6 Hard-Earned Fundraising Lessons From Climate Founders And Investors
Two men sit at a table during a meeting, one with a laptop, at the Creamery, a restaurant popular … More
Climate tech innovation is evolving at breakneck speed—yet for founders, one challenge remains constant: raising capital. From deeptech carbon capture to circular economy startups, climate founders must navigate a landscape filled with mission-driven capital, AI hype-fuelled markets, and investors who may not know the underlying science or your market well enough to judge the validity of the idea.
To cut through the noise, we asked climate tech founders and investors what really matters when it comes to raising funds. Here’s what they said.
1. Don’t underestimate how little investors know about your sector
“Don’t underestimate how little investors know about your space,” says Claire Gusko, Co-founder and CEO of AI-powered packaging startup one.five. For deeptech and science-based ventures: assume nothing. Spell everything out.
And when it comes to timing? Start early. “Start conversations months before you open the round,” Gusko advises.
Quick Tips:
- Educate, don’t assume
- Prep your numbers early
- Build investor relationships before you need them
2. Clarity about the idea and the problem
Across the board, investors emphasized one key theme: clarity about the idea and problem you are solving.
“Tech is critical, but if you can’t articulate your customer’s pain point, it’s a red flag,” says Adrian Friederich from FoodLabs.
For Karolina Lewandowska, Co-founder at Starbeam Capital, the best pitches strike a balance: “They’re ambitious, well-researched, and grounded in reality. Founders should balance technical details with a clear business case.”
2. Authenticity, grit and deep market knowledge
“The most important thing for me is authenticity: the ideas and the problem they want to solve. Even if someone isn’t good at pitching but has a great idea, it still matters,” says Jan Lozek, Managing Partner and Founder of Future Energy Ventures (FEV).
Ole Poppinga, Venture Architect at XPRESS Ventures, looks for grit: “Investors in and users of your product will respect you if you’ve gone to sleep and woken up thinking about your market every day for the last ten years.” He adds, “The bottom line is that founders’ attitude is everything. Perhaps the ideal situation is having an unfair advantage in terms of market size, a scalable product and a very good founder team.”
3. 50% team, 25% tech and 25% marketing
Jacob Tompkins, co-founder and CTO of The Water Retail Company, breaks it down even further: “What investors are looking for is 50% team, 25% tech and 25% marketing and business plan and yet most tech companies think it’s all about the tech. Be ambitious. Ensure that you talk about the business plan, the team, as well as the tech. The number of times you see investors’ eyes glaze over when people talk about the tech too much…”
He adds, “You have to show progress, you have to show a pipeline, you have to show traction, and you have to show vision, and ultimately, how is the investor going to get their money back?”
Quick Tips:
- Lead with traction or evidence
- Be commercially sharp
- Keep your pitch crisp and concrete
4. Avoid over-indexing on the science and skipping the business case
One of the most common mistakes? Over-indexing on the science and skipping the business case.
“Spending 90% of your pitch on the tech is a mistake,” sustainable energy developer, investor and finance broker Anthony Agnew adds: “Keep it simple, don’t over complicate things. If you have too many words on an investment memorandum you’re going to lose everyone.”
Quick Tips:
- Research investors before you reach out
- Balance science with business
- Don’t overpromise on timelines
5. Persist, stay close to the market, and don’t fundraise alone
Founders know that building a climate startup is never linear—especially when it comes to raising funds.
“There’s just too much uncertainty—whether it’s regulation, geopolitical events, or shifting investor trends,” says Johannes Scholz, Co-founder of ctrl+s. “If you try to build a company based on these macro-level factors, you can lose sight of what actually matters. Instead, we focused on solving a real problem for real companies. Does our solution help them? Do they understand it? Are they willing to pay for it? That’s what truly matters.”
For Claire Hae-Min Gusko, the emotional toll of fundraising is just as real as the financial stakes. “Fundraising has been the toughest challenge. It’s an emotional and logistical challenge. I’m really grateful to have a co-founder. Having someone to share that load with makes all the difference. Fundraising is never just about the pitch — it’s emotional, exhausting, and constant. You think your problem is obvious until you realise most investors have never looked at it closely.”
Safia Qureshi, Founder of CLUBZERO, reflects on the power of persistence: “Now we’ve got some great investors. But the one that is one of our favourites, we pitched to them three times. We only got it the third time. The first two times we were just so early in the market that they didn’t understand or see the value in investing. You’re not going to attract investment because people don’t want you to burn away their investment before the market is ready for your product or service.”
Quick Tips:
- Climate fundraising is a marathon
- Don’t do it alone—lean on your team, work with brokers, tap your network
- Stay focused on your mission, not geopolitical noise
Climate tech is unlike any other sector—it’s where urgency, innovation, and impact collide. Founders navigating this space must be visionary yet grounded, technical yet commercially sharp, optimistic yet brutally realistic.
And above all, they must keep going—even when the answer is “not yet.”