The climate start-up world is never easy. But the last year has made it harder.
Amidst the turmoil of President Trump’s second coming, grants for small businesses and promising climate technologies all but evaporated. Indeed, the very word “climate” became politically radioactive in Washington.
Founders who’d spent years building companies around federal funding suddenly found themselves scrambling for cash, and pushing against unprecedented policy headwinds.
So where does that leave climate start-ups in 2026?
Stacy Swann has seen climate finance from just about every angle. She’s spearheaded blended finance efforts at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), founded and sold her own climate advisory firm, and is now helping channel early-stage capital into the next generation of resilience companies as co-founder of Resilient Earth Capital — a community of angel investors doing, as she puts it, ‘Shark Tank’ with would-be climate entrepreneurs.
In this episode, Stacy takes us inside the pitch process, explaining what gets angels excited, what makes them nervous, and the mistakes founders make again and again. She also shares her thoughts on the shift in the start-up landscape in the two and a half years since REC launched — from an initial rush of energy transition companies to a growing army of start-ups in agriculture, water, extreme heat, and wildfire.
She also has a clear-eyed take on what 2026 holds — and why, whatever the political climate, the physical climate is still going to drive investment.
For founders looking for capital, investors trying to make sense of this market, or anyone curious about where early-stage climate money is actually flowing right now, this episode is for you.
If you are an angel investor interested in joining Resilient Earth Capital, or a founder of an early-stage climate start-up looking to submit an application, please visit resilient-earth-capital.com/engage to learn more.
Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
🎙️This Podcast Is Free…But Making It Sure Isn’t!
First-time listeners and old hands alike will recognize something odd about this podcast.
That’s right, it’s not stuffed with random ads.
As an avid podcast listener myself, I know how frustrating it is trying to follow an interview that’s interrupted three, four, five times or more by annoying programmatic ads. It’s why I don’t allow them in Climate Proofers.
All our revenue is instead provided by paying members and sponsors. It’s their dollars that keep us going, and keep the ads at bay.
If you value ad-free content, and want to support Climate Proof, the number one thing you can do today is become a paying member. So don’t hesitate — smash that upgrade button now.
Oh, and paying members get access to episode transcripts, too!
We talk about:
👉 Why the political climate shift in Washington has upended the funding landscape for early-stage climate start-ups
👉 What Resilient Earth Capital looks for when companies come knocking: the revenue signals, market knowledge, and exit thinking that separate promising founders from the rest
👉 The sectors Stacy sees gaining momentum in 2026 — from extreme heat tech and wildfire solutions to next-generation battery storage and water management
👉 How to think about the capital stack as an early-stage climate founder
👉 Why adaptation entrepreneurs may have more investor audiences than they think — and how framing around energy security, industrial resilience, and materials innovation can open doors beyond the traditional climate finance community
Thanks for listening!
Louie Woodall
Editor
