Issue 3: News, funding and events

Welcome to the third issue of the Above & Beyond newsletter. This edition is our monthly digest of the latest happenings in the UK climate scene. 

As we sit at the precipice of both the autumn budget, here in the UK, and the US election, I feel a sense of anticipation across the startup community as we wait to see what unfolds on both sides of the Atlantic. By the time I write the next newsletter intro, we will be developing a clearer idea of the outlook for investment and regulation in the climate space and, most importantly, I hope business confidence will return as we see a path forward (whether it’s the path we would ideally want or not!). 

Last night, I tuned into several sessions of the SOSV Climate Tech Summit (you can watch replays of the sessions here), and there was a lot of discussion about investors’ increased expectations when it comes to evidencing commercial traction and a path to profitability. There was also talk of increasing connectivity across the capital stack as investors across family offices, CVCs and debt financing start to collaborate to help startups cross the chasm from Series A onwards. 

There was an interesting conversation about founder mental health, and the increase in cases of burnout as the headwinds of the last two years start to take their toll. This increase has been particularly pronounced amongst younger founders who are less experienced, haven’t seen as many cycles of economic boom and bust, and are wrestling with climate anxiety as well as the pressure of operating in survival mode. 

Here at Above & Beyond, we’re in the process of planning our series of founder roundtables for 2025, and founder wellbeing is a topic we’re keen to cover. So, watch this space as we start to announce next years’ events. 👀 

Until then, happy reading, and please get in touch with your feedback about what you’d like to see us include in future issues.

Cherry 

There are so many fantastic companies, investors and individuals in the climate space. We’ll be featuring some of them here, in our Spotlight section, so you can make new connections and keep track of the wider industry.  

This month, we’re spotlighting Hack Summit’s new NYC edition - where climate deep tech founders, funders and industry come together. 

The premier US edition of the HackSummit is heading to New York on December 12th-13th.  

An intimate and curated group of stealth to Series B climate tech founders, partners and principals behind some of the most active funds, as well as corporates, banks and asset managers with a keen interest in collaborating with companies in this space. 

Over the two days, there will be talks and workshops covering everything from built environment and biodiversity, through to financing and the infrastructure needed to scale. 

Come ready to be inspired and take home actionable insights to put your best foot forward in 2025.  

Earlybird tickets have sold out, but you can use code ABOVE20 for 20% off your pass, here. 

Every week we speak to exceptional people who are looking for new roles within climate and we want to do our best to showcase them to our founder community.   

Each issue we highlight climate jobseekers that have stood out to us over the last month, and who we think would add significant value in an early-stage startup.   

If you’d like to learn more about them and maybe even arrange an introductory call with them, please get in touch on cherry@aboveandbeyondrec.co.uk or via DM.   

This is just a snapshot of some of the brilliant people we speak to each month. So, if your current hiring needs are different to the skills found below, do get in touch. There’s a good chance we’ll know someone to match your requirements. 

Director of Operations (Series B) / COO (Seed - Series A) 

£110,000 - 130,000 

Hybrid: London 

• Experience working in solar energy and smart buildings startups with software-enabled, hardware solutions. 

• Has worked in startups at seed stage through to series B. 

• Roles have encompassed business operations, building and scaling teams, manufacturing operations, partnerships and international expansions. 

• They have worked in businesses that have scaled from 50-350 people in 12 months - have built high-performing teams and developed people, as well as navigated the challenges of downsizing teams. 

• Their ideal role is at a company that is looking to unlock more revenue by streamlining and improving their operations to be more scalable. 

Congratulations to all the fantastic companies that have closed rounds recently. There are too many to mention them all, but here are a few that caught our eye this month:  

👏 London-based Puraffinity landed $9 million from BGF, HG Ventures, and Octopus Ventures to innovate smart materials for wastewater treatment and improve global water sustainability. 

👏 MiAlgae raised £14 million Series A funding to build a commercial-scale facility in Scotland, where it will grow microalgae in fermentation tanks to produce omega-3 fatty acids. 

👏 GeoPura successfully secured £22 million in debt funding, a vital step towards expanding its fleet of Hydrogen Power Units (HPUs) and advancing green hydrogen infrastructure. 

👏 Notpla secured £20 million Series A funding to scale manufacturing of its seaweed-based sustainable packaging. 

👏 Anaphite got $13.7 million in fresh equity funding to scale dry-coating EV battery technology. 

👏 Grantham-based Nattergal Ltd, raised $52M in a Seed round to transform low-grade agricultural land into biodiverse habitats by acquiring underutilized spaces with a main focus on ecosystem restoration. 

Here are some of the events our team will be at over the next few weeks. If you see us, come over and say hello  👋 

Please also drop a comment if there’s something we’ve missed, or somewhere you think we should be. 

Wednesday 30th October - Climate Tech Time (in-person, London)  

Tuesday 5th November – Zinc Decarbonisation pitch event (in-person, London) 

Monday 11th November – Women in Impact Demo Day (in-person, London) 

Thursday 14th November – Green Angel Syndicate Pitch Event (hybrid: in-person London and virtual) 

Our events:  

Thursday 7th November – Working in Sustainable Technology (virtual): Regenerative Agriculture 

For November's session, we'll be learning about regenerative agriculture practices. 

Speakers will be announced shortly but you can register to join now, here. 

Wednesday 13th November – Climate Tech Pioneers (in-person, London): Mastering PR and Public Speaking for Your Climate Startup  

The final Climate Tech Pioneers event of 2024 will be an evening with two fantastic speakers, teaching you how to master public speaking and PR basics to get more eyes on your work, grow your network and impact. 

Having founded Climate Connection, Juliette Devillard brings together individuals passionate about climate to spark ideas, discussions, and new connections. She runs Climate Tech Time, the UK's largest monthly event for climate professionals, and has also trained executives, impact leaders, and 120+ Seed to Series B founders in storytelling, public speaking, and pitching. 

Abi Smith has worked in global, boutique and mid-sized agencies. She has run big-budget campaigns for household names, raised the global profile of tech scale-ups and helped startups and nonprofits to launch. Harpswood work with businesses making the world cleaner, fairer and better. Clients include: Octopus Energy, Sustainable Ventures, Packfleet and Climate X. 

Spaces are limited, so be sure to register. 

 Have you joined our new community for UK-based founders, C-suite and investors in climate tech? If you’d like to join us and get access to our bi-monthly roundtable sessions, either comment CTP or drop me a DM and I’ll send you a link to join.