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Craig Lawrence is a partner and co-founder of Energy Transition Ventures (ETV), a Houston-based venture capital fund that emerged from stealth in 2021.
ETV aims to advance the global shift in how the world produces and uses energy by investing in promising cleantech startups. Regular SunCast listeners may recall some of those emerging firms like DroneBase (now Zeitview) and RenewCO2.
Unlike many VC firms, Craig and his partner Neal Dikeman do not require the companies they invest in to demonstrate their potential impact on carbon emission reduction. "They're all going to [advance decarbonization], but we don't layer it as an investment requirement because the most important thing we can do is build successful companies," he said.
To do that, these young firms have to raise capital, deliver products, and generate revenue and profits. "This is where we focus our filtering criteria. If we bet on those companies and they succeed, they will have very large carbon impacts," he said.
In today's podcast, Craig shares his firm's innovative approaches to producing cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable energy. With more than 25 years of experience in venture capital, engineering, product, and executive roles, Craig has been at the forefront of the cleantech industry since its early days.
Craig said one of the most significant strategic errors cleantech founders make is asking for funds before doing their homework.
"They don't know what we've invested in even though we talk on podcasts like this. We write a blog and try to put all our investments on our website.
After pitching for 30 minutes or more, Craig said he often has to ask to discover what the company actually does. "They're telling me about climate change — how important it is, how screwed up the world is, and all this stuff. I try to be patient, but at some point, we interrupt.
"I already know all these problems, and I know the market. This is my job."
He said cleantech founders should get to the point, especially when pitching investors specializing in energy, transport, buildings and infrastructure, carbon and climate, industry, and agriculture.
"Tell us why you're special, what you're doing, and how important [your work] is," he said, adding that VC firms like ETV already know climate change is a problem. "I get eight of these pitches a day."
While leading energy investing at Accel Partners, Craig oversaw successful investments in early-stage cleantech companies, including SunRun and OPower — both of which have become leaders in their respective fields. Craig has also held senior executive roles at companies driving the energy transition, such as Treverity, SolarBridge Technologies, and SunEdison.
As a former practice lead at IDEO, he helped energy tech startups launch innovative products and services. He is also an inventor, holding patents on products ranging from portable fuel cells to office furniture. With a B.S. in engineering from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University, Craig brings a unique blend of technical knowledge and creative problem-solving to the energy industry.
Tune in to this episode to learn from Craig's wealth of experience and gain insights into the future of sustainable energy from the perspective of a VC firm advancing the energy transition.
NOTEWORTHY QUOTEs:
“If I was advising young me, who studied engineering to what category of engineering to pick, I would say, do something around electrochemistry.”
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Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
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