These entrepreneurs are staying grounded as climate tech soars

Money is flowing into climate-tech startups, investor funds and related public markets more than ever before. Just check out the over 50 special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) created in 2020 to bring climate tech companies public. That’s a good thing, right?

Overall, yes. The planet needs as much capital as possible invested into potential solutions to fight climate change.

However, a sudden influx of money into a sector also tends to bring along growing amounts of wasted or lost money. That’s partly because a boom attracts newcomers, who might have less expertise; and partly because more money just increases the number of misses, along with the hits. Flush times also tend to create a boom mentality: The money’s plentiful, so let’s spend it.