#141 Winning Pilots, First Customers, Arena Electrification, & More w/ Chris Richardson (Uptake Alliance, ADL Ventures)

CleanTechies

🌎 On this episode, Somil interviews Chris Richardson, Executive Director of Uptake Alliance and Partner at ADL Ventures where he leads their energy and transportation practices. Uptake Alliance is the newest rockstar member of the NYS entrepreneurial ecosystem that connects organizations with startups solving specific problems they face to tackle “piloting to death.”

We talk about the relationship between pilots and commercialization, specific opportunities in climate tech, and other pieces of guidance Chris has from his time as a founder.
---
🌎 If you'd like to see the full PodLetter, go to our substack to see all the written content that supplements the audio interview.
---
🚨🚨🚨 Shoutout to our sponsor Net Zero Insights — Net Zero Insights is the leading market intelligence platform on climate information with all the latest you need on funding rounds, VCs, and the climate tech ecosystem. Use this link to schedule your demo and get a 10% discount!! 🚨🚨🚨
---

📺 👀 Prefer to watch: Subscribe on YouTube.
Want to be part of the community and engage further? Check out the Slack Channel.

Topics:

• 00:00 Introduction and Background
• 08:07 EV Button and Electrifying Existing Infrastructure
• 17:28 Uptake Alliance and Venture Development
• 38:34 Clean Infrastructure and the Built Environment
• 44:48 Moonshot Technologies and Innovation
• 49:17 Incentivizing Domestic Economic Benefits
• 51:41 Investing in Urban vs Rural Technologies
• 59:33 Insights
  • 59:33 IRA
  • 01:02:13 Climate x XI
  • 01:06:15 Success Story of a Hardware MVP
  • 01:10:19 Challenges in Corporate Pilots
  • 01:13:48 Starting a New Company in Climate
• 01:16:11 Advice for Applicants

Links:

• GUEST: Chris Richardson
• COMPANY: Uptake Alliance, ADL Ventures
• Connect with Somil | Connect with Silas
• For all your Climate, Renewables, and Sustainability recruitment needs, check out our sponsor NextWave

Support the show

If you're gonna change the world, you're gonna need a world-class team. Partner with ErthTech Talent to help you do that, for less.

• 70+ Placements
• 5+ Years (exclusively in CleanTech)
• The Lowest Fees in the Market (12-15% of first-year salary)
• 90-day placement guarantee

It's really hard to say no to that.

Wait?! -- The best service is also the cheapest? Seems too good to be true, but it's the entire reason we started this company.

We believe that Climate entrepreneurs are doing important work, and there should be a firm to help them find the best talent, without it breaking the bank.

Reach out today for a free assessment of your hiring process. [email protected]