Deadline: 12-Jun-23
The Village Capital is accepting applications for the Dream Climate Tech Launchpad to support Black and Brown Entrepreneurs Building Climate Tech Solutions at Scale.
Dream Climate Tech Launchpad, with support from Dream.org, is a milestone-based investment readiness program that will support Black and Latinx-led climate tech startups, especially those building solutions in the Built Environment, Electric Transportation & Infrastructure, Food Systems, the Circular Economy, and Carbon Tech sectors.
These solutions will also create a localized impact for communities of color that have been historically excluded from the clean energy transition.
The program is designed to help startups identify early milestones to support growth and prepare for the next round of capital (if relevant). In short, through virtual and in-person workshops, they deliver a targeted, award-winning curriculum and provide countless connections to prepare startups for growth.
Benefits
- Training: Their curriculum is tailored to help your company identify early milestones and prepare for your next round of capital. Additionally, there will be one intensive virtual interactive and tailored workshop, including an emphasis on fundraising, business development, and opportunities to build deeper connections within the cohort.
- Financial Analysis: Chat with an investment analyst who will coach you 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics.
- Catalytic Capital: Dream.Org will provide a pool of USD $30,000 in non-dilutive, equity-free grants to be split evenly among cohort companies for participation and completion of the accelerator program. Two (2) companies from the cohort will be selected by their peers to receive grants of USD $10,000 each from Dream.Org to further scale their solutions.
- Media Exposure: Get featured on Village Capital & Dream.Org’s program website and other collateral.
- Access to Abaca: Scale your business faster by identifying the right capital for you and planning your next milestones for growth.
- Mentorship: Build 1:1 connections with investors, strategic partners and potential customers.
Who Should Apply?
- Village Capital is looking for 8-10 Black or Latinx-led startups focused on addressing the following areas:
- Built Environment (Heating & Cooling, Energy Efficiency, and Construction Tech) including efficient heat pumps, improved insulation, financing solutions, or clean/circular construction materials.
- Electric Transportation and Infrastructure (EV Charging, Battery Technology, and Models that Promote Greater Access) including greater access to EVs and charging stations, improved charging efficiency, vehicle-to-grid (V2G), alternative production and recycling methods for batteries, or wireless charging.
- Food Systems (Sustainable Protein Production, Farming, and Food Waste Tech) including alternative & cultivated proteins, vertical & precision, alternative packaging, upcycled food, and increased access to affordable, nutritious meals.
- Circular Economy (Circular Textiles, Plastics, Automotive, and Electronics) including resale fashion, sustainable clothing, elimination of packaging, recyclability tech, ride-sharing, remanufacturing of parts, or product-as-a-service.
- Carbon Tech (Carbon-to-Value, Carbon Utilization, and Carbon Accounting) including carbon-to-value applications in building materials, agtech, new materials, and platforms to help organizations track and monitor their carbon emissions data.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible startups must have:
- 51% owned and operated by Black or Latinx founders
- Legal incorporation as a for-profit entity
- Scalable solution that tackles one of the mentioned areas, specifically impacting low-to-moderate income communities and communities of color in the US
- Headquartered or with operations in the US
- Market-based solution that tackles the challenges
- Have a minimum viable product (MVP), and raised less than $1.5M in equity
- Have at least one full-time founder based in the US
- Have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, it can also be successful pilots, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships)
For more information, visit Dream Climate Tech Launchpad.