Missed part 1? Click here!

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Have you ever heard of The Villain Test?

We hadn’t either until we met today’s guest.

Sophie Bakalar (@sophiebakalar) joins us today, a partner at Collaborative Fund, a venture capital firm that’s been in climate tech for years and is tripling down on it today. 

Her background spans credit derivatives trading, founding her own successful business, and beyond! All of this has prepared her to make waves as a climate tech VC.

And she is going to help us discover how The Villain Test challenges conventional thinking and is used to spark positive change.

To know Collab Fund, is to know their investments: they’ve invested in leading innovations that are bringing the future faster: Companies like: 

• AlgiKnit (seaweed yarn)
• Amogy (zero emission tractor)
• Brimstone (CO2 negative cement)
• Eat Just (cell-made chicken & beef)
• Rubi labs (carbon negative fabrics)
• Verne (hydrogen storage for heavy duty vehicles)
• Zelp (methane reducing cow-wearable tech)
• Endless West (engineered whiskey)
• MeliBio (sustainable honey)
• Square Roots (3-week long basil)

You can see that Collab Fund was one of the earliest funds to start investing in this space. So what else do we talk about?

We dive deep into…

• Collaborative Fund’s game-changing approach to rapid, catalytic funding through their Shared Future fund
• Sophie shares her vision of a future where abundance thrives, leaving behind the notion of sacrifice.
• Plus, we dive into the burning question: Can you actually make a profit while doing good for the environment?

Are you ready for a flurry of ideas? Tune in to Sophie talking about the frontiers of sustainable innovation. 

Mayhem On! Please don’t forget to subscribe on Spotify or your favorite podcast app. It keeps us producing new episodes for you 🙏🏼

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Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, or on your favorite podcast platform. 

Show Notes

• [1:10] How do you all as the investors go on the journey of ‘belief’ with founders?
• [2:40] It sounds like because of your network, you’re able to help founders build out their customer development path
• [3:28] As an investor, do you think about climate mitigation vs climate adaptation investments?
• [5:14] Do you think about the ‘doing good’ with companies focused on mitigation, differently than companies focused on adaptation?
• [6:42] Why are you all tripling down on climate now?
• [8:44] Going where the talent is going. Investing where the smartest people are going.
• [10:30] Who is paying for climate products & services Collab Fund is funding? Is appetite growing?
• [13:57] What’s a recent pitch or idea that got you really excited?
• [16:53] Any tips or tricks for startup wannabes in climatetech?
• [21:20] Is series funding being at a low, the same in the climatetech space?
• [24:19] From everything you’ve seen, what do you think is the next big step change?
• [27:00] Are you doing a clifi book club (climate fiction)?
• [27:38] Rapid Mayhem questions!
• [30:37] Where can we find you? Where can we find Collab Fund?
• [31:20] Climate change is so big, people often feel helpless in helping. What is the equivalent of what a listener can DO? Any tech person or busy soccer mom can do?
• [31:48] Go and vote how?
• [32:45] Any other calls to action for you or Collab Fund?

Links From Episode

• Connect with Sophie: Twitter | LinkedIn
• Connect with Craig Shapiro (Co-founder of Collab Fund): LinkedIn
• Follow Collab Fund: LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
• What’s The Villain Test?
• Stacy Kauk, Head of Sustainability @ Shopify
• Shopify
• What is climate adaptation vs climate mitigation
• Collab Fund’s Shared Future Fund
• Collab Fund’s Colab SOS Fund
• What is B2B
• What is B2C
• What is cleantech 1.0
• AirMiners
• What is a CSO (Chief Sustainability Officer)
• What is capex
• What’s the difference between a grant and subsidy
• What is Seed Funding, Series A, B, C, and on
• What is product-market-fit
• How gas stoves contribute to climate change
• 2022 Climate Tech VC funding totaled $70B, up 89% on 2021
• Energy Storage & Mobility had most funds invested, biosphere least
• Carbon-related startups got $4.2 billion from VCs globally last year across 204 deals
• Decarbonization has an estimated $3-10 trillion in EBITDA up for grabs
• What is the Inflation Reduction Act
• Contact Collab Fund
• Collab Fund’s Shared Future Fund

Do you think climate tech startups can actually balance profitability AND climate responsibility? Share what you honestly think below.