Howdy folks, welcome to the audio version of our weekly ish podcast.

In case you're tired of reading staring at the screen all freaking day, you can listen as usual.

We have 5 topics here.

Number one, climate numbers to CEO to know #3 investor spotlight #4 and I'm sorry, AI insight and the 5th is a mindful moment.

So let's, let's hop in #1 climate numbers.

Can you build policy proof climate business models?

Our friends at Sightline CTVC, an elemental impact surveyed 100 investors and industry insiders and this particular graph popped out.

I think to me, this is a bit, this is a maybe a couple months ago, maybe a month ago to deal with current headwinds.

56 again, percent of these folks aim to build policy proof business models.

Now.

Do you agree?

Is that even possible?

And if so, how are you doing it?

I've got a LinkedIn post on that if you care to engage in the conversation.

But the graph basically shows that, again, 56% aiming for policy proof businesses.

What's next?

No changes, 18% number, let's say 13% investing more outside the US, 7, engaging more actively in policy advocacy, and six, seeking greater private capital to offset the uncertainty, maybe even from philanthropic sources.

All right, do with that what you will.

It's crazy out there #2 CEO to know the title BlackRock form energy and now sustainable aviation fuel.

So Joe Rodden, CEO of Lydian Labs, was a recent guest on our EFI podcast.

Their tech uses modular reactors to achieve 95% lower life cycle emissions compared to traditional jet fuel.

Their production ramps ramps up when solar wind power are available and cheap and turns off when they aren't.

They're backed by smart investors in the space, like Congruent and Galvanized and beyond.

Beyond the business stuff that Joe and I talked about, you can hear how peanut buttering can be used as a verb.

Pretty big fan of that given my love of peanut butter and why we can stink at routines, fail at routines, and yet still build great companies.

You'll hear how maybe you know, our partners can provide that routine that we lack.

Anyway, good times #3 investor spotlight.

So first, this is the subtitle First a 9X founder, now a climate investor.

So Jim McDermott is managing partner at Rasheen Capital Management.

That's RUSHEEN, an investor in growth stage companies in the carbon capture and utilization, low carbon energy and water sustainability sectors.

But if you when I read out, yeah, what Jim was up to before, yes, that's my notification.

Good prep, Chris, good prep.

If you heard what Jim was up to before machine, you might feel, I don't know, like a loser in a good in the best way, because you know, Jim's Jim's on our team considered inspiration.

Here goes.

He started, invested in or ran US renewablesgroupstamps.com public company, spoke software archive, where else?

Nano, H2O, solar reserve, Fulcrum, bioenergy, common assets sold to a public company, set capital, SET technology, and OH energy.

You can also hear how Jim walks the canyons of southern Los Angeles when it's barely light outside for clearing his clearing his brain or thinking big thoughts.

Who knows, maybe you'll maybe you'll see him out there in the dark.

4th 1 here.

AI insight hopefully pretty practical and usable despite all the hype out there.

Can GPT be your chief culture detective?

Yeah I know, not a real term but bear with me here.

Can it turn insights which are data into insights to boost morale and rally the team?

Especially important when D is making, I'm sorry, when DC is making things again, pretty pretty wild, unpredictable where common sense does no longer apply, it seems like.

So here's what you could do.

Export and organize team feedback data in the following in the following way #1 download your pulse or or Enps or other team survey results as a CSV file.

So again, like Excel, if relevant, remove names and emails for anonymity, upload the CSV files to Jet ChatGPT Plus, I mean, probably you're turning off the data sharing components of that.

Then you, you had a prompt.

So here's here's the prompt.

Obviously listening to it.

Not so great.

If you go to the newsletter, a little better.

So look, you're my chief culture detective.

Pretend you're a human resources executive with 30 years of experience using the attached files cluster.

Comments by theme and sentiment flag low frequency but high emotion issues, cross tabbed by department and tenure, and recommend three CEO actions.

Or fill in the blank of your particular title or the person that you may report to.

You're going to make them look really, really smart.

You get the output and you further refine it.

So, you know, how could I drill deeper or please drill deeper into engineering concerns, draft a follow up survey to, to address theme #2 let's say in the initial output, I clearly use a spot check the output for accuracy with the, the raw data and kind of what do you, what do you see?

But some point once you're fine with the output, look, maybe this becomes part of your next leadership slide deck.

You could do this quarterly, dare I say monthly if it's a little more automated or easy to track cultural momentum and communicate with the team to show that you're listening.

So pretty, pretty cool.

The last one here, number 5 mindful moment, the subtitle Hot rocks, steam and scorpions.

What are we talking about?

On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I joined a I was going to say a fellow fellow, an EFI climate CEO fellow.

So in our CEO peer group program in what's called a sweat lodge ceremony.

Some of you have perhaps joined these What is it?

Well, it's a traditional indigenous ritual that packs in this case 15 felt like 500 people soon to be friends into a tree branch framed Dome wrapped in blankets originally, of course, in in animal skins to keep you'll see that the the semen so you could crawl in barefoot in the mud, in this case on all fours.

Little tense and maybe a lot hopeful before we get in our our guide.

The shaman says, look, don't worry about possible scorpions or tarantulas inside like it'll it'll all be fine.

It was, by the way, but but tough hearing that going in the waters poured on top of bonfire, heated super, like literally red hot stones.

The steam pretty intense seems to go like, I don't know, way into your mitochondria.

That's that's a metaphor.

I did study science many years ago.

Anyway, there's prayer chants, rhythmic drumming and all of the kind of hippie stereotypes you can conjure up.

Yeah, baby, I was in it and loved every minute of it.

OK, most minutes.

It was part suffering too.

Yeah.

Look, look, part prehistoric spa mixed a little bit with with group therapy again, just becoming friends with these folks in this kind of tent like structure super dark on the inside and look, your your DNA or my DNA, maybe I'm weak says run, get the heck out of here.

It's hard to breathe.

But of course, the goal is don't do that.

Savor the the hardship.

Savor the uncomfortableness.

It's meant to break you down and not all the way, but break you down to find some breakthroughs.

The folks in the the kind of Dome or tent end up sharing kind of in breaks throughout about what thoughts come up in these skull size kingdoms atop our atop our neck.

After a few hours, you, you come out dirty, sweaty refresh, super pumped to see light and fresh air and you know, pretty grateful, I think, for what came up into my head or dare I say heart and new besties who are showering in the in the river nearby.

We move on.

If you want more, really changing the topic here.

If you want more on the topic of fundraising, let's say building climate or impact start-ups, there is a referral program built in through Substack where the newsletter is published.

So look, you got you.

You refer the newsletter to five folks.

You get this capital raising playbook to 10, a climate funding library with 60 or so resources I put together and 25 man, is this even worth it?

A call with me, a call with me one-on-one to discuss whatever strategy you got going on.

Anyway, that's all.

Make it a great week.

It's usually a choice.

Someone said if, if there are ways, if I can help you beyond the pot, our newsletter, please reach out.

I'm active on LinkedIn trying to spread the good word about opportunities in this space.

Again, most, most days do respond to most DMS.

If you happen to be a Series A through private equity backed CEO in the space.

We do have three or four seats open in our climate CEO peer group program.

So this is our EFI Climate CEO Fellows program.

It's Captain 100 members, CEO's and investors, and a bunch of great humans with low ego who are kind of badasses.

Anyway, check it out.

Thanks.