Ark Climate on Funding, Metrics, and Scaling Government SaaS

Welcome back to The SaaS CFO Podcast. In this episode, Ben Murray sits down with Ruth Bosse, founder and CEO of Ark Climate, a Munich-based SaaS company transforming how cities tackle climate action. With a background in politics, mathematics, computer science, and significant experience at McKinsey, Ruth Bosse brings a unique perspective to the intersection of technology, climate, and government.  We'll hear about the inspiration for Ark Climate, how the company rapidly built traction in the German market, the challenges and opportunities of selling SaaS to government entities, and their approach to fundraising and growth. Ruth Bosse also shares key lessons learned from launching a govtech startup, the importance of realistic sales forecasting, and her vision to expand Ark Climate into a broader government operating platform. Whether you’re a SaaS founder, govtech enthusiast, or simply interested in the evolving world of climate solutions, this conversation is packed with candid insights on metrics, go-to-market strategies, and scaling impact-driven technology.  Show Notes:  00:00 Starting a climate-focused company  06:29 Internal and external climate tools  08:04 Bootstrapping and pre-seed funding  12:02 Starting with cold calling  14:16 Why we stopped doing fairs  18:56 Expanding beyond climate tools  20:38 Closing remarks and future goals  Links:  SaaS Fundraising Stories: https://www.thesaasnews.com/news/ark-climate-raises-2-1m-pre-seed  Ruth Bosse’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthbosse/  Ark Climate’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ark-climate-technologies/?originalSubdomain=de  Ark Climate’s Website: https://www.ark-climate.de/en/homepage  To learn more about Ben check out the links below:  Subscribe to Ben’s daily metrics newsletter: https://saasmetricsschool.beehiiv.com/subscribe  Subscribe to Ben’s SaaS newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/df1db6bf8bca/the-saas-cfo-sign-up-landing-page  SaaS Metrics courses here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/  Join Ben’s SaaS community here: https://www.thesaasacademy.com/offers/ivNjwYDx/checkout  Follow Ben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benrmurray