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Science on a Mission Episode Two: Catalyzing Change with Philanthropy
In this live-recorded podcast episode taped at SXSW 2024, Cortney Newell, Senior Director of Development at Activate, moderates a conversation with Olivia Strader of LH Capital/Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Margaret Lee from Prime Coalition, and Pat McGrath from the Schmidt Family Foundation about how philanthropic organizations can uniquely contribute to the advancement of climate tech by leveraging their resources, convening power, and innovative funding strategies.
This episode underscores the hope and dedication driving the climate tech space, encouraging continued innovation, risk-taking, and collaboration to build a sustainable future.
Activate at SF Climate Week 2024
We had a wonderful time at San Francisco Climate Week, where we engaged with the hard tech community right in Activate Berkeley’s own backyard. It was great to see this event reach peak impact, with thousands of people filling venues to convene around the most important topics with scientists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and others. Here’s a glimpse of the sessions we hosted.
Subscribe to the New Activate Podcast, Science on a Mission!
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a new podcast series, Science on a Mission, dedicated to illuminating the journey of deep tech innovations and innovators from lab to marketplace. This podcast series aims to demystify the path to commercialization for deep tech innovation, provide the deep tech community with the wisdom to navigate the complexities of commercializing breakthrough technologies, and explore the terrain around science entrepreneurship, hard-tech commercialization, and science leadership.
Why Innovators Need Community
By Jill Fuss, Activate Berkeley Managing Director
Without a community to back them up, founders are much less likely to succeed. This can negatively impact everything from their mental health to technical development. I’ve experienced the community aspect of Activate from two perspectives: first, as a fellow in Cohort 2018 in the Activate Berkeley Community and then as its managing director.
Activate's Rising Stars: Fellow Companies' Follow-On Funding Soars to $2B Milestone with Boost from DOE Awards
This week saw an announcement from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) that the administration was awarding $6B to transform America's industrial sector, strengthen domestic manufacturing, and slash planet-warming emissions.. It’s a big win for early-stage science entrepreneurship, and as a result of these new awards, Activate marks a significant milestone by announcing that the 147 companies founded by its fellows were on their way to securing over $2B in follow-on funding collectively.
Assembling an All-Star Team of Advisors: Where to Start
“Surround yourself with people who you trust, who are there to support you and shape your success,” says Rok Sitar (Blaze Energy Technologies, Cohort 2023). This is universally sound advice, and chances are you already have a select cadre of mentors or advisors to whom you’ve turned for guidance during your education and career. For up-and-coming entrepreneurs, this advice takes on new significance as you assemble a board of advisors to bolster your success.
Lessons from a Failed Juicer Startup on the Power of Entrepreneurial Community
By Dan Recht, Activate Boston Managing Director
When Juicero shut down on September 1, 2017, the news spread quickly through San Francisco’s Mission District, which was then ground zero for hardware startups in the city. At that time I was CEO of a hydrogen storage startup based in a shared building down the street. Juicero may have been making juicers and not hydrogen tanks like my startup, but the success of both our companies relied on one thing: entrepreneurial community support.
Activate’s CEO Appears on Invested in Climate Podcast
Activate’s CEO, Cyrus Wadia, discussed how Activate focuses on empowering scientists with the resources, mentorship, and community needed to navigate the challenging journey from the lab to the marketplace in a recent Invested in Climate podcast episode.
Activate’s new CEO, Cyrus Wadia, featured on climate-tech focused podcast
Activate's new CEO, Cyrus Wadia, spoke with journalist Molly Wood on her climate-tech-focused podcast, Everybody in the Pool. During the show, Wadia shared his passion for bridging the gap between scientific innovation and entrepreneurial success.
Parenting and Pioneering in STEM Innovation
Parenting and entrepreneurship are both transformative and highly demanding journeys, and many Activate Fellows embark on them simultaneously. How do they balance both? How do the roles of science entrepreneur and parent intersect and even complement one another?
2023 By the Numbers
By just about any measure, 2023 was a powerful year for Activate and our fellows. Here are some of 2023’s most significant wins.
A Note to the Boston Climate-Tech Community as We Enter Adulthood
By Dan Recht, Activate Boston Managing Director
You can start the story of the Boston climate-tech ecosystem in a lot of ways, but I begin with the founding of the MIT Energy Club and the Harvard Energy Journal Club within a few months of each other in 2004 and 2005. That means our community is turning 19 this year—and finally emerging from an adolescence characterized by rapid growth in size and maturity along with a fair amount of teenage awkwardness. What does it mean for our community to enter adulthood?
COP28: To Meet Climate Targets, We Need Science Entrepreneurs
By Matt Price, Co-Founder and CFO at Activate
I just returned from COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, held this year in Dubai. Every year, COP presents a powerful opportunity to bring world leaders together and set goals for climate action. Here are my biggest takeaways.
Activate’s Commitment to Science Leaders: An Interview with our CEO
We sit down with our new CEO, Cyrus Wadia, to discuss his history with our organization, his vision for Activate’s future, and how our fellows continue to create impact beyond the companies they build.