Insights From Co-Founding A Venture Build with Nicky Dee and Natalia Dorfman | Conversations in Cleantech | Season five, Episode one

Nicky Dee is the co-founder and chief sustainability and innovation officer at Carbon13, a venture builder for the climate emergency. She has a PhD in sustainability and entrepreneurship from the University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing and Natural Sciences, and her Italian academic background is in environmental science. Before founding Carbon13, she had a successful corporate career in publishing, law firms, and climate risk insurance. Nicky is also a mother of two, loves the outdoors, and met her colleague Natalia Dorfman through their work at Carbon13. Together, they are a powerful duo in the clean tech space.

Natalia is the CEO and co-founder of Kita, a climate-focused reinsurance company that aims to de-risk carbon removal solutions. She majored in environmental science in university but realised she was not meant to be a scientist and went into publishing, before falling into a career in business development and strategy for large global law firms. Natalia had always cared about climate change but did not necessarily think her job needed to align with her personal beliefs. However, after becoming a mother and working with climate best practices at Clyde and CO, she felt a sense of responsibility to try and make a difference. She applied to Carbon13, which provided a framework for her to leave her comfortable career and become a startup founder. 

This article provides a valuable summary of Nicky and Natalia's entrepreneurial journey, from the founding of Carbon 13 to the creation of Kita as a venture builder. The article provides valuable insights and advice for individuals starting their careers in the cleantech industry and looking to launch their own startups.

What is Carbon13? 

Nicky: Carbon 13 is a venture builder focused on tackling the climate emergency. Founded in 2019, the organisation brings together a diverse group of 80 to 100 individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact on the environment. The goal of our program is to help individuals with or without ideas to team up and create ventures that will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Our process begins with a rigorous screening of applicants, where commercial and technical individuals are interviewed to identify their strengths, experience, and insights. Through a six-week teaming process, individuals with compatible ideas coalesce into teams that will then work on building ventures for the next three months. These teams are then presented to investors for possible investment, and some of them are able to proceed to a traditional accelerator program.

One of the key pain points that we address is the difficulty that entrepreneurs face when trying to find a co-founder. We have found that it can be challenging to find someone who shares the same vision and passion for tackling climate change. By bringing together individuals who have a similar sense of purpose and a willingness to commit to doing something, Carbon13 helps to create a supportive community that can help overcome this barrier.

Another challenge that we help to overcome is the lack of understanding about greenhouse gas emissions and how to communicate the importance of reducing them to stakeholders. The organisation encourages individuals to think about the impact their ventures will have on greenhouse gas emissions, and how to effectively communicate this to investors and other stakeholders.

Timing is also a crucial factor in entrepreneurship, and at Carbon 13 we have benefited from the increased momentum in the climate tech space. We have already made 44 precede investments and are opening a new location in Berlin. This momentum has attracted talented individuals and stakeholders who are eager to make a positive impact on the environment.

What successes have you realised thus far from Carbon13? 

Nicky: I'm proud to say that we've achieved significant success since the program's inception. Our unique approach to supporting sustainable and innovative businesses has helped us attract an overwhelming number of applicants with each new cohort. Currently, we're in our fourth cohort, and we've just completed the precede investments with them. We're also excited to be opening up in Berlin and interviewing for our fifth cohort.

One of the key factors contributing to our success is the network of mentors, advisors, and experts we provide to the startups we work with. This approach ensures that the startups we fund have access to the resources they need to grow and succeed. Additionally, our focus on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions has resonated with many entrepreneurs who are passionate about creating sustainable solutions.

While it's challenging to quantify our success in traditional terms, we're confident that our efforts are making an impact in the climate tech space. We believe that our mission to support the creation of sustainable and innovative businesses is a success in itself. As we continue to grow and work with more startups, we're optimistic that Carbon13 will make an even bigger impact in the fight against climate change.

What is Kita and how did you discover the gap in the market and create a thriving business around it?

Natalia: Kita is a climate-focused reinsurance company and we aim to de-risk carbon removal solutions, enabling more upfront financing and scale. The company was founded by three individuals, including myself who previously worked for a large insurance-focused law firm. I saw the opportunity for insurance to help fight climate change but also recognized the challenges that the industry faces in moving slowly to insure new industries and technologies. This led to a conversation around the question of how new carbon removal technologies could get insurance, which eventually led to the founding of Kita.

We realised that without insurance, it would be challenging for new carbon removal technologies to secure the financing necessary to scale. So we decided to build a climate-focused reinsurance company that would have a laser focus on ensuring new climate technologies in their early stages, de-risking them so they could attract more financing and scale. With the right data, analysis, and pricing of risk, we believed that insurance could enable growth and become a huge enabler of climate change mitigation.

Initially, when I spoke with everyone at the company they were working for about the insurance challenge, nobody seemed interested. Eventually, I met two other individuals, Paul and Tom, who had the skills to analyse and price risk and build financial products. They were already looking at carbon markets and using data to identify and quantify risk, which aligned perfectly with the underpinnings of an insurance product. Together, we created Kita. 

The journey towards building a successful company has been full of iteration and challenges. While it has been a successful startup, we are focused on creating a long-term, sustainable company that can consistently fight climate change. We know that what we did last year doesn't matter; it's all about what we do next. Our key point is capturing gigatons of carbon, and how we do that at Kita is key to achieving our goals. Their vision is to enable more and more carbon removal solutions to scale, ensuring that they can make a real impact on mitigating climate change.

Advice for those starting their own startup or in the early stages of their journey.

Natalia: My advice is to break down your goals into smaller, manageable tasks. This can help to make the process less overwhelming and more achievable. While it's important to have a big-picture vision, it's equally important to focus on the day-to-day actions that need to be taken to achieve that vision. This approach can help you avoid getting bogged down in the fear of the unknown and instead, take practical steps towards your goals.

Nicky: The advice is to work in a team. It's difficult to start a company on your own, and having a team can help to provide support and different perspectives. The importance of working in a team is evident in the success of many companies, including Carbon13. However, it's not just about the amount of work that needs to be done. Having a team means having people who can support each other on the tough days and can share in the successes on the good days.

Finally, don't get too caught up in the idea of what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Many people believe that they need to have a specific set of skills or exceptional abilities to succeed as an entrepreneur. However, the reality is that if you are good at getting things done, then you have the potential to be a successful entrepreneur. Don't let self-doubt hold you back from pursuing your dreams.

Beginning your own startup can be a challenging but rewarding journey. By breaking down your goals into smaller tasks, working in a team, and focusing on getting things done, you can increase your chances of success. Remember, it's not about being exceptional or having the perfect set of skills, but rather about taking the leap and being willing to learn and grow along the way.

Enjoyed this article? Listen to the full podcast here, and connect with Nicky and Natalia on LinkedIn to follow their journeys.