"You're Not a Real Climate Tech Investor": How gener8tor Deploys $1.4B Across 1,000 Startups

Ryan Jeffery explains why real climate tech investors act now, how gener8tor picks 5 startups from 500, and lessons from scaling impact-focused ventures globally.⭐ My guest today is Ryan Jeffery, the Senior Managing Director for gener8tor Sustainability, a leading accelerator investing and supporting startups at the forefront of our climate crisis. They invest $100k in startups in their 12-week programs. Over the last ten years, they’ve made investments in 1,000 startups, which have gone on to raise $1.4B.In addition, Ryan is the:Founder of Ignite, a diverse and dynamic leadership community in ChicagoFounding Partner at Survival Ventures, which is investing, advising and growing ventures that preserve and protect our planetMentor at Impact EngineAnd advisor to many more impact startups---🎙️ In this episode, we talked about:His delightfully provocative LinkedIn post that starts with this zinger: “If you're a climate tech investor sitting on your hands waiting for better market conditions before deploying more capital, then you're not a real climate tech investor. The climate doesn't care about market conditions.”How he views fiduciary duty in light of the urgency for tackling climate changeWhy they’re one of the world’s biggest startup accelerators that no one has ever heard ofHow they pick 5 out of 500 startups to join each accelerator cohortLessons learned from his 3 prior ventures and investing in dozens of startupsWhy 93% of their investments take place outside of California, Massachusetts, and New YorkWhat the top founders do well – e.g., laser-focused on customer needs, sending out monthly update lists to “friends of the company”Why Brandi Carlil’s song “The Eye” is relevant to startups and parentingAnd 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 70,000+ 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