurse makes an audio recording of the visit and Andy automatically generates a form that usually takes nurses 90 minutes to complete. Nurses love the product because it potentially saves them 15 hours of charting a week! The founders previously built healthcare AI at Google Health and Apple, and are now building their vision to transform home health. More about Andy AI: https://with-andy.com/ Nurses love it: https://lnkd.in/g9XqZrUq #GenAI #digitalhealth #hiring #engineers #healthtech

14

2 Comments

"Go do some DEI training and come back to us". Wow. Last week, I met with (among many others) three exceptional executives from the global arena, each having invested millions in renowned headhunting firms. Their experiences were strikingly similar! Despite their extensive expertise and contributions, they were all critiqued on the same ground - they are white, middle-aged men. One was even advised to undertake DEI training before proceeding further. Clearly, it's time for a substantial shift in how talent is assessed and valued. Virtualnonexecs stands out as that change. We focus purely on your skills and how you can drive success for our vast network of PE, VC, and Family Office Funds (and of course their vast portfolio of current and upcoming investments). We prioritise professional experience and potential contributions without regard to age, gender, or ethnicity. Why should your race, sexuality or gender define you? Your expertise is what defines you, not demographic checkboxes. The global names in (so called) "headhunting" need to drop the rhetoric and recognise the value that each individual brings to the table, not focus on fulfilling quotas! If you think pouring hundreds of thousands into their pockets will somehow garner favour in the future, I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken! Join our community: https://lnkd.in/eZb9RUN (FREE) #Leadership #InnovationInRecruitment #VirtualnonexecsDifference #OperatorNetwork #nonexecutivedirector #chair

32

29 Comments

🔬 The transition towards biomanufacturing, and the move away from traditional, energy-intensive processes in industry is creating unprecedented opportunities for start-ups. Understanding the investor's perspective in this space can help founders prepare more effectively for their fundraise. Investment Manager, Dr Marina Fuentes, details the most critical aspects Mercia Ventures and other investors look for at the Series A stage. Read more ⏬ #BioManufacturing #Blog #Investor #VentureCapital #Investment #SeriesA #Founders #Opportunity #Learning

5

Stop this removal-only obsession in the carbon markets. What kind of hare-brained approach is that? We need avoidance even more than we need removals. This article reminds me of the analogy I made a few months ago about a sinking boat. No amount of bailing water with buckets will save you if the hole in the hull is getting bigger. Remember, if deforestation was a country, it would be the world's third largest emitter. And no, you cannot just demand/legislate that poor rural people stop deforesting without providing alternative income. That is why forest carbon exists. It takes some form of totalitarian mindset (and/or total lack of understanding of rural economies)to think one can just ban things they do not like. https://lnkd.in/eCddBRwt

49

5 Comments

Private Biotech Fundraising - Maximize Investor Engagement by overpreparing and having a detailed memo in addition to an investor deck – not common, but A+ approach. Despite a rise in private funding for biotech startups in Q1 2024, the market has largely plateaued since 2022, presenting ongoing challenges for many private biotech firms. To maximize investor engagement and boost your chances of expediting the fundraising process. I strongly advise teams to be exceptionally well-prepared and proactive. Do a Memo too! It's fundamental to have a thorough pitch deck that presents an investment thesis right from the start. However, it’s equally crucial to prepare a comprehensive memo covering all bases—this includes the competitive landscape, distinct advantages, potential risks, fundraising specifics, founders' backgrounds, product details, and market size. Such preparation makes it easier for venture capitalists (VCs) to grasp the business's potential and can accelerate the investment process. Founders should meticulously guide VCs through their diligence by providing comprehensive and easily digestible information. This approach not only streamlines the evaluation process but could also enhance your startup's positioning in the eyes of potential investors. By offering detailed insights, you can help VCs with their due diligence and prevent them from misinterpreting your business's position, leading to a more accurate and favorable assessment. Although not widely adopted, this proactive approach can be very useful in guiding VCs through the diligence process, making it easier and quicker for them to understand and invest in your business.   https://lnkd.in/eRyaEmti   #Privatebiotechfundraising #Bestpractices #Privatebiotechfundraisingguidance

50

1 Comment

Thrilled to announce our new funds - $825M KP 21 and $1.2B Select III to back early stage and high inflection companies. As always post and deck https://lnkd.in/gq9rtVc8 Deeply thankful to our founders, team, and investors. We are on the precipice of incredible technology shifts that will transform industries, amplify the power of human ingenuity, and generate incredible economic growth. There hasn’t been a more exciting time for technology. Like electricity, AI is advancing everything. From software, to hardware, to healthcare, to finance and legal, better and more efficient experiences can be built. Human creativity, complemented with machine intelligence can open up new experiences. Imagination is now the only constraint. As technology rapidly evolves, our business, values, ethos, strategy and approach remain the same. Venture is an art and a craft that’s grounded in human connection. Our investment, go-to-market, marketing, talent and operating teams are all in service of helping entrepreneurs make history. The best time to build is now and the future is bright!

723

78 Comments

We just posted this week’s venture capital investment summary (11 featured companies!) spanning early & growth-stage US based Environmental Technology & Enterprise Software startups! Check it out and make sure to give these tenacious up and coming startups some love! 🚀

2

Key Investment Highlights from The Seraphim Space Index Q2 2024 🌌 Let's take a closer look at the key highlights from the latest quarter: 💰 $8.5bn invested in TTM to Q2 2024 👩‍💻 174 deals in Q2 2024 🛰 $2.4bn invested in Q2 2024 🤝 385 deals in Q2 2024 compared to 320 in Q1 2024 🚀 Space Pioneer closed the biggest deal of $208m in Q2 2024 💲 Average deal size is $18m ◾ Median deal size is $5m in Q2 2024 Check out the full Index here - https://lnkd.in/d-vf-mVN

1

📢 Some big news this week that marks another pivotal step in the evolution of carbon markets… The Biden administration, led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, will be unveiling the first broad US government guidelines on the use of carbon credits as part of decarbonization strategies. It’s a much needed step that will promote high-integrity carbon markets, and boost corporate confidence in using carbon credits. The Bloomberg article's sources suggest the upcoming framework will align with the government’s stance that: “voluntary carbon markets have a role in reaching net zero, as long as they promote high-integrity emissions reductions and channel meaningful amounts of capital into nature-based projects today as well as carbon-removal technologies in the future.” And that is the key. There is no silver bullet for the climate crisis. Whatever the critics may say about carbon credits, more transparency, clarity and official endorsement on their use will serve to unlock billions of much needed corporate dollars for carbon projects. Couple this news with recent initiatives by major tech companies like the Symbiosis Coalition of Google, Meta, Microsoft and Salesforce and we’re starting to stride in the right direction. Read more and sign up for the live stream: https://lnkd.in/ddDRA8yd #carbonmarkets #carboncredits #naturalcapital #climateaction #breakingnews

19

2 Comments

8 top tips for carbon project developers seeking investment 👇🏼 I’ve invested over $500 million of structured finance and private equity across a range of energy transition projects over the past decade. We receive multiple pitches and proposals every week. Most are uninvestable on first look. So here are 8 things carbon project developers should be thinking about to improve likelihood of raising funds: 1️⃣ Team to inspire confidence: Curate a team with a track record across the key aspects of your business. A skilled and experienced team can significantly increase investor confidence. 2️⃣ Future-proof: Stress test project viability and economics and build out risk and mitigation plans. Make sure these are documented, as understanding the downside is key to investment evaluation. 3️⃣ Solid economics: Investors are looking for a clear business case in terms of long-term profitability and scalability. 4️⃣ Demonstrated impact: Set out a philosophy for project quality that is centred on delivering clear core benefits and maximizes ancillary benefits to the community and environment. 5️⃣ Know the numbers: Develop detailed cost models and budgets, that will stand-up to scrutiny. Build the track record through pilot projects to have projections based on real world inputs. 6️⃣ No gaps in title and regulation: Be proactive about permitting and planning ahead to be prepared for how regulation will evolve. 7️⃣ Market Validation: Provide evidence of market demand. This can include letters of intent, pre-orders, or partnerships that validate your project’s potential. 8️⃣ Route to liquidity: Investors ultimately require liquidity over some time duration. Consider how your business plan facilitates this. By focusing on these key areas, you’ll be well-prepared to attract the right investors and secure the funding needed to bring your project to life. #ProjectFinance #CarbonProjects #Sustainability #InvestmentTips

68

9 Comments