I spoke with Esther Morales, Executive Director at Clean Energy Leadership Institute. CELI is building a multiracial, diverse, and inclusive community of changemakers working across sectors and disciplines to lead an equitable, decarbonized, and resilient energy ecosystem. We discussed CELI’s strategy and building confidence in leadership within climate.

I spoke with Marie Schildt, an investor at Unruly Capital, a VC with a desire to shape the world for the better by focusing on meaningful companies. We discussed Unruly’s strategy, Marie’s path to climate, and how investing styles differ between cultures.

This week, I spoke with Eliza Nemser, the Executive Director and Co-Founder at Climate Changemakers, an online climate action hub equipping thousands of changemakers to effectively advocate for policies at all levels of government. We discussed issue-motivated politics, the missing middle, and the difference just one hour of action can make.

This week, I spoke with Claire Veuthey, the Principal and Founder of Rizoma, a boutique sell-side advisor for climate companies providing specialized M&A advisory and capital raise services from a sustainability perspective. She reflected on the broadening of the sustainability industry, illuminated what factors determine the right time for a climate company to exit, and broke down a supposed knowledge barrier.

I sat down with Lakshmi Reddy and Emin Israfil, the COO and CEO of Rubbish, a company building AI-powered waste characterization and management tools to create cleaner and healthier communities. We explored their paths into climate tech, how trash can be fun, and the company’s surprising origin story.

This week, I spoke to Russell Sprole, founder and managing partner of Virta Ventures, an early stage fund backing entrepreneurs and companies building sustainable businesses. We discussed equity-light climate tech, why founders can fail with great product, and how AI could set back our climate progress.

This week’s Member Spotlight is on Marko Lehtimäki, Co-Founder and CTO of Verge Motorcycles. We discussed how form can follow function, what gets people all-in on EVs, and how his bikes actually get better over time.

I interviewed Phil Dillard, founder and CEO of Thruline Networks and creator of Wisdom Wednesday. He discussed how to bring value, his definition of success, and what makes a great entrepreneur.

I sat down with Aric Saunders, founder of Mana Energy and longtime member of the renewable energy industry. We discussed equitable energy, the talent pool in climate tech, and how the field has changed.

For the second of our two-part series on Wherobots, I interviewed Maxime Petazzoni, the company’s Head of Engineering. We discussed the Wherobots company culture, the growing attainability of climate neutrality, and the role of software in climate innovation. 

I sat down with Jia Yu, the co-founder of Wherobots, one of 9Zero’s most recent partnerships. We explored a gap in the market, the importance of accessibility, and the relationship between open-source technology and climate tech.