We kicked off the morning in Baltimore with an engaged room, strong coffee, and a simple premise: climate innovation is urgent, accelerating, and will pay dividends.
As part of our Beyond Silicon Valley Speaker Series, we collaborated with the Pava Center, Conscious Venture Partners, and J.P. Morgan to bring together founders, investors, and local leaders for a conversation about the business of climate tech, and what it will take to scale solutions that make both environmental and economic sense.
The conversation: Why climate tech isn’t just necessary; it’s investable and inevitable.
With cost savings on the table and industries and communities suffering real knock-on effects from global warming, the business case for climate innovation has only gotten stronger.
The takeaways:
“There’s so much talent concentrated between D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.” — Mahati Sridhar, Rise of the Rest Partner
Mahati opened the morning by underscoring the regional opportunity and the need to connect founders, funders, and institutions across the DMV who are building the next generation of climate solutions.
Baltimore’s own Josh Ambrose, Pava Center Director, and Jeff Cherry, CEO and Managing General Partner at Conscious Venture Partners, reminded us of the importance of place and purpose. As Josh put it, “The most important relationship any venture can have is with the world around it.” Jeff, who joined us on several past Rise of the Rest road trips, brought it back to the local ecosystem: The talent is here, the momentum is real, and anchor institutions need to continue to show up.
Diving into the panel, a few themes emerged and several soundbites stuck:
“Cost savings will always sell.” — Jo Norris, Carbon Reform co-founder and CEO
Carbon Reform is helping buildings run cleaner, cooler, and more efficiently — a need thrown into sharp relief during a scorching heatwave. Jo reminded us that no matter how urgent the climate mission is, the economics still have to work. If your product lowers energy bills, customers will listen.
“Part of our job is advising entrepreneurs on what they should do based on where they would want to go…Find someone who’s knowledgeable in your sector, then ask a lot of questions” — Ellen Pizzuto, J.P. Morgan Executive Director of Climate Tech
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to financing climate innovation. What’s important is building relationships across the capital stack early, and understanding that what your business needs at pre-seed is vastly different from what it might need at Series C. The job of a good banking partner? Help founders think two steps ahead.
“You can’t address climate change and ignore global markets.” — Ryan Levinson, SunFunder co-founder
Ryan’s path at SunFunder (which was acquired by Mirova in 2022) — from crowdfunding solar projects to partnering with institutional investors in emerging markets — offered a global view of what it takes to scale. Lessons from his time and travels: local expertise matters, small wins build trust, and the need for climate solutions isn’t bound by borders.
“Climate change will turn all our legacy industries on their heads, which screams opportunity for new business models and approaches.” — Ryan Levinson
In other words, disruption is coming whether we like it or not; the smart money is already stepping up.
“We have a huge, urgent challenge, which means there’s a huge opportunity. Great companies are often founded in turbulent times.” — Ellen Pizzuto
Shifting policies and politics can make the landscape feel shaky, but that very uncertainty pries open gaps for new solutions. Founders who move now to tackle climate challenges can turn today’s turbulence into tomorrow’s competitive edge, and investors willing to lean in will capture the upside.
“Adaptation is synonymous with disruption.” — Jo Norris
Jo didn’t set out to be a founder, but saw a problem worth solving and built a company around it. Her advice: stay grounded in the mission, but don’t be afraid to adjust your story depending on who’s listening. And if you can, bring a co-founder along for the ride to lean on.
The climate challenge is massive. But so is the opportunity — for returns, for resilience, and for building what’s next.
Thanks to everyone who joined us!
Rising Tide: The Business of Climate Innovation was originally published in Revolution on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.