The Keep Cool Podcast

Aidan Madigan-Curtis's path to becoming a partner at Eclipse hinges on fundamental and generalizable takeaways about the U.S. economy that are coming to the fore again. When she was on the manufacturing team at Apple, helping to launch the first Apple Watch, she realized many of the best minds in the world where whittling away at B2B SaaS even as 85% of global GDP, concentrated on how we make, move, and power things, would require step-changes in both hardware, production processes, and decarbonization and sustainability. To address that gap, Aidan and partners have built Eclipse Capital into a $10 billion venture firm that invests in and support companies combining novel approaches to both atoms and bits-focused businesses to rebuild American manufacturing, energy infrastructure, and industrial capacity.Fast-forward to 2026, and the results validate the insight into the core needs and the opportunity to address it: Eclipse recently raised another $1.3 billion across two new funds to back everything from sodium-ion battery storage (Peak Energy) to next-generation nuclear reactors to radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The firm's portfolio also spans advanced metal 3D printing (Vulcan Forms), autonomous construction equipment (Bedrock Robotics), and cell therapy manufacturing (Solaris). And the thesis remains largely the same, namely that physical-world companies with durable advantages will define the next market cycle, especially as AI demand collides with infrastructural realities.There's a lot more to Nick and Aidan's convo than this, too. Nick and Aidan also zoomed out to examine topics such as: • How data center build-out could accelerate renewable deployment and other elements of the push to decarbonize and advance sustainability prerogatives• How and why public market narratives are shifting to reward companies with physical assets whereas these were less privileged even a few years ago• The power of manufacturing scale to create geopolitical advantages whether economically or in terms of national security. Tune in for all that and more! To learn more about Eclipse and to explore their portfolio, you can also explore their website here: https://eclipse.capital/Plus, to learn more about their recent fundraising and their theses moving forward, catch up on news articles like this one: https://www.manufacturingdive.com/news/vc-firm-eclipse-raises-1-b-physical-industries-university-endowments/818546/Timestamps:00:02:21 - Eclipse's New Funds and Capital Raising00:03:34 - Eclipse's Focus on Industrial Technologies00:05:47 - Watching the Market Catch Up to Eclipse's Theses00:07:03 - Aidan's Experience at Apple00:08:43 - How COVID and Supply Chain Disruptions Catalyze Change00:09:14 - The Need for Domestic Manufacturing00:11:07 - Company Case Study: Peak Energy and Battery Storage00:12:23 - Company Case Study: The Nuclear Company and "Pre-approved Nuclear"00:15:38 - Geographic Dispersion of Technological Innovation and Impact00:18:23 - Grassroots Resistance to Data Centers00:22:14 - The Opportunity Inherent to Data Centers and Decarbonization00:24:46 - The Industrial Revolution and Rapid Transitions of The Past00:27:09 - The Role of Venture Capital in Sustainability00:28:27 - Shifting Public Market Appetite for Physical Companies00:31:13 - Public Market Dynamics and Narratives00:34:07 - Industrial Innovations and Manufacturing00:38:23 - Advanced Manufacturing in the U.S.00:40:01 - U.S. vs. China in Manufacturing Scale00:43:23 - An Eye Towards the Future of Energy and Climate Tech00:45:01 - Non-linearity in Climate ChangeFinal notes:To keep up with Aidan and her work, you can also follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aidan-madigan-curtisPlus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here: https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/Thank you so much.

In this episode, Nick sits down with Silas Mähner, founder of ErthTech Talent and the host of the CleanTechies podcast, to unpack how climate tech has evolved since 2020. Starting from Silas’s upbringing in rural, conservative Wisconsin and his accidental entry into renewable energy recruiting, they trace his journey from a deep skepticism of renewables to seeing cleaner, greener, more sustainable technologies and businesses as a once in a century industrial opportunity as part of which “everything we touch physically can be reinvented.” Nick and Silas also explore how political backlash, culture wars, and corporate pragmatism have reshaped the climate narrative: Even as the term "climate" loses favor in many business circles, especially in the U.S., many of the world’s largest companies are still quietly committing to technologies that cut emissions and drive other sustainability outcomes because they make good business sense, too.From there, Nick and Silas zoom out to discuss Silas' priviledged vantage point into the recruiting and company building side of the space. Drawing on his work placing sales talent and hardware engineers into early stage companies, Silas explains why traditional recruiting models are structurally misaligned with pre-seed and seed stage climate tech startups, and how Earthsearch flips that script by stripping out overhead and lowering fees so founders can access high impact hiring support far earlier. For Silas, helping a first time founder land a key early hire is another way of bending the curve on the energy transition. Finally, Nick and Silas use their joint focus on storytelling and media to probe bigger questions surrounding who feels “invited” and excited about climate work, how to tell compelling narratives without needing to rely on climate prerogatives, and why narrative and incentive design are often just as, if not more important, than the technologies, policies, and businesses in question themselves.Timestamps: 00:01:46 - Guest introduction: Silas Mähner, founder of ErthTech Talent00:02:08 - Evolution of "climate tech" and narrative semantics00:02:44 - Silas background and entry into Clean Tech00:07:29 - Silas' founding of EarthTech Talent and the Cleantechies podcast00:13:25 - Innovations in recruitment business models 00:18:12 - Hiring, narrative, and market trends across the climate tech landscape00:25:18 - Insights on building a durable company culture00:32:15 - The role of storytelling in recruitment and capital raising generally00:39:20 - The importance of maintaing and creating a positive worldview and vision 00:41:00 - Challenges and opportunities in the current climate tech environment00:45:00 - The human touch to all things capital allocation, recruiting, and fund raisingFor more from Silas, be sure to follow him on LinkedIn, check out his podcast, and connect with ErthTech Talent, whether you're a job seeker or a company looking for stellar hires.For more from Nick, follow him on LinkedIn, X, and subscribe to his newsletter, Keep Cool. Thank you so much.

Will Wiseman's path to founding Climatize started with a stark realization. When he and a hundred thousand people participated in the 2019 Barcelona climate strikes, he realized there was massive, palpable passion, but not necessarily an actionable channel for everyone to activate afterward. To fill that gap, he and his co-founder got to work building a platform that transforms capital into climate infrastructure. The product, Climatize, is an SEC-registered funding portal that democratizes renewable energy investment by giving everyday investors access to crowdfund community-scale solar and storage projects. Fast-forward to 2025, and the results validate the thesis: $12M deployed across 26 projects in 12 states, with $3.5M already returned to investors, though past performance does not guarantee future results. Now, the platform is gaining traction and scale; in fact, a battery energy storage project in New York raised $124K in three days on Climatize, with the final $50K snowballing in less than an hour. And there’s more to the story than just the numbers. Much more, in fact. In discussing the business, energy markets and trends, and the evolution of renewable energy technologies, Nick and Will also zoom out to appreciate the power of identifying and creating new narratives that resonate across diverse stakeholders, including farmers in rural Tennessee and Georgia, and reflect on the power of flywheel dynamics in general to accelerate positive change across society. To learn more about Climatize and to get $50 towards investing in renewable energy projects, Keep Cool listeners can explore this dedicated landing page and/or use https://climatize.earth/keep-cool code “COOL50” when signing up for Climatize. For a visual feel, check out videos exploring Climatize’s work in the field, see here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZJmvjw1SwrJIBt1tOrp1g9Nm3FCWTazATimestamps:00:01:06 - Introduction of Will Wiseman, CEO of Climatize00:02:47 - Will Wiseman's Background in Renewable Energy00:03:42 - The Genesis of Climatize00:05:07 - The Power of Collective Capital00:06:14 – Emphasizing the Importance of Individual Agency in Climate Action00:08:14 - Changes in the Renewable Energy Sector Over the Last Decade00:13:05 - The Versatility of Renewable Energy Projects00:17:59 - Empowering Communities Through Renewable Energy Projects00:18:33 - The Speed and Efficiency of Climatize's Funding Model00:20:03 - Mechanics of Climatize's Investment Platform00:22:09 - Climatize's Project Evaluation and Underwriting Process00:24:15 - Types of Projects Funded by Climatize 00:27:08 - Potential for Global Expansion00:30:20 - Overcoming Early Platform Challenges00:31:10 - The Role of AI in Climatize's Operations00:35:04 - Future Initiatives and Priorities for Climatize00:36:15 - The Importance of Collective Action and Self-Actualization00:38:19 - The Flywheel Effect and Future Acceleration00:39:03 - Closing Remarks and Call to ActionFinal notes:To keep up with Will and his work, you can follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-wiseman/Plus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here: https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/Thank you so much.

On this episode, Nick is joined by Maya Poncelet, Head of Partnerships at Una Terra, an early growth fund investing in the circular economy and other regenerative businesses and technologies. Together, Nick and Maya discuss Una Terra’s growth equity investment theses surrounding the circular economy, what broader systems change accompanies and extends beyond the requisite responses to climate change, and how to work towards a more sustainable, equitable future with those key themes in mind. Further, Maya offers stellar examples of the investment work she’s focused on at Una Terra and grounding reflections on building an impactful career with sustainability at its center.Timestamps:00:01:13 - Guest Introduction: Maya Poncelet from Una Terra00:05:05 - Challenges in Traditional Finance and the Need for Systemic Change00:06:48 - The Club of Rome and New Economic Models00:07:57 – On Systems Change and Economic Reform Theory00:10:28 - Using Current Systems to Build Future Systems00:15:28 – Una Terra's Focus on the Circular Economy00:19:33 – A Focus on Biodiversity Loss and Its Impact00:22:16 – Defining and Outlining Investment Opportunities in the Circular Economy00:26:28 - Recent Developments and Exciting Projects at Una Terra00:36:48 - Europe's Role in the Climate and Energy Transition00:40:00 - Optimism for Future Systems and A Rapid TransitionLearn more about Maya and Una Terra’s work here: https://unaterra.vc/Thank you so much.Plus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here:https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/

Tune is as Nick is joined by Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and General Partner of Azolla Ventures, a venture capital firm that invests in breakthroughs that have the potential to avert catastrophic climate change. Together, Nick and Johanna explore Azolla Ventures’ unique approach to combining catalytic capital—philanthropic and risk-tolerant funding designed to prioritize impact over returns—with traditional venture capital to fill critical early-stage gaps left by traditional investors and accelerate innovation in and adoption of climate tech solutions. Johanna also explores how this approach enables her and her team to support “big swings” in climate solutions—including in under-discussed and under-supported areas of technological innovation—by bridging high-risk deployments from ideation and spin-out stages through commercialization, particularly for technologies often considered too risky.Further, they discuss: Urgency and opportunity in methane emissions mitigation: Nick and Johanna reflect on a common appreciation and excitement for opportunities to slow global warming by supporting methane mitigation technologies and approaches, which other investors across climate tech and energy often overlook. Further, Johanna offers a portfolio company example to ground this discussion in tangible terms.Long-termism and adaptability in climate investing: Nick and Johanna iterate on and advocate for a longer-term approach to climate investing, emphasizing planning horizons of 2050 and beyond to foster greater durability across policy shifts and macroeconomic trends. They also emphasize the need for adaptability in response to rapid technological and market changes. Other underserved technological and policy-focused opportunities: Johanna encourages entrepreneurs and funders to review and adjust their theories of change continually and to look globally for “where the action is”—including emerging opportunities in international regulations, such as new global carbon taxes for shipping, stratospheric aerosol injection, and the importance of government research funding in advancing early-stage solutions.Timestamps:00:01:28 – Introductions and Azolla Ventures' investment strategy00:05:39 - Portfolio companies: Sublime Systems and lower-carbon cement production00:10:15 - Role of catalytic capital in climate tech startups formation and scaling00:11:19 – Portfolio companies: Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals00:14:25 – The primacy of long-term climate tech investment perspectives00:16:58 - Current climate tech investment environment across geographies00:22:36 - Balancing short-term realities with long-term goals00:25:23 - Methane moonshots and a focus on Biolumic00:27:24 – Massive opportunities in methane and nitrous oxide mitigation00:29:02 - Stratospheric aerosol injection and other emerging climate interventions00:30:30 - Final thoughts and calls to actionLearn more about Johanna’s work and Azolla Ventures by following both on LinkedIn and exploring Azolla Ventures’ website and portfolio here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannawolfson/ + https://www.linkedin.com/company/azolla-ventures/ + https://azollaventures.com/If you love listening to The Keep Cool Show, please leave mea 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/keepcoolPlus, you can stay up to date on all things Keep Cool here: https://keepcool.co/ and follow Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasvanosdol/Thank you so much.