Gordon Gecko vs. the Pope

By now you know that Energize straddles two different arenas: digital solutions and the sustainability transition. The ideology of each of these groups is quite different and, interestingly, we are perceived quite differently by each set of stakeholders.

Our digital friends look at us like we are the Pope and are making investments exclusively for impact returns. They don’t really grasp our approach and most assume we are sacrificing returns along the way. (We don’t mind them thinking that as it has kept excessive competition away!)

Our sustainable co-investors think we are Gordon Gecko and taking the easy way out by only focusing on digital solutions. To this group we are not fighting the “hard” problems that require adjustments to atoms (not bits) and may have big capital intensive needs.

Ultimately this misunderstanding between the groups is our opportunity. We believe great financial and impact returns can be accomplished by addressing digital solutions that accelerate the energy and sustainability transition.

Within our first fund, Aurora and Volta use digital solutions to drive gargantuan financial and impact returns. In our second fund, Urbint and TWAICE are already accomplishing similar outcomes.

I think that over time we can serve as a bridge between these two different groups and that Energize’s central position is going to continue to be quite valuable for our firm, portfolio, and LPs. Ultimately, we can be greedy and accelerate positive change at the same time.