20: From founder to climate investor - Talk with serial entrepreneur and investor Tim Schumacher co-founder of Ecosia

SustainNOW Podcast - Exploring Climate Solutions with Innovators and Entrepreneurs

In this insightful episode of sustainNOW, Katie speaks with Tim Schumacher, a serial entrepreneur and investor deeply committed to climate impact. Tim’s entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding Ecosia, the world’s largest independent search engine, which uses all its profits to plant trees. Tim’s passion for sustainability has driven him to invest in and co-found startups like Zolar, CarbonCloud, Pachama, and World Fund, a venture capital fund focusing on climate tech.

Tim shares his transition from a tech entrepreneur to a climate-focused investor and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the climate investment space. He also dives into his experiences with Ecosia, a certified B-Corp that has planted nearly 200 million trees globally, and how World Fund is shaping the future of startups with the potential to drastically reduce CO2 emissions.

Key Topics:

• The evolution of Tim’s career from founder to climate investor
• The impact of Ecosia in combating deforestation and promoting transparency
• World Fund’s mission to reduce 100 million tons of CO2 annually through innovative startups
• The role of VCs in funding climate solutions and closing the financial gap for impactful startups
• Tim’s top advice for entrepreneurs entering the climate tech space

Capíttulos

1. 20: From founder to climate investor - Talk with serial entrepreneur and investor Tim Schumacher (00:00:00)

2. What has been your common nominator in these different roles and what is the biggest difference? (00:02:20)

3. What are the biggest differences between the founder and investor side? (00:04:00)

4. What were the driving factors to change from an entrepreneur track into an investor track? (00:05:40)

5. Do you remember a particular situation which triggered the thought process to dedicate your time to climate change? (00:07:35)

6. The tree planting practice has been quite criticized in the last year for promising too much but cannot be delivered. How do you address that at ecosia? (00:12:00)

7. Can you give an overview on World Fund? (00:17:25)

8. How do you make sure that you have expertise in choosing investments? (00:19:42)

9. What is the craziest investment you've done to date? (00:21:15)

10. Do you realistically see that these startups will exist in Europe? (00:23:40)

11. What is the role of VCs in fixing the financial gap for climate and what do we need to change to better close this gap? (00:26:00)

12. How do you see the role of the policies in climate? (00:28:20)

13. Climate tech start ups often require a long period of investment - How does the VC model work in this system? (00:30:10)

14. Many other digital entrepreneurs are considering moving into the climate tech space - what would you recommend to them? (00:31:30)

15. What does sustainability mean to you? (00:35:00)

16. Is it possible for individuals to invest in World Fund? (00:37:00)

17. How can people reach out to you? (00:39:00)