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Friends of Greentown,
Do you know what I find energizing? Our biggest sector of startups! Fun fact: about one-third of our startups are innovating in the electricity sector. Funner fact: you can join Greentown Labs virtually or in-person on Feb. 21 for the first Sector Pitch Day of 2023 focused on reducing electricity-related emissions. This invite-only event will feature a speaking program, startup pitches, and an opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs, corporates, and fellow investors working in the energy space. If you are active in this space and want to convene with fellow leaders to discuss the challenges that the industry faces and how to collaboratively tackle them, then please reach out to Director of Partnerships Jenn Ibañez to get an invite for this private event!
And if you would like to meet our fundraising startups in the sector before the event begins, please reach out to me about a spot at our private investor networking lunch.
Now let’s dive into what else is making this an energizing start to 2023.
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| CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF IMPACT—ENERGYBAR STYLE
Join us on Thursday, Feb. 2, in Boston for our first EnergyBar of the year! EnergyBar is Greentown Boston’s signature networking event devoted to connecting partners and investors to our community of climatetech entrepreneurs, so it’s only right that we dedicate our first EnergyBar of 2023 to the incredible tenure of Greentown’s first employee, Emily Reichert, as she recently stepped down as CEO after 10 years leading our organization. Come celebrate a decade of impact together as a team, community, and ecosystem, and cheers to all that the future holds for Greentown! This event will also provide an opportunity to meet our fantastic Interim CEO, Kevin T. Taylor, who also serves as Greentown’s CFO. Houston-area folks: stay tuned for news on a celebratory Transition On Tap soon. |
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| GO ENERGIZE 2023
Greentown Go is off to an energetic start to the year with the launch of Greentown Go Energize 2023 with Vineyard Wind and supported by MassCEC. Vineyard Wind is developing the first utility-scale offshore wind project in the United States—which will eliminate 1.68 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually! But given the industry’s complexity, it can be uniquely challenging for startups to enter this space. Go Energize 2023 aims to reduce these barriers through industry education, knowledge sharing, and relationship-building across relevant industry networks. Do you have any startups in your network that could potentially commercialize with an offshore wind developer? Tell them to check out the Program RFP and apply for a chance to participate and receive $70k in non-dilutive stipend funding in addition to other program benefits! |
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| ACCEL KICKOFF
We were thrilled to receive about 80 applications for our newly launched Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders (ACCEL) program! In partnership with Browning the Green Space, the ACCEL program will help BIPOC startup founders access the funding, networking connections, resources, and opportunities that structural inequities regularly put out of reach by combining startup acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation at Greentown, and extensive mentorship from our networks of industry experts.
Join us on Feb. 23 in Boston at the ACCEL Kickoff Event to meet the inaugural startup cohort!
If you have any questions or want to see how you can support or get involved, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at [email protected]. |
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| MEMBER MOMENTUM
Check out the $20M+ raised by our members and alumni and the acquisitions that happened since last month’s newsletter:
- Member Energy Dome, a Milan, Italy-based provider of CO2 batteries for long-duration energy storage, has been awarded €17.5M in funding through the European Innovation Council fund.
- Greentown Go Grow alum Blakbear, a U.K.-based developer of “freshness sensors” to reduce food waste, raised a £2.3M seed round.
- Greentown Go Energize alum SPEC Sensors, which is creating a robust and reliable meshed sensor network for hydrogen leak detection and line-monitoring systems, was acquired by Interlink Electronics.
- Houston-based member Applied Bioplastics, which is commercializing plant-based polymers, is raising a crowdfunding campaign on Boston-based member Raise Green’s climate investment platform. We love to see cross-member collaboration here at Greentown!
If you want to explore investing in our incredible community of startups, reach out to me so we can get you subscribed to our Deal Flow Digest for accredited investors.
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| INVESTOR ROUNDTABLES
We heard you—we will be hosting more small-format, in-person investor roundtables in 2023! On a quarterly basis in both Boston and Houston, we will gather 10-15 investors around a meal to cover topics including DEI, ESG, and more. Does this idea energize you? If so, please reach out to me if you are Boston-based or Dan Cliff, Member Success Coordinator, if you are Houston-based. |
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| BIG FINISH
Let’s wrap with a multitude of ways to connect with the best climatetech community around:
- Want to check out the latest (December) Deal Flow Digest or want to get signed up for future Deal Flow Digests? Reach out to me.
- Want to check out the latest (December) Pilot Digest or want to get signed up for future Pilot Digests? Reach out to Dan Cliff.
- Know people looking for a climatetech career? Head to our job board.
- Want more stories on our startup companies? Read the news.
- Know climatetech entrepreneurs seeking to incubate in Boston or Houston? They can apply here.
- Interested in realizing all the benefits of partnership? Learn more here.
- Want to help grow our investor network? Forward this email to a friend and have them sign up here.
As always, we’re here to conspire with you in the name of climate action. Questions or thoughts about what’s ahead? Please don’t hesitate to reach out!
Until next month,
Jackie
P.S. – Keep up on all the latest climate action in between newsletters. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and if you’d like to hear from us more often, sign up for our main newsletters here and our Houston-specific newsletters here. |
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