In November, the CleanTechnica team traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland, to cover the 2018 Climate Launchpad Global Grand Final event. This event, bringing together hundreds of participants from as many countries, is billed as the “global green business competition.” It’s a fascinating event, full of energy and innovation from climate-focused entrepreneurs and experts.
At country-level competitions that begin in the middle of the year, the teams work together to build their business plans, craft their pitches, and prepare for the national-level competitions. At the national level, three teams are chosen and invited to the Global Grand Final to pitch their idea in front of the world.
The winning teams from each country have the opportunity to present in front of esteemed jurors and experts from around the world with the opportunity to win a spot in the Climate-KIC accelerator in the following months.
One of the experts featured at this year’s event was Dawn Lippert, CEO and Founder of Elemental Excelerator, an accelerator focused on growing energy, mobility, water, and agriculture startups from around the world. Dawn was the opening keynote speaker at the event this year, as well as a juror for the Grand Final, the final pitch competition.
In the conversation with Dawn, we chatted about Elemental’s mission and goals, what she hopes to find at ClimateLaunchpad, and how we can really bring true diversity to teams, and to tech in general.
What is Elemental Excelerator?
Elemental Excelerator is a nonprofit created in collaboration with Emerson Collective. This growth-stage accelerator program funds 15–20 new companies annually — all focused on growing and building the solutions needed for a more sustainable planet. The primary areas of focus for this year’s cohort are mobility, grid and efficiency, solar and storage, water, food and agriculture, and circular economy.
Elemental Excelerator’s program works with a range of companies in different growth stages. In the Go-to-Market track, they help companies with an innovative technology and an excellent team (2 or more people) to focus on product/market fit, business model pivot, or market expansion opportunities.
For companies that are more established, the Demonstration track funds companies up to $1 million to deploy transformational projects in Hawaii, California, and Asia Pacific. These projects are co-designed by Elemental to help companies develop the next generation of their technology, execute a new angle on their business model, or enter a new geographic territory or customer segment.
If your company fits any of these stages, you can send them your information: Spring 2019 will begin the application process for their 2019 cohort.
Thanks to Dawn for chatting with us in Edinburgh! Filming and edits from CleanTechnica’s Senior Editor Kyle Field
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