Financing a sustainability tech company

This year so far has been interesting in terms of new investments made to sustainable technology, in size, company valuation and timing. Let’s take a look at the technology readiness from the point of view of a sustainability technology sector. Does it differ from others? We’ll find out! – Jyri

📅 Technology maturity is evaluated using the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, which NASA developed in the 1970s. However, metrics like TRL usually come to an end at ”market introduction” or ”launch.” Actually nowadays, the technological development cycle ends with the product sunset (taking off use), not introduction to the user. 

🦄 Works starts at launch. The genuinely challenging work—deploying technologies with actual customers—begins at this point of the launch. Particularly for climate technology, the path to scale frequently necessitates large sums of money, several strategic and community partners, and deliberate, sophisticated, and iterative deployments. Integrating these lessons learned is essential for success since what a company learns from its initial deployments influences its future trajectory. 

Financing a sustainability company

🌿 Many impact driven companies can utilize public funding, especially here in Finland. Analyzing what is occurring to the entrepreneur’s cash flow throughout this shift from public to private sector financing is equally crucial as considering the values and objectives of the funders. It is a difficult process that frequently necessitates a journey through the ”cash flow valley of death” to get a venture to the point where it is successful and can develop a commercial product.

Bridging the Valley of Death: Transitioning from Public to Private Sector Financing

🎫 Too frequently, climate tech firms are still forced to raise expensive, dilutive venture funding in order to launch their initial pilots, diluting potential returns and producing unfavorable incentives. The majority of growth-stage financing sources want a variety of commercial proof points from new businesses. 

🚀 These technologies must reach their first, second, and third commercial-scale deployments and deployment at scale before they can have an impact on the climate. They must eventually overtake fossil fuels, plastic, and other extractive industries as market leaders.

💰 Cash is king! And those of us working in the climate sector need hundreds of Angel investors, VCs, banks, and structured programs to act as the bridge from early technology research to large-scale commercialization in order to close the gap. Entrepreneurs will have a greater influence on climate change if they can overcome commercialization turning points and establish themselves as market leaders more quickly. And everyone would like to witness that.

🤝 We are market-ready, get in touch with us! 🤝