Season 2, Episode 2 of Cleantech Talks features host Peter Van Der Gracht in a conversation with Sarah Applebaum, Partner at Pangaea Ventures, and Kathryn Wortsman, Managing Partner at Amplify Capital. They discuss the changes occurring in the cleantech sector due to the pandemic and what they look for when investing in a company with an innovative solution.
-Peter Van Der Gracht, senior advisor at Alacrity Canada, talks to Sarah Appelbaum of Pangaea Ventures and Kathryn Wortsman of Amplify Capital about investing in the cleantech sector
-investment sweet spots, early-stage and later-stage investing
-the criteria for investing in a Series A round or Seed funding
-an impact fund as essential service fund; focusing on healthcare, cleantech, and education
-deal flow still strong throughout 2020, though adjustments are being made to extend runways
-team makeup and evaluation when looking to invest
-leading rounds or partnering with other syndicate investors, whether it's institutional investors or angel investors
-conducting due diligence during the COVID19 pandemic effectively
-how are returns on investment being measured in cleantech?
-cleantech sales cycles are longer than in other sectors, but customers are also very sticky
-cleantech investors need patience and long-term outlook
-how does regulation impact the complexity of going to market for a cleantech company
-the importance of patents and intellectual property when looking at a potential investment opportunities
-assessing a company against its competitors and leveraging partners and customers as advisors to validate the market
-deals looked at versus deals made; what does the filter look like?
-feedback for entrepreneurs in the cleantech space