Positive Ventures
Impact Report
2023
The science on climate change has been clear for a long time. Yet despite decades of petitions, business roundtables, and peaceful demonstrations, we are still in thrall to a sun that cooks us. Sea levels and global temperatures continue to rise as greenhouse gas emissions increase unchecked. With stakes so high, why haven’t we moved from peaceful protests and pocket change for impact investing?
"The dance of the winds", 2024. Kilian Glasner | Galeria Lume
How to blow a pipeline
title proudly inspired by Andreas Malm
To say that the signals have fallen on the deaf ears of mainstream politicians and investors would be an understatement. They are not perturbed by the smell of the blazing trees. They do not worry about the sight of islands sinking and their mouths do not become sticky and dry after a day with nothing to drink. To appeal to their reason and common sense would be a waste of time. The commitment to the endless accumulation of power and capital wins out every time in a capital-first economic global model. They are incapable of responding to the catastrophe in any other way than by expecting it; of their own accord, driven by their inner compulsion, they can do nothing but burn their way to the end. The only way to avoid it and see the impact of positive actions working at scale? Regulation.
"Why haven't we moved from peaceful protests and pocket change for impact investing?
"Cataclysm", 2021. Kilian Glasner | Galeria Lume
Why haven't we moved from peaceful protests and pocket change for impact investing?
"Why haven't we moved from peaceful protests and pocket change for impact investing?
"shame and guilt won't take us anywhere.
" Shame and guilt won't take us anywhere.
Our Benjamins are flying out to “blow up pipelines” based on three shared credos:
First, ecological collapse is social collapse. The Earth will become uninhabitable for all, but the most severe climate effects will be felt first and harder by those at the bottom. From air pollution to climate migrations and sinking islands, the Global South is already on the edge. Thus, both the climate and social aspects of every investment we make will be intertwined, measured, and reported as a complex operational system, not a single application. For us, the environment, the climate, and social impact are not distant uncorrelated topics, on the contrary, they are all facets of a complex map of earth and sociological systems that need to be holistically approached by several actors to produce positive outcomes for all.
Second, each one of us, at Positive, and at our portfolio company level, are truly believers in the power of collaboration and the fact that we need to create bridges. We will increase the pace of investments bridging the Global North and the Rest of the World, e.g., invest globally and land impact ventures in Brazil, the “perfect storm” to ship nature-based and agricultural technologies, while promoting social inclusion to those that were left behind.
Finally, there are many ways to get into impact investing and catalyze positive systemic change. In our case, we are a pure-play early-stage venture capital backing tech-based and tech-enabled solutions. We are focused on this mission and learning a lot about it. We are true believers that consistency (which compounds experience and acumen) creates an unfair advantage over time, and will allow us to climb our way up the power curve. So, instead of testing multiple strategies, we are ready to do for impact-oriented startups what the likes of Sequoia Capital have done for mainstream startups - with one fundamental difference, we want to help the daring build not just legendary companies, but the indispensable ones.
To sum up, inaction could lead to an unbearable life on Earth, at least for the vast majority of us. We are faced with the decision to challenge the prevailing narrative of complacency and work towards what we genuinely believe is the right direction.
The recent regulations introduced by the European Union aimed at ecosystem restoration offer glimmers of hope. Yet, regulatory bodies are lagging in swiftly enforcing these rules across the board, particularly among the major players. This includes, for example, the subsidized oil and gas companies and the investors backing these entities, which we hope will soon transition to being owners of stranded assets.
There is a pressing need for the broader society and regulators to act faster and take action against endless subsidies to industries that are working against common goals and instead offering an existential threat to human life on earth. As simple as that.
In response, what can an emerging mission-driven investment management firm do? We must escalate our tactics, create some noise, and radically increase the supply of venture capital for founders on a mission to solve societal challenges - like human-enhanced climate change - at scale. That’s how we fight back in a world on fire. Shame and guilt won't take us anywhere.
We are joining the counteroffensive and have tripled our firepower with our newest fund. In less than four months, we delivered millions of dollars into the hands of ten founders building civilization-bending companies with an entrepreneurial and technology-first approach. We do not doubt that, with capital and support, those founders are part of an unstoppable force to decarbonize our economy and provide fair-priced goods and services to billions of people.