$100M Climate Tech Fund Backed by Insurance Giant: Tim Krysiek of MassMutual Ventures

Discover how MassMutual Ventures is deploying $100M into early-stage U.S. climate startups, from clean power to climate intelligence, with lessons from geopolitics, unicorn hunting, and even pierogi-making.⭐ My guest today is Tim Krysiek, Managing Partner at MassMutual Ventures.MassMutual is an insurance and financial services firm with $460B in AUM, and MassMutual Ventures is their venture arm. Their new US Climate Tech Fund represents $100M and is focused on early-stage opportunities (Series A and B) in climate intelligence, sustainable cities, and clean power. Initial check sizes are $2-5M.Tim was previously Managing Director at Equinor Ventures where he worked across the energy value chain, including renewables, fusion, mobility, and storage. He was also a consultant at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (now S&P Global), a researcher at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, and a political risk consultant at Google. Krysiek achieved all these great things because he got an MBA from Duke University, where I teach. (OK, I exaggerate slightly.) When not investing in world-changing companies, I hear that he’s an aspiring Eastern European cook focused on the 3Ps – pierogies, pelmeni, or potica.---🎙️ In this episode, we talked about:His team’s work investing in five climate tech unicornsHow his study of geopolitics across twelve countries shaped him into an investorWhat their climate intelligence focus means in terms of cheaper data and falling processing costsHow the Net Zero Tracker of corporate climate goals influences their thesis around voluntary carbon marketsWhy he’s excited about investing in proptech given the durability of buildings and the potential value that MassMutual can create for companies in that spaceWhat he means by keeping one foot on certain ground and the other on uncertain groundHow much water he drinks per day and its relationship to the number of steps he takes per dayHis three favorite climate books and three favorite business books (Power Law, anyone?)And lots more---👍 Quick favor: Please leave a review or 5-star rating on your podcast player. This helps more listeners discover the climate CEOs and investors I interview here. 🙏---🌎 Entrepreneurs for Impact is on a mission to help climate founders, CEOs, and investors scale faster via the #1 peer group community in North America. Our invite-only cohorts grow through monthly meetings, annual retreats, and 1:1 coaching calls. Today’s highly vetted members represent over $8B in market cap or assets under management. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Programs are led by Dr. Chris Wedding — 4x founder, $1B of investment experience, and Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill professor, with 80,000+ professional students taught, 25 years of meditation, an obsession with constant improvement, and far too many mistakes to keep to himself.And here's our weekly newsletter — A 2-minute summary of climate tech startups, impact investing, and leading with purpose (and a sense of humor). ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://entrepreneursforimpact.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠