Invest in startups like Enduring Planet alongside Climate Capital here.
Founders: Dimitry Gershenson & Erin Davis
Motto/Mission: Fast, flexible, founder-friendly capital for climate entrepreneurs!
Year Founded: 2021
Stage: Seed
Location: Portland, OR
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Climate Capital: What made you want to solve this problem?
Dimitry: Startups and SMBs solving the climate crisis face a massive barrier toward their success: capital (or the lack thereof).
The Climate Policy Initiative estimates that about $1T was invested in climate in 2021, compared to the $5T+/year required for a 2°C scenario. Of that, about ⅙ was corporate debt – a number that has to grow 8X to nearly $1T/year to meet predicted demand. Unfortunately, traditional financial institutions are failing to meet this challenge and innovative solutions are required to bridge the climate finance gap.
Building on decades of experience in climate finance, we launched Enduring Planet to make sure all climate entrepreneurs, of all stages and sizes, have the capital they need to solve the climate crisis.
Climate Capital: What are you building?
Dimitry: Enduring Planet is the first and only alternative lender focused 100% on climate. We offer 2 non-dilutive funding options (no collateral, credit checks, personal guarantees or complexity):
Revenue-based Financing: flexible growth capital for climate entrepreneurs generating predictable high-margin revenue.
Climate Grant Advance: working capital for climate businesses that win state/federal grants.
Applications take ~10 mins, we cut term sheets in ~1 week, and typically fund in 30 days.
Climate Capital: What is next?
Dimitry: Since launching in 2022, we’ve completed 24 transactions and have fully deployed our first facility and are now recycling capital. We have automated significant chunks of the underwriting process to enable lending at scale. Our next goal is to raise and deploy $20M in over the next 6+ months.
Climate Capital: What are the core elements of the culture you are building at your company?
Dimitry: 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:
Equity and inclusion should be at the core of the New Climate Economy.
Collective action is required to ensure equitable action and distribution of benefits while solving the climate crisis. All of us have responsibility for averting disaster. We all may have different roles, but we must support, learn, and collaborate with one another.
Transparency and authenticity are our building blocks in creating a founder-first company.
Climate Capital: What are the key challenges as you scale your company?
Dimitry: When we started Enduring Planet, we were in a zero interest rate environment. The days of easy money are in the rear view mirror. Fundraising today takes longer, requires more work and is far less certain.
Climate Capital: What have you learned that you want to share with other founders?
Dimitry: 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 application process, sharpening our underwriting, 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: If you know any climate companies that are post-revenue or that won a climate grant, please encourage them to apply at enduringplanet.com