Monday Dinner Recap & Notes

Hi everyone,

Huge thanks to you all for making Monday's dinner so insightful and informative! The energy in the room was incredible, and I left feeling inspired by the collective wisdom and experience we all shared.

I hope you enjoyed the meal and the conversations, and had a chance to make new connections with fellow travellers on this climate journey.

Notes from the Dinner

Pilots & Demos

The Ideal Pathway:
While the optimal path is Pilot → Demo → FOAK (First Of A Kind/Commercial Scale), many companies skip the Demo phase, sometimes using simulations with pilot data to validate scale-up.

Pilot to Address Risks:
Design pilots to address specific risks rather than attempting to validate everything at once. Some successful companies develop multiple pilots, each focused on a single key risk:

• Integration Risk: How well does the core innovative tech integrate with other systems?

• Scale-Up Risk: Is the gap between pilot/demo and commercial scale reasonable and manageable?

• Commercial Risk: Do the offtake agreements reflect strong customer trust and good terms?

• Cascading Risks: Are compounding issues identified and mitigated?

• Commercial Viability: Pilots can be revenue-generating, as Solugen showed with early baby wipes applications.

A good question to ask: What should we not build for the pilot?

Financing and Risk

• Cheapest capital: Supplier financing (e.g. 90-day terms) and customer financing—useful but risky if over-relied upon.

• Mature industries like solar use specialized financing (e.g. equipment leasing, construction loans).

• Developers often manage portfolio-level risk by running multiple projects in parallel—unlike VC focus on singular bets.

• Strategic hires matter: Get domain experts for each risk phase. Prioritize those with hands-on deal experience, not just sector knowledge.

Common Pitfalls

• Over-focusing on tech while neglecting commercial aspects.

• Underestimating minor issues (e.g., contaminants) that later impact CAPEX/Schedule.

• Incomplete designs before pilots lead to expensive changes.

• Communication gaps: Avoid getting lost in the technical weeds—clearly explain:

  • Risks addressed

  • Risks outstanding

  • Mitigation strategy and ownership

• Investors vary widely on which risks they will accept—know your audience.

Bridging the Developer–Investor Gap

• Developers want milestone expectations to stay consistent—not a moving target.

• Investors love early “what would make us financeable” conversations.

• Step-in rights: Teams solving issues directly is ideal; experienced board advisors help.

• Be cautious with strategic investors—board incentives can misalign. Set terms to protect from downside behavior.

👥 Dinner Attendees

• Christian Okoye – Generate Capital

• Cameron Hill – Terra CO2

• Lisa Wang – Antora Energy

• Hannah Friedman – Mark1

• Sasha Jokic – Cosmic Buildings

• Deanna Zhang – V1 Climate Solutions & Node Climate

• Milos Ribic – 3x founder in climate tech & consumer

• Ashley Bernstein – Rhoic

• George Babu – Aire Labs

• Preeyanka Shah – Aire Labs

• Ari Lesniak – Aire Labs

• Haley Bryant – Aire Labs

Thanks again for making Monday night so enjoyable and insightful. These are exactly the kinds of conversations our ecosystem needs.

Most importantly—please feel free to reach out directly to anyone you connected with. I’m happy to make introductions if helpful.

Looking forward to continuing the conversation.

Warmly,
Ari Lesniak
Growth Lead
Aire Labs