Fall is here, meaning it’s the season for pumpkin spice everything and the long-awaited launch of ClimateHaven. Before we talk pumpkin spice, let’s get to the important stuff: We’re delighted to announce on Thursday, November 9th, ClimateHaven will have its grand opening!
To start the day, we’ll have a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our members, partners, and supporters at 4:00 p.m. Later, at 5:30 p.m., we’ll open our doors to host a networking event for the first day of the Yale Clean Energy Conference.
To request an invitation to the ribbon cutting, reply here, and to join us for our grand opening networking event, register here. The Yale Clean Energy Conference will last Thursday, November 9th through Friday, November 10th, so registration for Thursday night’s celebration at ClimateHaven will grant you access to the entire conference.
It’s a packed agenda, but we’re looking forward to a GREAT two days, and we hope you can come.
As for the pumpkin spice, I’m a fan. So long as I don’t see the words pumpkin spice adorn any product before Labor Day. Let’s not rush summer, people!
On August 24th, we hosted Green Drinks, the return of a New Haven tradition, and the start of our quarterly networking series for the climate community. Before paint went on the walls and the furniture arrived, we’re thankful we had the opportunity to welcome folks into the ClimateHaven space.
We expected a decent crowd, but I’ll admit, I didn’t expect 480 people to register and 350 to show up. The energy, the conversation, and the beer (courtesy of our friends at the Twelve Percent Beer Project) were all fantastic!
Good news, the next Green Drinks is on October 5th from 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Register here! There is a very good chance we’ll serve pumpkin spice beer.
We are incredibly excited to welcome Haley Lieberman to the ClimateHaven team, our Director of Community & Marketing.
What makes Haley so perfectly suited for this role? She is a founder with a passion for sustainability and entrepreneurship.
Before joining ClimateHaven, she was the founder and CEO of ShopTomorrows (acquired), a nationwide circular marketplace for families, and regularly helped founders build and scale sustainability-focused startups in the fashion space. Haley frequently speaks, writes, and teaches about fashion and textile sustainability.
Haley’s professional experience will be invaluable to the ClimateHaven community. She deeply understands the work it takes to establish startups and knows firsthand the importance of having a vibrant network to share the challenges and triumphs with along the way. As the Director of Community and Marketing, Haley will be responsible for bringing our community of climate tech entrepreneurs together, developing meaningful ways for all of us to connect, and telling the many powerful stories of climate tech entrepreneurship.
Speaking of sharing the powerful stories of climate tech entrepreneurship, let’s talk marketing for a moment.
Here’s my hot take: Most founders are not great storytellers, and storytelling is pivotal for the success of any startup.
Climate tech entrepreneurs have no choice but to play the role of Chief Storytelling Officer, starting their ventures without revenue, customers, employees, investors, or products. Marketing is often overlooked in the early stages of a startup, but a sound marketing strategy provides the building blocks for a compelling brand, which is what attracts the people, capital, and customers necessary to scale a business.
ClimateHaven is fortunate to have a great partner in Connecticut Innovations’ ClimateTech Fund. Lucky for me, this is the other hat I wear.
Climate tech investment notably slowed in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. Though we still have a few weeks left in Q3, investment is unlikely to ramp up.
This won’t stop the best climate tech companies from securing investment. Case in point, the Fund’s investment in reThought Flood.
We have more investment announcements to come in Q4. In the meantime, if you’re an investor looking to learn more about startups in the ClimateHaven community, contact Haley!
“So, what’s your IP?”
This question is common among investors and can be tricky to answer if a founder hasn’t given it much thought. Crafting an intellectual property (IP) strategy at the onset of establishing your startup is critical. A thoughtful IP strategy provides a plan for using your IP to build and protect company value and is an excellent answer to the question above.
Learn more here about what it takes to build a strong IP strategy for your startup.
We’re racing to prepare our space to welcome the first ClimateHaven members this fall. The walls have their fresh coat of paint, the desks are in, and we’re hanging the signage and equipment. A few things worth noting here:
FIRST, you can track our progress on Instagram and LinkedIn.
SECOND, expect to learn more about our members in early October. We’re excited to celebrate these great companies and the founders behind them that comprise our community!
THIRD, if you’re not a member but are interested in becoming one, apply here! If you’re just looking for a desk in the best climate tech community around, contact Kiko Wong to learn more.
There’s no shortage of great things happening at ClimateHaven, and yet, we have another big announcement coming next week (having nothing to do with pumpkin spice).
Hint: When you have a chance to work with great partners and offer meaningful opportunities to climate tech founders, helping scale their planet-saving solutions, you do it!
Stay tuned next week for more!
Until next time,
Ryan
P.S. Follow ClimateHaven on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram to keep up on our progress between newsletters.
