#183 Smart Cities, Climate FinTech, Urban Tech, VC Fundamentals, & More w/ Rahul Parekh (2150)

Why did the skyscraper feel lonely? It couldn't find anyone on its level!🌎 Welcome back to the CleanTechies PodLetter, Investor edition.Today, we are talking to Rahul Parekh of 2150.Rahul broke down the nitty-gritty of how 2150 built (no pun intended) a leading ClimateTech VC fund focused on decarbonizing the built environment. We talked investing, fund modeling, learning from general VC, FinTech in ClimateTech, & more. This was a VC-fundamental extraordinaire, and super informative for anyone looking to learn more about venture capital. AND let’s not forget, Rahul spent his holiday with us to do this. Cheers to him. Enjoy 🥳👏.📺 Watch on YouTube | 🍎 Apple Podcasts | 🎧 Spotify | 🗣️ Join the Slack Channel🚨Attention! 🚨 We interrupt your regular programming for an important message.ClimateTech founders are taking on a huge challenge. Building a climate startup is highly complex but also SO NECESSARY if we are going to save the climate. Founders not only you need to understand how to build a startup, but you also need to understand how to deal with hardware, have a strong handle on climate policy, know how to fundraise from diverse investors types, etc. etc. etc…It’s a lot.That’s why we make CleanTechies. The #1 Podcast for ClimateTech Entrepreneurs.In addition to our jobs, we devote ~20 hours a week to producing this podcast for you. This way, you can learn from others who have walked the path you’re on now, learn from their mistakes, and gain insights on navigating this complex world.If this mission resonates with you, we ask for your financial support of this project. It takes a lot of effort, and it’s not free. Your willingness to contribute on a monthly or yearly basis helps us keep this going.If you’re already a subscriber and want to contribute financially, click “Upgrade to Paid” at the top right of your screen.If not, follow the steps once you click “Subscribe Now” below to help us out. Thanks for helping us help all the climate entrepreneurs like you. 🙏 🌎The Guest: Rahul Parekh* Rahul is a former investment banker and derivatives trader from Goldman Sachs (GS)* After GS, he spent a year as Managing Partner of the venture firm, Rocket Internet SE* He then spent 4 years building and then exiting his FoodTech company called EatFirst* Now, at 2150, he invests in ClimateTech companies decarbonizing the urban environment, specializing in climate fintechThe Company: 2150One Liner: global VC fund investing in sustainable urban tech to decarbonize and enhance city resilienceThey back tech entrepreneurs with “Constructive Capital”, so they can reimagine and reshape the Urban Stack, for good.They support companies that leverage structural shifts, kill inefficiencies, remove pain points and enhance environmental upside and create billions in commercial value and lower gigatons of emissions.2150 is a part of Urban Partners, a platform of vision-aligned, differentiated, investment strategies shaped around urban problem solving.Do you have suggestions on future guests or topics? Leave a comment!Unable to support financially but still want to help? Share this post w/ 3 ClimateTech entrepreneurs (or aspiring entrepreneurs). Sharing is super helpful to us, and it costs you nothing.📝 Show Notes:Topics* 03:025 Introduction* 05:01 Home Decarbonization* 08:19 Government Incentives and Policies* 24:37 The Breakdown of Investments in 2150* 33:29 Intentional Modeling and Entry Prices* 42:05 Finance x Climate* 45:20 The Urban Stack and City Resilience* 47:29 Adding Value Beyond CapitalLinks* Rahul Parekh | 2150* Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas* This podcast is NOT investment advice. Do your homework and due diligence before investing in anything discussed on this podcast.Asks 👋👉 Listeners Survey* We would love to hear how we can improve the show and what you like most.👉 Fundraising for Founders* If founders are looking for funding in the ClimateTech space, reach out & schedule a chat here!👉 Early-Stage Founders Hiring* Silas just started his own recruitment consultancy tailor-made for early-stage ClimateTech startups. He does this by offering heavily discounted headhunting services for companies at Pre-Seed, Seed, and Series A companies. If you need a hand finding the best talent on the market, and you don’t want to sell your kidney to pay for it, let’s chat. (booking here)👉 Meet Top Founders* Interested in getting in front of hundreds of ClimateTech VCs and Founders each month, reach out to [email protected] to learn more about becoming a sponsor.If you couldn’t already tell, we care a lot about ClimateTech founders 😂🙏🏽 Thanks for tuning in, and see y’all next episode! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cleantechies.substack.com/subscribe