Angels for Climate Solutions announces 5 finalist startups: which one will win $150,000 to advance their climate tech solution?
In January, 15 climate technology startups entered the Angels for Climate Solutions program to hone their skills in fundraising, navigating deal structures, and presenting their climate-saving solutions. Now, after a rousing pitch night to a group of angel investors, five have been chosen to advance to a 10-week training intensive, where they will vie to win a $150,000 investment.
The final pitch night is on April 25 (4pm-6pm), and registration opens soon for the general public. If you’re someone who likes to keep an eye on the investment climate (no pun intended) of BC, this is an event you won’t want to miss as a cohort of angel investors deliberate and ultimately award one startup with the prize funds.
In the meantime, we at the Vancouver Economic Commission have penned an introduction to the five climate tech startups whose climate-focused innovations promise to make waves for individuals and businesses seeking to markedly reduce their environmental impact.
Introducing BC’s Emerging Top 5 Climate Tech Finalists
Asset Market | smart city infrastructure matchmaking
Industry: SaaS | smart city technology
Website: www.asset-market.com
Social: LinkedIn
The Solution: Asset Market connects organizations seeking to install EV chargers, telecoms and IoT devices with owners and operators of the land, building and structures where the devices will be placed. The company’s B2B platform helps to reduce costs and time associated with finding a suitable location by 80 percent.
Jeff Davis, CEO, holds a GMP certification from Harvard Business School and a mechanical engineering degree with honours from the University of British Columbia. He has held GM, COO and CFO roles in engineering services and SaaS companies, and has over 20 years of experience in energy, resources, financial services and telecoms.
Farment Biosolution Ltd. | regenerative livestock farming
Industry: agriculture | regenerative farming
Website: www.farment.ca
Social: LinkedIn
The Solution: Farment Biosolution Ltd. provides farmers with cost-effective regenerative farming solutions to manage livestock waste, improve soil health, and lessen the environmental impact of livestock farming. Its fermentation technology reduces the need for chemical fertilizers by transforming nutrients into a more available form for plants, allowing farmers to produce more with less.
George Martini, CEO, is a sustainable farmer, climate change activist and entrepreneur who is determined to help fellow farmers and researchers implement modern agtech techniques that stop land desertification and minimize the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides.
Martin Rapela, CTO, is a third-generation farmer with a double degree in business and finance. Among his many success stories is transforming a salty marginal land with little production capabilities into a 3,000-acre, fully productive sustainable venture.
Ralph Lett, COO, has advocated for the past two decades that modern agriculture can grow quality food without the need for conventional farming practices. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge of fungal-dominated soils and fermentation applied to bio-regenerative agriculture.
Halitra | financing low-carbon buildings
Industry: real estate finance
Website: halitra.com
Social: LinkedIn
The Solution: Halitra provides innovative real estate financing solutions to facilitate the retrofitting of small commercial buildings; they’re designed to close the financing gap that accounts for eight percent of total US GHG emissions. The commercial building sector has immense potential to reduce global GHG emissions, and Halitra is determined to break through the barriers that have prevented lenders from financing these projects.
Kamal Singh, COO, has over a decade of technology sales and business development experience in the building sector. He has delivered dozens of continuing education credit technical briefings to building contractors and consultants, with prior experience ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies.
Thor Jensen, CEO, has spent much of the past decade investigating and designing financial incentives to decarbonize the built environment. Through Halitra, he provides strategic and technical advisory services to governments, investors, and asset managers.
InHub Farms | smart mushroom farms
Industry: smart city technology | urban farms
Website: www.inhubfarms.com
Social: LinkedIn | Twitter
The Solution: InHubs Farms aims to revolutionize the North American food supply chain by introducing a climate technology consisting of smart mushroom farms in every major city. These farms use robotics and smart control systems to mimic how mushrooms grow in nature to improve taste, nutrition and yield; they also eliminate the need for long fulfilment trips and supply chains.
Patrick Lemieux, CEO, has spent 20 years in the mushroom space learning about the industry and its challenges, and how to solve them with technology. Previously, he was part of a team that scaled a world-renowned telecom company.
Isabela Jatczak, COO, has over a decade of startup experience and a background in electrical engineering. Daily, she pushes harder and faster to see how far InHubs Farms can go in helping the world.
Henry Mariano, CTO, is certified in Fanuc robotics, and has a long history with the California startup and technology scene. He’s adept at designing and implementing automation that can scale into multiple locations.
Reusables.com | reusables as a service
Industry: circular economy | cleantech
Website: reusables.com
Social: LinkedIn
The Solution: Reusables.com equips food businesses with climate technology that replaces single-use containers with reusables through tech-enabled packaging paired with a proprietary tracking software. Its Reusables Management System (RMS) follows the reusable packaging across a network of stores, consumers, cleaners and distributors, while capturing the impact data on plastic waste reduction and CO2e emissions avoidance.
Jason Hawkins, CEO, ventured into food technology and sustainability by starting a food marketplace for students at Queen’s University, which he later sold to a grocery retailer in Ontario. He launched Reusables.com after discovering the magnitude of the threat posed by single-use packaging.
Anastasia Kiku, co-founder, studied operations and logistics at the Sauder School of Business, where she realized the opportunity to build more sustainable systems by maximizing existing resources. Her passion emerges at the intersection of efficiency and sustainability, and she is committed to creating a world where no resources are wasted.
Watch the Top Startup take the Prize – Live
Eager to see these startups compete for the chance to win a $150,000 investment? Join us in-person on April 25 at the Angels for Climate Solutions Pitch Finale to learn see which company will delivery the winning pitch.
Resignation is limited, so get your ticket today!
