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In October, we announced the kick-off of our Operators-in-Residence program, a 4 month-long, part-time leadership development program for high potential operators. The Equal OIR program focuses on peer-based learning for high potential startup operators. This group gains exposure to our research, strategy and operational methodologies across 4 months with the goal of accelerating their development as leaders in the startup ecosystem. Meeting monthly, OIRs discuss these topics as a group and identify ways that they can apply these concepts to the businesses they are working with or on. The group provides a trusted peer community (something that we believe is really valuable to founders and investors alike), where these operators can get feedback on ideas and how to navigate different aspects of their career.

When Rich and I were starting Equal Ventures, there was a lot we didn’t know about starting a venture fund. Scarier than that was that we didn’t know, what we didn’t know. The prospect of starting a new venture fund is both exciting and terrifying. Each of us had significant track records with our prior firms, but starting and running a great firm is a lot different than simply investing in great companies.

Today SmartHop announced the close of a Series A round led by Rebecca Kaden of Union Square Ventures. This represents a tremendous (and well deserved) milestone for a company that is truly transforming the trucking value chain. We first announced our investment in SmartHop in July and shared the story of how Equal and SmartHop came together. Since then, the company has experienced incredible growth, extended its array of products (offering fuel cards, factoring and leasing to our drivers), established countless partnerships with brokers, and become one of the largest sources of loads in the country. To put this in perspective, SmartHop launched its product last February and has surged to become an emerging leader in the trucking industry in just under a year.

2021 is poised to be a blockbuster year in climate tech, thanks to the intersection of three key catalysts. First, the economics of new energy are starting to make sense. The cost of clean energy is coming down, as the number of system installations rises and tech becomes more sophisticated. Second, funding is more material now than ever before. We’ve seen more and more investors look towards climate and the announcements of several new climate-focused funds. $29B was deployed into green businesses across the North American venture landscape in 2020. And third, policy is being put in place to bolster the deployment of climate tech across energy generation and efficiency, mobility, carbon offsetting, and more.

2021 is poised to be a blockbuster year in climate tech, thanks to the intersection of three key catalysts. First, the economics of new energy are starting to make sense. The cost of clean energy is coming down, as the number of system installations rises and tech becomes more sophisticated. Second, funding is more material now than ever before. We’ve seen more and more investors look towards climate and the announcements of several new climate-focused funds. $29B was deployed into green businesses across the North American venture landscape in 2020. And third, policy is being put in place to bolster the deployment of climate tech across energy generation and efficiency, mobility, carbon offsetting, and more.