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Get Your Idea Off the Ground

Venture For ClimateTech is a non-profit global venture studio + accelerator program. We source the most promising ClimateTech innovators from around the world and offer them hands-on support until they are ready for first customers, pilot runs, and investment. 

Cohort Benefits

Conduct customer discovery to test your innovation within true market realities.

Validate the Market Opportunity

Conduct customer discovery to test your innovation within true market realities.
Turn your vision into reality with tools, mentor-driven education, connections, and coaching.

Get Comprehensive Support

Turn your vision into reality with tools, mentor-driven education, connections, and coaching.
Launch your ClimateTech business with up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding.

Secure Funding

Launch your ClimateTech business with up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding.
Prepare your inventory, distribution, quality assurance, logistics, and fulfillment plans to deliver high-quality products, on time.

Access Free or Discounted Services Through Our Perk Partners

Prepare your inventory, distribution, quality assurance, logistics, and fulfillment plans to deliver high-quality products, on time.
Tap into our diverse ecosystem and get help with early hires.

Build a Robust Team

Tap into our diverse ecosystem and get help with early hires.
Get manufacturing support through Scale For ClimateTech and introductions to other programs when you’re ready to move your prototype into production.

Gain a Pathway to Scale

Get manufacturing support through Scale For ClimateTech and introductions to other programs when you’re ready to move your prototype into production.

Program Timeline

V4C Bootcamp

April 2023
40 Teams invited to participate in V4C Bootcamp.

Phase I

May – July 2023
20 teams are selected to join Cohort 3 and participate in Mentor Madness, Customer Discovery, and the Business Model Canvas.

Phase II

July – September 2023
CXO Candidate Matching, Story Telling, Investor Bootcamp, and Demo Day in NYC

Phase III

September – October 2023
Business Development, Investor Matching, Partnership and Pilot Building.

*Dates are tentative.

Frequently Asked Questions

The goal of Venture For ClimateTech is to accelerate innovations likely to have substantial climate impacts for all, and which have potential for adoption in NYS. In particular, we want to offer a path to help entrepreneurs whose highly impactful innovations face unique barriers to commercialization through normal processes due to long paths to market and high capital intensity, along with other more traditional startups.

Venture For ClimateTech is designed to help you quickly and effectively address the biggest risks in launching your venture. It’s a three-phase, six-month program that seeks to help you build the team, knowledge, and personal network you need to succeed, while providing the capital, community, access to talent, and connections to make the journey faster and smoother.

We broadly are interested in companies developing technologies which have the potential to substantially reduce GHG emissions globally, and in the state of New York in particular. The third cohort will focus on decarbonizing four key sectors: Buildings, Transportation, Grid, and Industry. Companies with solutions that positively help communities impacted by climate change are strongly encouraged to apply.

We work with early-stage entrepreneurs and solo founders, some of whom will not yet have formed a legal entity. We are looking for pre-seed, meaning you may have raised money through grants but no significant amount from institutional investors. We are happy to have a conversation about other resources in our ecosystem which might be appropriate, or whether you might be a fit for our Scale For ClimateTech program! So don’t be shy, we are here to help!

Applicants can be located anywhere in the world but must have plans for how their solution can help New York State reach its climate goals as stated in the Climate Leadership and Protection Act.

This is a part-time program spread over several months. It’s meant to help you launch, but not to take away your ability to make ends meet. Some weeks will be more intense than others, particularly at the beginning of the program, but you can expect to spend about 10-15 hours a week on your company through the program.

Applications for Cohort 3 of Venture For ClimateTech are open from January 24, 2023 to March 10, 2023.

Startups will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • The potential carbon equivalent reduction impact of the technology or service.
  • The business opportunity makes sense, is substantial, and there is evidence of market interest.
  • The founder or founding team is sharp, motivated, self-aware, and coachable
  • The company is of an appropriate stage, and is positioned to benefit substantially from participation in the program.
  • The startup product or service has a clear fit with the NYS ecosystem, in terms of having the opportunity for a presence, partnerships, or a market within the stage.
  • The solution addresses and/or involves underserved communities in development or application.

Participation in Venture For ClimateTech will require 10-15 hours a week, which includes instructional and mentoring time, and time working on your company. You can participate concurrently in other accelerator or incubation programming outside of Venture For ClimateTech; however, we ask that you dedicate the necessary time to fulfill the requirements of this opportunity.

Venture For ClimateTech Team

Board of Advisors

Amy-Francetic
Amy is Founder and Managing General Partner of Buoyant Ventures, a new venture fund in Chicago that aims to invest

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Rasha Hasaneen
Rasha is the Chief Product and Sustainability Officer at Aspen Technology. She is a seasoned executive and innovation leader with

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Seth-Levine
Seth is a partner and co-founder at Boulder-based Foundry Group focusing on making early-stage technology investments, participating in select growth

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Pulakesh Mukherjee
Pulakesh is Managing Partner at Imperative Ventures. Before Imperative, Pulakesh spent ten years at BASF Venture Capital sourcing and executing

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Alejandro-Castro-Perez
Alex is currently heading IKEA Energy Services — a business on a mission to democratize clean energy. He also leads

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Ramsay-Siegal
Ramsay is a Partner at Earthshot Ventures, a new venture capital fund launched to support entrepreneurs tackling climate change. The

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Lou Schick
As Director of Investments for Clean Energy Ventures, Lou brings more than twenty years of experience as a technologist in

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Katie MacDonald
Katie is a climate leader with over a decade of experience in international development, non-profit leadership, political organizing, business acceleration,

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Headshot of Zach Nies
Zach Nies is Managing Director at Techstars for the Boulder program and a member of the faculty at the University

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Brandi Colander
Brandi Colander is an attorney and sustainability practitioner with public policy expertise who has testified before Congress and state governing

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Ellen
Ellen is a Vice President at SVB and based in New York City. As part of SVB’s Climate Technology and

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Operating Team

Jack Baron
Managing Director, Venture For ClimateTech As a successful entrepreneur, Jack brings unique experience to Venture For ClimateTech, along with a

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Devin-Sandon
In his role as New Venture Specialist, Devin works to recruit, develop, and support the growth of early stage ClimateTech

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Chris Carpenter
Chris handles all marketing, community outreach, and editorial content for the Venture For ClimateTech and Scale For ClimateTech programs, including

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Scott Meyers is the program manager for Venture For ClimateTech where he plans, coordinates, and executes the day-to-day programming and

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Cassie-Schuttrumpf
Cassie has worked with SecondMuse, an adminstrator of Venture For ClimateTech in partnership with NextCorps, across various projects, carrying out

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Perk Partners

Join Us

We match all program participants with a dedicated mentor who can expertly address each company’s specific needs.
Contact us if you’d like to get involved.