Welcome to Founder Spotlight Rewind — a chance to catch up with the incredible founders we've previously featured and get the latest on how their companies are evolving. Whether it's major milestones, new products, or expanded impact, we're excited to share what's next in their journey.
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Meet Dimitry Gershenson, Erin Davis, and Joshua Krafchin, founders of Enduring Planet
Invest in startups like Enduring Planet alongside Climate Capital here.
Founders: Dimitry Gershenson, Erin Davis, and Joshua Krafchin
Motto/Mission: Making sure ALL climate entrepreneurs have the capital they need to solve the climate crisis
Year Founded: 2021
Stage: Seed
Location: Portland, OR, USA
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Climate Capital: What made you want to solve this problem?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: We’ve now worked with hundreds of climate companies around the world and witnessed the same 2 problems:
Problem 1: Long payment cycles on contracts create critical cash flow gaps for climate companies, stalling project progress and growth. This problem results in companies either (a) moving too slowly or (b) often raising dilutive capital to fill the gap, which is expensive and affects the control dynamics of these businesses.
Problem 2: Most climate founders aren’t finance people, and the traditional service providers that they hire fail to understand the nuances of climate business models, leaving critical gaps across accounting, reporting, modeling, and strategy.
Climate Capital: What are you building?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: Enduring Planet is a financial technology platform where climate companies can secure the funding they need to scale and manage the capital they have more efficiently and responsibly. We move quickly, care deeply about the sector, and offer capital and services at very competitive prices to traditional providers.
Climate Capital: What is next?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: We’ve now funded nearly $25M in loans with 53 companies in the last 3 years and serve over 40 clients under our CFO platform, which only launched at the start of 2024. Our goal is to grow cumulative loans to $1B and serve 1000 climate companies with our Fractional Finance services by 2030.
Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: We work hard AND value one another’s well-being. We are a remote company, so we put a premium on staying connected and compassionate toward one another.
Our values:
Be transparent, authentic, and accountable
Empower others to succeed
Focus on climate
Prioritize inclusion
Always seek improvement
Take care of ourselves, our families, and one another
Delight the customer
Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: When we started Enduring Planet, we were in a zero-interest rate environment. The days of easy money are in the rearview mirror. Fundraising today takes longer, requires more work and is far less certain. This is as true for us as it is for our clients, which then impacts all the work we do. Honestly, this creates an even bigger motivation for our work than ever before!
Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: Addressing the climate crisis takes a village. We need to work together, founders/investors/etc, to drive outcomes on a timescale that actually makes sense. This is why we partner with nearly 300 other capital providers and make hundreds of introductions for founders in our community (whether they’re in our portfolio, or not!)
Our offering has evolved so much since we started lending in 2022. As we work with more and more climate companies, we keep improving our process, sharpening our skills, and accelerating the speed of all the moving parts. We’re in a fluid environment and need to keep evolving fast to meet demand.
Climate Capital: How can the broader climate community help you on your mission?
Dimitry, Erin & Joshua: If you know any climate companies that need working capital or help managing their finances (i.e. accounting, modeling, etc), please send them our way!
If you want to learn more, visit https://enduringplanet.com/!
💠Don’t miss the chance to hear directly from Dimitry, register here for the webinar happening tomorrow.