Ask an Angel: Dan Madhavan, Ecotone Ventures

We launched the climate angel network because we wanted to create a space where investors could engage to learn about climate solutions and become more active angel investors.   

There is such an urgency to back innovative climate solutions, and many investors don’t know where to start.  We felt it was important to give investors the opportunity to invest in climate ventures where they have proximity to the founders/companies but also don’t have to make large bets (given the risk profile and illiquidity of venture investing).   

So we set up Ecotone Ventures, with help from the incredible folks at LaunchVic, to encourage more capital to flow into early stage climate ventures in a more accessible manner.  It’s also helpful for founders to know they are getting aligned investors who understand their sector and are passionate about the solutions they’re building. 

Start raising early!  Don’t wait until you’re nearly out of runway.  In the current market environment, raises are taking much longer than expected.  If you think you can raise in 3 months, budget for at least 6-9 months!  If possible, try to develop relationships with prospective investors before you need to ask them for money.  Having a warm group of investors who have been following your business over time gives you a great place to start the capital raising conversation. 
 

I look for founders who can balance seemingly contradictory behaviours like ambition and humility, conviction and coachability, deep-domain expertise and a growth mindset, dogged determination and pragmatic realism.  I also look for founders who hustle, who keep kicking goals in short amounts of time and keep iterating until they get things right.  And last, but certainly not least, I look for founders who are authentically passionate about the problem they’re trying to solve.   

We’re seeing some exciting tech in the demand-response space, which we believe will play a critical role in helping grids decarbonise.  We’re also diving deep at the moment into emerging battery technologies and other energy storage solutions, sustainable mobility, closed-loop packaging/materials solutions and innovative waste solutions. We’re also excited about the ways in which technologies like AI and spacetech can be applied to drive climate outcomes.