Jackie Ros Amable_E20: The ABCs of ClimateTech [12/7/2020]

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5 min readJan 6, 2021

Jackie Ros Amable, Managing Director at NextCorp in Rochester [12/7/2020]

https://anchor.fm/posi2ive/episodes/Jackie-Ros-Amable_E20-The-ABCs-of-ClimateTech-1272020-eom6br/a-a49uadf

Note: References with links are listed at the end of the show notes.

INTRO:

1:00 Shares background of moving from Techstars to NextCorp as Managing Director. Highlights climate policy within the state, meeting aggressive GHG emissions reductions. Talks about collaboration with NY state’s goals, and working with startups globally.

NY Nation-Leading Climate Targets:

*85% Reduction in GHG by 2050

*100% Zero-emission Elec by 2040

*70% Renewables by 2030

*9,000 MW of Offshore Wind by 2035

*3,000 MW of Energy Storage by 2030

*6,000 MW of Solar by 2025

*22M Tons GHG via Energy Efficiency and Electrification

SECTION1: Backwards Mapping

4:00 Shares how working with Teach for America, and how it helped her grow into becoming a Founder. Shares the process of Backwards Mapping in the context of skill sets, and matching milestones.

5:00 We chat about learnings as CEO of Revolar — a social impact startup focused on personal safety. Shares the value of humor in behavioral nudging, and leadership. Talks about experience within a flat organization (see Holacracy link below). We talk about the gap between intentions in a flat organization to the structure needed to build a healthy corporate structure.

7:00 Talks about path to closing first $3M, and the need to implement an organizational structure, setting up team for success. Talks about need to hire around each person’s opposite skill sets, and the power of mutual respect. Shares how some deep expertise teams can’t understand why they don’t gain traction with VCs — highlighting need to balance skill set.

10:00 Vision for product discussed, and how important that was. However, recruiting gaps became apparent. Jackie talks about the faith and trust needed to hire more qualified talent — with the example of CTO, and how their work grew out of honesty.

12:00 Highlights preparation was craved by Revolar team, and weren’t bothered by switching to a hierarchical business structure. We discuss responsibility, and how it confuses a team. There are a few cases, and highlights importance of recruiting structure as possible strategic advantage to creating a flat org. Uses team sport analogy, with certain players who are ready play different role.

14:00 Talks about importance of team and timing. Discusses ego, and the idea of appreciation for each different person as a skill in building teams.

SECTION2: Robust Teams

16:00 Talks about most valuable lesson, that everybody is awkward, and purely human. Shares idea that all ‘adults are just tough kids’. Communicates how cross-cultural experience of ‘third culture kid’ experience and code switching.

18:00 Talks about language and culture shifts needed in working cross industries. We discuss the biases we all have in ‘the human condition.’ Jackie talks about need to understand as the core reason to speak. We talk about animal communication and her cats’ code-switching.

22:00 Mentions her work at Techstars and supporting LatAm startup ecosystem. Mentions how incorporation costs, and bankruptcy laws create massive barriers to progress there.

SECTION3: Climate at NextCorp

23:50 Overview of Age of Consequences film (see link in sources). Discussion of Climate Refugees, National Security, and other consequent events.

UN SDG Goal 11:

*Half of humanity — 3.5 billion people — lives in cities today and 5 billion people are projected to live in cities by 2030

*Cities account for between 60 and 80 per cent of energy consumption and generate as much as 70per cent of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions

*By 2050 70 per cent of the world population is predicted to live in urban settlements

28:00 Talks about integrity needs in all industries. Looks at equity, sustainability, and fairness in mind at scale — using LatAm clean energy projects displacing natives with hydro dams.

35:00 Talks about returns profile of more heavy capital climate-tech investments. Points to need for patient capital in community overhaul scenarios. Talks about building a community of investors to help bridge the funding gap. We also discuss SPACs and CartaX as possible avenues for earlier exits for climatetech.

38:00 Talks about alignments with patient capital. Also uses example of Tesla breaking down barriers and making radical leaps for society. We discuss the limitations of late stage VC, and how hardware presents a learning opportunity. Shares example of Foundry Group’s experience with FitBit — from a prior timing failure.

42:00 Talks about grants at early stage, and helping these companies build talent pipeline. They also help startups hit milestones, and fill a gap from public / private critical technologies off the ground.

SOURCES:

-Jackie Ros Amable [LinkedIn]: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-ros/

-Jackie Ros Amable [Twitter]: https://twitter.com/jackie_ros’

-NextCorps: https://nextcorps.org/

-The Startup Community Way [Book]: https://www.amazon.com/Startup-Community-Way-Entrepreneurial-Ecosystem/dp/1119613604

-NY Climate Leadership Bill: https://www.nrdc.org/experts/miles-farmer/unpacking-new-yorks-big-new-climate-bill-primer-0

-Teach for America: https://www.teachforamerica.org/

-Flat Organizations [Holacracy at Zappos]: https://qz.com/work/1776841/zappos-has-quietly-backed-away-from-holacracy/

-Age of Consequences Documentary: http://pfpictures.com/films/age-of-consequences/

-FERC and Distributed Energy Resources [DERs]: https://acadiacenter.org/will-fercs-latest-order-open-the-door-for-distributed-resources/

-NY State DER Roadmap: https://www.nyiso.com/documents/20142/1391862/Distributed_Energy_Resources_Roadmap.pdf

-Radical Candor [Book]: https://www.radicalcandor.com/the-book/\