PRINCIPAL / VICE PRESIDENT
BACKGROUND
Earth Foundry is a pioneering early-stage venture capital firm, recognized globally for our ability to identify, invest in, and scale the most transformative cleantech and climate tech startups. With a decade-long track record of delivering top-tier outcomes and impact, we are the partner of choice for innovators who aim to redefine industries and solve the planet’s most pressing challenges. Our investments target five core areas— energy, water, waste, mobility, and agriculture—where we lead the charge in driving breakthrough technologies to market. Our unparalleled network provides us with access to every North American cleantech innovation and we combine this with domain expertise, precision-engineered playbooks, and the right strategic partnerships with world-class corporations and research institutions to turn cleantech visions into victories. Our platform has enabled our portfolio companies to attract more than 45x in additional capital, and they are poised to eliminate more than 2.6 gigatons of CO2 annually by 2030.
PURPOSE
Earth Foundry is seeking a highly motivated and seasoned professional to join our high impact team. We are hiring a Principal or Vice President to play a key role in our growing firm. This includes active leadership across all areas of sourcing, due diligence, investing and portfolio support. The Principal or Vice President will work with senior members of the firm and have extensive interaction with company management teams, boards, and external advisors. Earth Foundry is looking for a senior professional who is looking to grow with the firm as we expand our venture capital platform and climate impact.
CORE RESPONSIBILITIES
Active Deal Sourcing
• Lead efforts to source new potential investments by collaborating with universities, accelerator programs, investors, corporations, and other industry groups.
• Represent Earth Foundry at relevant networking events, including participating in business plan competitions, demo days, and other mentoring programs. Actively seek out opportunities to position the fund as an industry leader and establish connections that align with Earth Foundry’s strategic goals.
Investment Process & Industry Analysis
• Work as part of the team to evaluate and execute investments, including managing the diligence process, financial / technical / industry analysis, investment memo preparation, negotiation, deal structuring and final documentation.
• Develop and oversee detailed operating and financial models to support investment decisions; model capital structure scenarios, perform sensitivity analysis and assess investment return scenarios.
• Perform deep dives into new market areas to formulate and drive investment theses around industry trends or market opportunities, and create and implement frameworks to assess these opportunities.
• Lead efforts to leverage and enhance internal systems, models, and processes to support decision-making and engagement with entrepreneurs, corporate partners, investors and advisors.
• Mentor, coach, and develop teammates including graduate-level interns, with an emphasis on building and refining their analytical and strategic thinking skills.
Strategic Support of Portfolio Companies
• Lead and proactively support growth strategies for portfolio companies and other value enhancing activities that will maximize the outcomes of investments
• Collaborate closely with Managing Directors in relation to portfolio company Board roles, providing strategic input and guidance to influence key decisions
• Organize and support internal and external reporting with a focus on quarterly portfolio reports
• Cultivate and manage relationships with later stage investors, potential customers, and new corporate partners that are strategically important for portfolio companies, positioning them for future success.
BACKGROUND / EXPERIENCE
This role will be essential in scaling the firm’s investment platform and expanding team capacity. We are seeking someone with venture investment experience who has managed the investment process, partnerships, and portfolio companies. This person will be responsible for leading due diligence and industry research / analysis, as well as engaging the investment team and portfolio companies to implement Earth Foundry’s investment and operating model. Successful candidates will be highly motivated and intellectually curious, and have a proven track record of innovation and leadership. A strong interest in climate and sustainability solutions is required.
Prior Experience
• At least 4 - 6 years of experience in venture capital investing, and/or operating experience at a startup
• At least 3 years of experience in climate, energy, sustainability, or a related sector.
• An undergraduate or graduate degree in a relevant technical field would be considered a plus
Capabilities
• You have a passion for building and investing in early-stage technology startups, and the ability to lead and drive a process forward through completion while effectively prioritizing and multi-tasking.
• You possess a strong, strategic understanding of entrepreneurship and early-stage startups, and experience across various business models, financial modeling, due diligence processes, and competitive analysis.
• You have a demonstrated ability to quickly master deeply technical concepts, synthesize key information, and provide strategic insights, with a fundamental understanding of the relevant industry metrics.
• You have strong analytical capabilities and excel in the ability to develop a compelling investment thesis (or argument against) companies, industries, or market trends.
• You enjoy working collaboratively as part of a team or autonomously, with the discipline and experience to define and manage important deliverables with minimal oversight.
• You are a strong communicator (written and verbal) and good listener with superior interpersonal skills that enables you to build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels.
• You are detail-oriented and organized, and have the ability to efficiently prioritize and execute deliverables across multiple workstreams.
• You are intellectually curious and enjoying connecting the dots, and identifying patterns from unstructured information.
• You have “grit” and entrepreneurial drive, thrive under pressure, and can expertly navigate challenging situations and complex problem solving.
• You have advanced Excel modeling capabilities including experience managing capitalization tables, structuring term sheets, and translating operating models into financial projections.
LOGISTICS
Location: Flexible
To Apply: Send a copy of your resume to HR@EarthFoundry.com with the subject “Vice President / Principal”
Along with your resume, please include responses to the following questions in body of the email, or in the format of your choice. Please limit your response to each point to 3-6 sentences:
• If you had $1M to invest in one company, which company would it be and why?
• What three things present the biggest risks to the company’s long-term success?
• Describe an investment thesis are you interested in exploring and why?
