Thread by @sethbannon

There are 5 big changes since the old cleantech bust days:

1) broader definition of clean / climate tech
2) technical developments that make more things possible
3) employee preference changes
4) consumer preference changes
5) investor preference changes

Why now is different 👇

1st we've realized there are many good ways of attacking the climate crisis w/ tech. What was in the old days biofuels & renewable hardware is now: food tech, clean chemicals, transportation, renewable hardware & software, industrial decarbonization, etc 

Broader definition!

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There have also been infrastructural technology advancements that make more possible. The easiest to see: cloud infrastructure has made more climate issues (especially around more efficient energy use / distribution) addressable with pure software.

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More interesting (for us) is that biology is more of an engineering discipline than it was before. Due to tech like CRISPR, cheap sequencing, on demand DNA synthesis, directed evolution, etc, we can now build bio solutions that were only dreams during the clean tech bust!

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Similar dynamics may be at play in transportation, materials science, and maybe even nuclear! It's the "why is Instacart different than Webvan" question. Mobile penetration enabled Instacart; core tech advancements may enable climate tech solutions that failed previously.

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Employee preferences are radically different vs the clean tech bust days. Millennials want to align their work with their values, so companies solving real problems (like the climate crisis) can out recruit those that aren't. Best & the brightest want to work on these things!

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This is a massive generational change.

More millennials say the primary purpose of business is to "improve society" than say it is to "generate profit".

First generation to think that!

dropbox.com/s/zjpmo4dcxx6y…

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Ask a CEO of a fast growing Silicon Valley startup "why are you not growing even faster?" & the #1 answer is "I just can't hire great people fast enough".

Recruiting & retaining top talent is a huge competitive advantage, & sustainability / impact startups will win here.

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Consumer preferences have also shifted since the clean tech bust. Successful products need to appeal to the masses eventually (see our Mr Burns test below), but there's now a niche of consumers willing to pay more initially, before scale is achieved.

https://twitter.com/sethbannon/status/1214215295969030148

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A stark example of the changing consumer preferences?

90% of Gen Z believes companies must act to help social and environmental issues.

This creates a niche of customers willing to pay more pre-scale.

dropbox.com/s/7yohj5vygst1…

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Finally, investor preferences have shifted since the clean tech bust days. When Larry Fink, the CEO of the world's largest money manager Blackrock, says climate needs to be at the center of investing strategies, you know preferences have shifted in a big way. He puts it well 👇

Fink says "There will be a significant reallocation of capital...As trillions of $$ shift to millennials over the next few decades, as they become CEOs & CIOs, as they become the policymakers & heads of state, they will further reshape the world’s approach to sustainability."

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This isn't "clean tech bust 2.0".

THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT. Broader perspective, better tech, employees that care, niche of consumers willing to subsidize, and growing amount of aligned capital.

Super hopeful and excited to help  push this movement forward @fiftyyears!

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@fiftyyears Curious to hear your take @mattocko @posamentier @bznotes @jjacobs22 @leepnet @GianaAmador @TheCarbonSink @wdselke @rpmoss