Today’s guest on Raising Your Antenna is Siobhan Clarke, Operating Partner of Launchpad — a bp scaling engine accelerating the growth of digitally-led businesses that re-imagine energy. As Operating Partner, Siobhan is helping bp reinvent its company and lead from the front on building a clean energy future.
Siobhan brings a unique perspective to cleantech investing as she hails from the SAAS venture capital world. She was attracted to cleantech for both its economic opportunity as well as its mission-driven nature. While reflecting on her past life as well as her new one, Siobhan critiques what she feels is the broken model of VC investing (and cleantech investing, specifically) and how the Launchpad investment thesis addresses those definiens — thereby unlocking the full potential of emerging technologies as well as delivering handsome returns to investors.
Tune in as we discuss:
- Siobhan’s career journey
- The dramatic rise of VC investment in cleantech and the factors driving today’s gold rush
- Launchpad’s unique approach to cleantech investing
- The dynamics that arise when a legacy company partners with a dynamic startup
- Advice for entrepreneurs who are stuck in the quagmires of funding and scaling
Learn more about Launchpad here: https://www.itslaunchpad.com/
Since recording this episode, Launchpad announced its fifth portfolio company – Finite Carbon. Details on the acquisition can be found here: https://www.itslaunchpad.com/blog/bp-acquires-majority-stake-in-largest-us-forest-carbon-offset-developer-finite-carbon