Ashley Vaughn last year found themselves in an electric vehicle driver’s nightmare. Vaughn’s Tesla died in a rural area outside of Seattle, but none of the nearby stations had an EV charger compatible with their car.
Vaughn channeled their frustration into a plan to expand charger utility by offering rental adapters at EV charging stations. The business solution had potential but Vaughn needed some help getting it off the ground.
Finding the funding and mentorship to help a startup succeed can be a huge challenge — particularly for underrepresented entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurs are out in the community or out in the field developing great technology, but oftentimes don’t know how to get started,” said Leo Ochoa, accelerator manager at VertueLab, a longtime Pacific Northwest nonprofit supporting climate tech innovation.
So VertueLab and Tacoma, Wash.-based nonprofit Tabor 100 recently launched a collaboration called 45Camp, a climate and clean tech startup program designed for entrepreneurs who are Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), as well as women and individuals from other underrepresented backgrounds.
The free, one-time program supports founders who don’t have an established network and the same access to resources that benefit many other entrepreneurs. Vaughn is one of the participants.
45 Camp hosted “Jumpstart” weekends earlier this year in Washington and Oregon, drawing 33 attendees who spent three days defining their idea, testing it through customer interviews and building a pitch deck for potential funders. Entrepreneurs who stood out were invited to participate in a virtual pre-accelerator to flesh out their ideas with mentor support.
Venture capital has dried up for entrepreneurs across the tech industry amid a broader pullback from investors. But funding to startups founded by Black entrepreneurs outpaced the overall decline, Crunchbase reported earlier this year.
Climate tech startups face additional funding hurdles as their products often combine hardware and software, which takes more time and money than creating the typical app. The amount of cash invested in climate tech companies globally dropped 20% between the first half of 2023 and the same period this year, according to CTVC.
45Camp leaders narrowed their pool to 15 entrepreneurs who attended their accelerator program, which provided guidance around customer discovery, legal hurdles, team building, event planning and understanding the other prerequisites to operating a profitable and sustainable business.
Vaughn heard about 45Camp while trying to find resources within the EV industry for their startup, called EVALV. They’ve appreciated the valuable connections and inspiration from other 45Camp participants and mentors. Vaughn, an accountant by training and self-described introvert, was initially reluctant to participate.
“It reminded me that I am confident, and I do have great ideas,” they said.
Vaughn’s startup is one of the four Washington finalists chosen to pitch to potential funders later this month. The winner will receive $25,000 in grant funding.
Other Washington finalists are:
- Geb Mengistu, whose startup is working on renewable energy alternatives to fossil-fuel backup generators.
- James Mutitu, the founder of a startup printing solar cells from a sustainable material called perovskite.
- Rafael Ellison, who is launching a virtual hub for tracking down technicians and service providers with clean tech expertise.
Keith Crossland, a finalist in the Oregon program, said mentor feedback was the highlight of 45Camp. Crossland won best startup and best business model for Carbon Negative Solutions, a venture that is using AI to reduce the environmental cost of concrete production. Crossland called 45Camp a “fantastic experience.”
Similar startup programs include Greentown Labs, which has incubators in Boston and Houston, LACI in Los Angeles, and Northwest Xcelerator in Portland.
45Camp participants have had access to mentors with diverse skill sets. That includes AnnaMaria White, who runs a communications company focused on climate tech startups. Her previous roles included working at Amazon and for an aerospace company where she helped James Webb Space Telescope engineers better communicate what they do.
White does the same thing now for startup founders.
“They have these amazing ideas,” said White, but they sometimes struggle to explain technical aspects to investors and customers.
Another mentor, Angie Parker, got involved with startups after a career in the Air Force where she worked as a radar technician. She helps founders figure out what comes next in building their company, which often involves zeroing in on the customer and figuring out their needs.
“Being a mentor is another way for me to have an outlet for service,” Parker said.
Vaughn said the program helped EVALV find a chief technology officer, Harley Rosnow, a former Microsoft programmer.
The 45Camp program has relied on grant funding from Washington state and won’t be offered again in the same format, but Ochoa said feedback will inform future efforts.
“The more Pacific Northwest climate tech entrepreneurs we meet, the more we discover their unique needs and goals,” Ochoa said. “Which means our programs have to evolve year after year, and we continue learning and growing the ecosystem.”
https://ift.tt/ckjzw9g September 12, 2024 at 03:00PM GeekWire
Post a Comment
0Comments