#168 Advice for Project Finance, AI x Climate, CleanTech 1.0, Late Stage Investing, & More w/ Mike Jackson (Earthshot Ventures)

In this episode, I sit down with Mike Jackson, Managing Partner at Earthshot Ventures. Earthshot Ventures calls themselves carbon generalists and invest from Seed to Series B. They mainly invest in software and “stepchange” hardware with a preference to double down on existing portfolio companies.Mike’s story is great because of how intentional he has excelled at every stage and in multiple sides of building in climate. He is a successful founder from cleantech 1.0, a rockstar investing even before earthshot, experienced in project finance, and now investing in a collaborative way that is pushing the whole climatetech industry forward.---🌎 Want the full PodLetter? Go to our substack to see the written content that supplements the audio interview.  ---🌴 https://linktr.ee/cleantechies📺 👀 Prefer to watch: subscribe on YouTube 🗣️ Take the Listeners Survey 📫 Get Written Summaries of Each Episode in Your Inbox | https://cleantechies.substack.com/podcast🌐 Join the CleanTechies Slack Channel | https://tinyurl.com/mwkn8zk5----- Topics: **06:49 Journey from Childhood to Leading a Climate Fund**12:54 Lessons from Cleantech 1.0**15:54 Preparing for Project Finance**25:13 Importance of Business Models**32:35 Rising at the Westly Group**34:37 Building a Complementary Team**39:48 Why Earthshot is a "Network Fund"**43:14 Investing Earlier in ClimateTech**45:02 AI and its Impact on Climate**48:31 Attracting Capital from Generalist Investors**49:50 Advice for VCs ----- Links: **Mike Jackson | Earthshot Ventures**Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn**@Silas & @Somil_Agg on X Support the showIf you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.70+ Placements5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)90-day placement guaranteeIt's really hard to say no to that. Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company. We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank. Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]