Climate Crossroads: How Catalytic Capital Drives Maximum Impact (even without federal funding)
LabStart, Vibrant Data Labs, Cool Climate Collective, and Reciprocal invite you to join a select group of climate funders for an exclusive and informative breakfast conversation addressing critical capital gaps in deep climate technology.
Why Attend
In today's challenging political and economic landscape, maintaining global momentum in climate investing is more important than ever. This gathering brings together visionary philanthropists, impact investors, and successful climate entrepreneurs to explore how we can strategically align diverse capital sources to match different growth stages and help high-impact organizations deploy capital in the US and abroad. We will highlight novel financial structures and creative capital blending to achieve meaningful decarbonization and resilience impacts.
Featured Conversations
Our interactive format will foster meaningful dialogue through cross-layer conversations between founders and funders, with national and international perspectives, highlighting creative capital structures and lessons learned along the way. The event will showcase:
Data-driven insights on current funding gaps in climate technology
First-hand perspectives from entrepreneurs on the impact of strategic capital
From aid to opportunity: emerging markets as the next climate frontier
Expert views on maximizing impact through collaborative investment approaches
Agenda
8:30 AM - Doors Open
9:00 AM - Welcome
9:05 AM - Data Insights: Mapping the Early-Stage Funding Gap
Speaker: Maggie Cutts, VP Partnerships, Vibrant Data Labs
9:15 AM - Panel: Blending Capital Sources for Climate Innovation
Moderator: Deepa Lounsbury, CEO, LabStart
Speakers:
Alex Wilkins, Climate Grants Manager, Cisco Foundation
Hamilton Perkins, Founder and President, HP Collection
Jean Shia, Managing Director, Autodesk Foundation
Lyndsey Boucherle, Partner, Better Ventures
9:45 am - Panel: The Role of Philanthropic Investment Venture in Early Stage and Global Impact
Moderator: Dani Gajardo, Co-Founder, Reciprocal
Speakers
Abigail Mathieson, Senior Manager, Breakthrough Energy
Alicia Sieger, Director of Climate, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Kyle Cordova, Founder and CEO, AquaPoro
10:15 AM - Founder Perspectives: Small Capital, Massive Impact
Moderator: Mehrad Yaghmai, Partner, Cool Climate Collective
Speakers:
Alex Brown, Co-founder and CEO, Alga Bio
Brian Worfolk, Founder and CEO, Lukera Energy
Guillermo Gutierrez, Founder, EcoMercantile
Joseph Kao, Co-Founder and CEO, Infinion Technology
Satpal Kaur, Founder, Unboxed
Taylor Zehren, Co-Founder & CEO, wasted*
10:45 AM - Networking and Breakfast
11:30 AM - Event Concludes