Join 10,000+ founders & investors for actionable tips, premium insights, and growth strategies delivered weekly to elevate your Fund, Startup, and Career 🚀
Yair Reem is a Partner at Extantia Capital, a climate-first venture capital firm accelerating the path to a decarbonized world by backing daring entrepreneurs with breakthrough ventures. He co-founded BeyondBlack, a fund for investments in technologies reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and advises European startup CEOs on strategic narratives. Formerly Managing Director at Hasso Plattner Ventures, Yair was also a cyber technology leader at Israel’s Unit 8200. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Technion, an Executive MPA from Hertie, and an AMP from Wharton.
This episode delves into:
First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Explained
Strategic Partnerships
Cap Table Management
VC Risk-Taking
Brand Building in VC
Want to go deeper?
Invest in climate moonshots with Climate Insiders. Join 300+ members and become a shareholder of the best climate tech startups alongside us, from $1,000.
Become a member now: https://www.climateinsiders.com
Join the Climate Insiders newsletter, The only newsletter you need to invest in climate tech. Every Saturday I share one actionable tip to invest successfully in climate tech. Join 3,500+ investors and get access to investing tips and strategies to invest today: https://climateinsiders.substack.com/
(00:00) - Episode Trailer
(01:04) – Intro
(01:34) – What is The Foaking Awesome?
(04:09) – What does Foak mean?
(06:20) - Are VCs Ready to Embrace First-of-a-Kind Opportunities?
(08:10) – Which are the Sectors full of Possibilities?
(10:25) - Can Nvidia’s Success Be Replicated in Future Industries?
(11:12) - Is Investing in Nuclear Fusion the Next Big Challenge for VCs?
(11:51) – Where are we in terms of TRL?
(12:50) - Does the Stage of Funding Determine When to Build the First Factory?
(13:46) - Is Partnering with Corporates Essential for Startup Success in Climate Tech?
(16:37) - When Should Startups Add Strategic Investors to the Cap Table?
(17:54) - Do Startups Need Corporate Connections, or Can VCs Bridge the Gap?
(18:45) - Are Corporate Partnership Managers the New Must-Have in Climate Tech?
(21:11) – Deep Tech Engineer vs Software Engineer – What is the Difference?
(23:14) - What Makes Climate Hardware Sexy to Big Financial Players?
(24:40) - What Common Cap Table Errors Scare Away Investors?
(26:28) - Should Founders Fight or Fold? Navigating Long-Term Potential vs. Short-Term Survival
(30:12) - Are Ego-Driven Valuations Hurting Startup Founders?
(32:08) - Why 20% Matters: Balancing Venture Builder Impact on Cap Tables
(33:31) - Choosing Between Co-Leads or a Dominant Lead Investor: What’s Best?
(36:34) - Is Risk Aversion Stifling Innovation in VC?
(39:50) - First Principles of VC: Balancing Risk in Turbulent Markets
(41:43) - Conscious Choices: Team Effort vs. Individual Initiative
(42:05) - Authenticity vs. Quantity: The Struggle in Digital Engagement
(44:39) - Team Dynamics: Internal vs. External Strategies for Time Management
(47:26) - Risk and Reward: Inviting Others to Innovate in VC
(49:29) - Expanding Reach: Should VC Messaging Extend Beyond LinkedIn?
(50:56) – Role Models in VC
(53:14)- YouTube as a Knowledge Foundation: Do VCs Trust Video Learning?
(57:52) - Differentiation Strategy: From Tech to Brand, Creating a Category of One
(01:01:23) - Breaking the Exit Taboo: IPOs and Strategic Acquisitions in Impact Business
(01:03:41) - Exchange of Goods and Society: The Role of Money in Innovation
(01:05:04) – Outro
Yair Reem is a Partner at Extantia Capital, a climate-first venture capital firm accelerating the path to a decarbonized world by backing daring entrepreneurs with breakthrough ventures. He co-founded BeyondBlack, a fund for investments in technologies reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and advises European startup CEOs on strategic narratives. Formerly Managing Director at Hasso Plattner Ventures, Yair was also a cyber technology leader at Israel’s Unit 8200. He holds a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Technion, an Executive MPA from Hertie, and an AMP from Wharton.
Check out these top episodes
Keiran is the Founder of Entocycle, an insect-farming startup based out of London. They commercialize high-tech insect breeding modules to enable efficient and scalable insect farming. Keiran has a TON of insights to share. -...
Irena Spazzapan is a Managing Partner at Systemiq Capital, a London-based climate fund and spin-off of Systemic Ltd. Systemiq Ltd is an advisory and investment firm focused on climate, that helps build companies that have the...
Benjamin Kayser is a former French Rugby international with a 16-year-long career (he played 47 games with the French National Team, and hundreds in the French and English championships). Benjamin is a Co-founder and Partner ...
Hampus Jakobsson is a General Partner at Pale Blue Dot , a Swedish seed-stage ClimateTech fund investing in startups that reduce and reverse the effects of climate change. He was previously at BlueYard Capital, before that an...
This time we're turning tables. I will not be conducting the interview. Instead, I will be interviewed. By popular demand, you will hear a little bit about me and my thoughts on some awesome topics, such as risk management, w...
In today's show, I'm welcoming Jacqueline van den Ende, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Equity, a Climate VC and private equity fund investing platform that enables people to invest in the world's best climate funds. We cover: -...
In today's show, I'm receiving Allegra Kowalewski-Ferreira, Partner at Breakthrough Energy Europe. We cover: - Discussion on the world's largest Climate Tech fund - Exploring Bill Gates' actual role in the fund - The fund's i...
In today's show, I'm receiving Chad Frischmann, one of the co-creators of Project Drawdown, and founder of Regenerative Intelligence We talk about: - Project Drawdown's historical book, and insights from those enormous resear...
In today's show, I'm receiving Timothee Parrique, Dr. in economics at Lund University. He is a rising scholar, who made a big splash at the European Commission Beyond Growth conference. His book on Degrowth has sold more than...
In today's show, I'm receiving Robert Höglund, one of top experts in Carbon Dioxyde Removal (or CDR). He manages the Milkywire Climate Transformation Fund, and co-founded the CDR market overview CDR.fyi. This discussion is pe...
On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re sitting down with Prof. Dr. Martin R. Stuchtey, founder of The Landbanking Group. The Landbanking Group has the ambition to change the way we use land and reward natur...
On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re sitting down with Anna Alex, Co-founder of Nala Earth. Nala Earth is a nature management platform that measures, improves and reports your company’s impact on nature &...
On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re diving into an engaging conversation with Alexandra Perez, a seasoned investor in climate tech. We discuss a range of important topics affecting the VC industry and th...
On today's episode of the Climate Insiders podcast, we’re diving into an engaging conversation with Benjamin Kayser, a former French Rugby international with a 16-year long career. Today, Benjamin is a renowned commentator of...
Ben is a climate tech geek who writes deep guides to energy topics on his blog, benjames.io . His guides to batteries, carbon removal, hydrogen and SAF are read by thousands of investors and analysts around the world. This ep...
Yair Reem is a Partner at Extantia Capital, a climate-first venture capital firm accelerating the path to a decarbonized world by backing daring entrepreneurs with breakthrough ventures. He co-founded BeyondBlack, a fund for ...
In today's show, I'm welcoming Nadav Steinmetz an early stage climate tech investor based in London, UK. Nadav is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Climate First. Nadav delves into he critical role of deep tech in combat...
