🔎 What do you watch out for when start-ups pitch their ideas? “Their carbon math! At Extantia, we focus on the really big pieces of the decarbonisation puzzle. I look for “Gigacorn” potential, meaning technology innovators with the potential to save over a Gigaton of carbon emissions in a commercially viable way. We assess this potential through a scientific lens based on our EPIC methodology (Extantia Projected Impact Calculation), which combines the best practices of life cycle assessment with forward-looking analysis. The methodology is open and accessible to everyone on our website. The best founders will be sustainability-savvy and keen to show how sustainability metrics feed into their own product development and commercialisation cycles.” 👏 🔎 What is a red flag, when considering investing in a start-up? “If their innovation feels too theoretical. Show me a proven prototype or paid customers and pilots projects so I can see some evidence of fit that your technology is ready to commercialise. My advice to founders with IP-heavy innovations: Don’t just focus on the tech in isolation; hone in on your customer needs early on and find out who is willing to pay for what. As an investor, I’m not only interested in how defensible a technology is; I also want to know if a technology can move from concept to market quickly and how my investment will get you there.” ⚡ Currently a Partner at Extantia, both Laura-Marie and the VC firm are dedicated to backing scalable deep decarbonisation technology companies globally. Laura-Marie’s hip pocket skill lies in taking complex sustainability and ESG investing problems and making them simple to inspire others to take action. #cleantech #startups #change #entrepreneurs #startups #funding #future #networking