12 Takeaways from Founding Kinjani
Starting a climate tech business is hard. Really hard.
I should know. I’ve been a Deep Tech investor at Octopus Ventures (a £1.2bn+ fund) and Counteract Carbon Removal (£35m fund), and assessed 500+ carbon removal companies globally in the past 3 years. I’ve been significantly involved in more than 60% of the deals in Counteract’s portfolio - which had an attractive multiple of invested capital back in March 2023.
Today, you’ll find me in Cape Town, focusing all my energy on Kinjani and backing climate talent in Africa.
Africa has the opportunity for growth with her land and oceans, alongside its rich resources and youthful population. This presents a unique opportunity for green growth and our continent's potential to be a key player in global carbon sequestration.
Africa is not without its challenges, but that is what attracts me to this continent. It’s also my place of birth, and I just love Africa and her people. Many come to Africa to visit and see her beauty and wildlife, they return for her people.
If we have any hope of a thriving Africa, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have. My skill set is in venture building, and looking at the facts - there’s a growing need for innovations and startups in Africa - solving hard and technical problems.
This article aims to share with you 12 things I’ve learnt from climbing Kilimanjaro to my own entrepreneurial journey:
Love Your People, Hard.
The best support I've got through my own startup journey is from the support network I’ve built around me. I recently reflected through writing a letter to my 80 year old self, and what comes up again and again is love your people hard. Your people will push you forward, create space for you to be vulnerable when you don’t have it all figured out, and ensure that you ask for help. It really does pay dividends in the times when you least expect it.
Think BIG. Build Your Tribe.
The Climate Crisis won’t be solved by small ideas. Big problems require the right type of support too. So build your tribe - and be sure to create mentors from your own industry. These mentors and experts will allow you to leapfrog problems in ways that are tried and tested. My own mentors helped me get Kinjani off the ground, land funding and build the foundations of a business I can be proud of. Kinjani’s ambitions have since grown, and with that - our ability to create positive climate impact too.
Getting Started is the Hardest Part.
Organisations are like organisms, they’re constantly evolving. What separates Founders from the rest of the world is action - and the majority of founders I’ve met are scared to start. Like with climbing a mountain, there’s only so much route planning you can do before you need to start the ascent. And then it’s just one foot in front of the other. It’s not that founders don’t have fear, it’s that they have the fear, but get started anyway. If you are scared, go scared. You’ll never be more ready.
You’ll Never Be More Ready.
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about starting a company for a few months or a few years, but the time is not quite right. In reality, you'll never be ready, and you’ll never be more ready. The skills, finances and support will come in time, just trust the process. The Climate Crisis requires action, and if you believe you are the right person to solve a specific problem - then you are!
Do the Hard Things.
Innovation is needed to get us from where we are today, to a thriving future tomorrow. As a sustainability engineer from 2011 to 2018 - I saw the value of science, engineering and hands-on operators creating some incredible innovations. ‘Do the Hard Things’ refers to the ‘doing’ - and in this case building audacious and wildly big ideas. We need to think big, fail fast and do the hard things.
Celebrate the Failures.
I’ve failed countless times. I originally had a potential cofounder, and sadly - never worked out between us. These setbacks can feel like your world, and your business, are falling apart. In the moment it can be hard to believe, but there is no such thing as a failed experiment. Learning what doesn't work is a necessary step to learning what does. Celebrate your failures and lessons learnt.
Here is an example in practice: Kinjani celebrates when cofounder pairing doesn't work out. It signifies the courage to learn what works, acknowledges mismatches early and allows for timely adjustments. This fosters a culture of experimentation and growth within the startup ecosystem. Embracing these moments cultivates resilience, wisdom, and the opportunity for better-suited collaborations to flourish.
Find and Climb with the Right Cofounder
Fact: 65% of startups fail because of co-founder fallout, and our planet can’t afford that! A cofounder is an important part of starting a business. Why exactly? Starting a business is really really hard - and you need someone to share that burden with. Finding the right co-founder that has a complementary skillset is one of the most important things you can do to give your startup the highest chance of success. Trust the process, the right people will eventually gravitate towards you.
Focus on Your Path. Don’t Boil the Ocean
"Don't boil the ocean" is a phrase I use often. It’s a caution against attempting to tackle an impossibly large or complex task all at once. Rather focus on manageable goals or tasks, than trying to solve everything in a single effort, which could be inefficient or even counterproductive. Essentially, Don’t Boil the Ocean advises against wasting time and resources, but rather find your focus, and be relentless at saying no.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint.
Kinjani is all about long distance, and we’ve built our business around this philosophy. The Climate Crisis won’t be solved overnight, and creating innovative climate tech businesses requires time. Our team lives and breathes this too - Jenny’s is about to embark on the Comrades marathon, and Alistair is set to run an ultra marathon over the George mountain range. In fact, the idea of Kinjani was really strengthened when I climbed Kilimanjaro. You’ll often hear me say - Pole Pole (Swahili for slowly slowly).
Follow the Breadcrumbs of Your Curiosity
On my 30th birthday I was told to follow the breadcrumbs of my curiosity. This led me to start Kinjani, and follow what really excites me. Life is too short to be working on something that you're not absolutely passionate about. Follow that path of curiosity, find that thing and get behind that problem that sets your heart of fire. It makes the startup process that much easier.
It is Okay to Ask for Directions.
We all get lost at one point or another, it really is ok to ask for help. Knowing when you’re lost is often hard to spot, when you’re in it. I’ve found what helps is having a space and a community where you are surrounded by people who’ve walked this path before. Ask for help and connect the dots with your team, mentors and industry experts.
I Dare You.
With all that said, I dare you. I dare you to be bold. I dare you to get started, and I dare you to take a leap of faith. If you are driven and motivated to work on the most pressing issues of our lifetime, join us on our inaugural venture building program and I promise you that we will try our absolute best to help you on your entrepreneurial journey to build and scale your climate tech business.
Start that (ad)venture, climb that mountain, and return from the summit with new found friends and a story worth telling.
For life is a grand adventure, or nothing at all.
Cait.