Climate and energy ventures need to find product-market and channel-market fit like other business ventures, but they also need to account for other factors that have been simplified in the original Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework. They need a robust financial strategy to fund their ventures from multiple sources over a long time frame. They need to navigate the landscape of policy and geopolitics. They often need to figure out how to build solutions at a massive industrial scale. And they need to measure planetary impact in addition to customer value.

 

We can visualize these factors as a six-way Venn diagram, and at the center is the sweet spot where a venture has a positive impact in terms of people, planet, and profits. This is sometimes known as the triple bottom line. Because of the high barrier to entry, climate and energy entrepreneurs also need to be particularly intentional about selecting which problem to solve in the first place. They need to understand the climate landscape and the dynamics of the energy industry, as well as their own personal skills and interests, in order to find a high-value problem or opportunity. You might be spending at least 10 years of your life on this new company, so take the time up front to find the right problem to work on.

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All together, there are seven elements of starting a climate and energy venture that comprise the core themes of this book. We can summarize each of these themes with a driving question:

• Problem exploration. What problem should you solve?

• Solution. Is the solution fit for purpose?

• Customer. Who pays? For what? Why and how?

• Finance. How do you finance your solution?

• Policy. Is policy in your favor?

• Planet. If it works, does it matter?

• Scaling. How do you build it at scale?