Our co-founder Mike Farber went to the Greentown Labs Climate Summit and learned a bunch, including these three things...
Greentown Labs is a wildly unique place, where entrepreneurs focus on super complex technical solutions to big climate problems. Greentown provides workspace, labs and a supportive community (H/T Maya Nitzberg and team!). Many fast-growing companies like Form Energy are using Greentown as a springboard to success. I like to think if Albert Einstein was wandering around Somerville he'd saunter in and have his mind blown. Last week I attended the Greentown Labs #ClimatetechSummit. I’m an advisor to Greentown so I’ve been over there a bunch, but this was my first Summit. Wow. Learned so many things; here are the top three: 1) The energy around climate tech is off the charts – There was a palpable buzz in the air with hundreds of people crammed into every corner of the cavernous Greentown space. The sold-out event had all the right things in place – an amped up community; dynamic and thoughtful speakers; and an agenda that left space for both learning and connecting. 2) The government is all in on climate tech – This is a critical piece, as climate tech can’t succeed without strong policy levers to spur adoption. Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy and US Senator Ed Markey both spoke at the event. Senator Markey spoke via video. He’s the OG climate champion and has spent decades in the DC trenches getting stuff done. He and Congresswoman Alexia Ocasio-Cortez are crushing it by using the Green New Deal as a frame for legislation, resulting in bills like the Inflation Reduction Act becoming law. He gave a shout-out to Greentown for “inventing the Industrial Revolution of the 21st Century.” I dig it. Nice to hear Governor Healy in action. It was my first time seeing her speak. She was interviewed by new Greentown CEO Kevin Knobloch. She spoke with conviction and fluency about Massachusetts becoming the “global epicenter of climate tech.” She hit the classic Massachusetts talking points about all the big MIT and Harvard brains starting companies with the ecosystem to support them; in a new twist, she pointed out that over 40,000 climate jobs will be created by 2032, the vast majority of which will require community college technical training. A great example of how climate tech can create broad opportunities. 3) These startups rock – The best part. Eighteen founders got up on stage and gave a three minute pitch about their companies. Nerve-wracking stuff, explaining a super technical product and why it matters in front of a packed house. But they all did it beautifully. If you have the chance to attend next year's Summit, do it. In the meantime feel free to reach out with any thoughts or questions, either directly or in the comments below. #climatetech #climate #entrepreneurship