Natural Ventures

Climate Change. Plastic Pollution. Water shortages. Planet A Ventures supports founders tackling the world‘s largest environmental problems. We provide early stage funding and mentoring to highly scalable green tech companies – while measuring and forecasting the positive environmental impact of a start-up as our central metric of success. IMPACT FORECASTING We help start-ups to scientifically quantify and predict the positive ecological impact of their business-model. PLANET A NETWORK We give founders access to a unique mentoring network of experienced, serial entrepreneurs, and proven experts. FUNDING We provide early-stage funding to accelerate impact and growth. ENABLE SCIENTIFIC INSIGHT, EMPOWER ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTION We believe in close collaboration of entrepreneurs and scientists to change our economy for the better of our planet. Without scientific insight, even the best entrepreneurs are ignorant of the true ecological impact of their business. This is why we have a full-fledged scientific team committed to calculating Life Cycle Assessments: this allows us to not only evaluate the GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions involved, but also to determine plastic, water, and land use footprints. Our approach provides entrepreneurs with the insight to scientifically quantify, visualize and forecast the environmental effects of their product or service. This knowledge empowers founders to make sustainable and strategic decisions. Such knowledge also allows investors to understand the impact of every Euro they have invested into early-stage start-ups. WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY Our planet desperately needs an economy that operates within its environmental boundaries. This requires us to radically change the ways we produce and consume. Now. Reinventing our economy is a major global challenge. It will take entrepreneurial action, scientific ingenuity, political stamina, and individual choices to achieve it. Capital has great power to influence the future of companies and entire industries: Tomorrow’s economy is based on today’s investment decisions. And we think it’s time for venture capital to take on its responsibility. This is why we at Planet A Ventures work hard to advance an economy that serves the people and our planet. We support start-ups taking action and spearheading positive change with capital as well as knowledge. BY FOUNDERS FOR FOUNDERS Planet A Ventures is founded by founders for founders. Our team and the Planet A Network give every venture unique access to the knowledge and experience of like-minded successful entrepreneurs, scientists, and business experts.

Climate change is water change. It is the medium through which we will feel the effects of a warming earth. It is our responsibility to manage Earth’s most precious resource, now more than ever. Burnt Island Ventures finds, funds, and supports the best founders. We are at a turning point. From the wildfires of the Western US to flooding in Niger, climate change is here. Water resources across the world will be under increasing stress as the world warms. Products and services that allow individuals, governments and companies to navigate this change will see more and more demand. Entrepreneurs are emerging with the skill and insight to meet that demand, developing solutions to water problems at scale. Burnt Island Ventures exists to find, fund and support the best of these founders. Treat it. Water must be treated before it can be used. The paradigms for this are changing, and water pollution worldwide is at record levels. Centralized is becoming decentralized, energy intensive processes are being replaced, waste is being eliminated. Cost-effective approaches can transform industry economics as well as environmental and health outcomes. Distribute it. Water is heavy. 1 cubic meter weighs a metric tonne. It’s why pipelines are the most efficient mode of distribution but they are literally full of holes, and need replacing. Cities across the world without piped infrastructure rely on expensive, unreliable water tankers. Convenient access to affordable clean water means more prosperous, healthier communities. Monitor it. Water utilities do an unbelievable job of keeping us safe, but the list of contaminants they are dealing with is large and growing, from lead to PFAS to microplastics. Low-cost, effective detection and monitoring techniques keep people and products safe, while helping water system operators manage and optimize their systems.

“Spero” is Latin for hope. We help founders build a hopeful future. We’re a team of former startup founders, operators, and investors from landmark companies including eBay and Tesla. We invest in determined founders building mission-driven technology companies in three focus areas: wellbeing; sustainability; learning, work, and play. We prefer to lead or co-lead a $3-$10M round (late seed or Series A). Our typical check is $2-$4M, and we reserve capital for follow-on. We are conviction-based investors who play the long game. How We Work With YouWe have the conviction to lead and price your round. We participate in follow-on funding and help with subsequent fundraising. Our concentrated portfolio approach allows us to engage deeply with our founders. We’re supportive throughout the life of a company. Every one of our founders has full access to the entire Spero Ventures team. We know some ideas take time to catch on, so we offer patient capital. We are calm and steady partners in uncertain times. We help companies scale to serve billions of customers. We’ve done this as operators and founders, and as advisors and board members. We connect our companies to a network of founders, advisors, coaches, domain experts, and executive talent. We build community by bringing founders and leaders together through our CEO Summits, Product Leader Summits, founder breakfasts, workshops and thought-provoking events. We offer expert-led workshops that help founders with brand/storytelling, sales/go-to-market, consumer growth, and fundraising. Our focus Wellbeing Agency over physical and mental health People deserve to be in control of their own physical and mental health. For that, they need new kinds of information and access to care. What devices, apps, tools and services will help people live longer, healthier, more vibrant lives? How can genomics help us better understand our world and ourselves, and contribute to new solutions? Companies that answer these questions will make life worth living. Sustainability Protecting and preserving our planet Life is worth living on a healthy planet. But many of the largest systems we rely on - water, food, energy, transportation, product production and waste - were designed in a way that’s unsustainable and detrimental to our personal and planetary health. The economic, social, and health impacts of climate change and industrial pollution are growing too large to ignore: unprecedented droughts, fires and floods have disrupted millions of lives and result in billions of dollars of loss each year. How can we develop safer, more efficient systems? What can we do to improve power grids, recycling, environmental monitoring and disaster analytics? We invest in sustainability with conviction. Learning, Work, and Play Freedom in work and life Savoring relationships, art, joy, and laughter makes life worth living. Today, the way we do these things is changing. We can now learn, work, and play in hybrid ways that suit individual needs. This means self-directed learners need access to education and job preparation. Likewise, self-directed workforces need freedom, flexibility, and the ability to manage their goals. How can we provide better access to rewarding, satisfying work? What tools and support systems do people need to thrive? We invest in powerful visions for the future of learning, work, and play.

We are experienced venture capital investors who have been at the forefront of impact investing since 1999. We are passionate about generating extraordinary results, creating positive changes, and partnering with visionaries who combine these two. Our team has invested in over 70 ventures, bringing time-tested perspective and expertise to partnerships with entrepreneurs. We are ready and eager to build something special together.

We're funding the next set of revolutionary companies that can help the world transition into a low-carbon economy. At Peak, we identify and invest in purpose-driven entrepreneurs looking to make a difference in the world, and shape our collective future. We focus on four key areas: Energy, Food Systems, Water and Climate. We have been deeply involved in sustainability throughout the last decade, and use our domain knowledge to invest in areas we believe to be the most compelling and impactful at a large-scale. For us, sustainability is not a theme, nor a fad. It is a way of thinking.

We have two types of offerings. Colbridge Growth is for firms that are at seed stage or beyond and seek to scale. We act either as consultants for specific growth-focused projects or as interim execs to execute longer-term remits. We focus on all commercial aspects of early stage businesses - including market understanding, licensing strategy, business development, sales growth, marketing mix, financials, and fundraising. If funding is sought we can also make select investor introductions through an extensive international network. We act as a management consultant, business development professional, and investment banker, all rolled into one. This is ideally suited to the needs of young growing technology-based businesses, who are often short of time, staff, and money. Colbridge Studio is a venture studio for very early stage startups that are looking for a commercial partner to help develop their business. We act as a commercial co-founder, providing the mature entrepreneurial and commercial guidance to help founders get the company off the ground. We invest up to $30k ourselves and can help fill out angel or pre-seed funding needs through an extensive investor network. What we believe We believe that we are at a critical juncture in humanity's journey where environmental disaster and massive social upheaval will occur if we don't act quickly. Business and technology can provide some of the answers. We are seeking similarly mission-driven entrepreneurs to partner with. Here are some of the areas that particularly interest us: GHG Emissions Reduction: This is the defining crisis of our time. Projects to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere and to mitigate its effects are desperately needed. This includes arenas such as renewable & alternative baseload power, circular economy, hydrogen, bioplastics, alt foods, and carbon credits. Water: Water systems are being disrupted by the changing climate. We need ways to clean water, utilize seawater, and generate new sources of freshwater. Regenerative Agriculture: Agriculture has the power to restore the land and water systems that support it. We believe this will be an essential tool to clean the earth while feeding the growing population. New Grid: The massive increase in renewable energy required to meet net zero targets will need an overhauled grid. Energy Storage: One of the key roadblocks to greater penetration of renewables is the limited nature of energy storage. We are looking for technologies to improve the cost, effectiveness, and robustness of energy storage. Metals, Minerals & Materials: Significant increases in volume of key metals, minerals and materials will be required for our changing energy mix. We are interested in technologies and business models for increased supply and reuse/recycling plus the development of new better materials.