Episode 56: "Hard Tech Is Hard, But So Is Software” | Industrial Sustainability VC Anthony Del Porto скачать в хорошем качестве

Episode 56: "Hard Tech Is Hard, But So Is Software” | Industrial Sustainability VC Anthony Del Porto

Today's episode explores three ideas that caught my attention: 1. Green premium is a deal killer – Anthony won't touch deals where eco-friendliness costs more (end state). If the sustainable solution isn't also the economically superior one, it won't easily scale. 2. Tech transfer done right – Hearing Anthony describe how he’s seen universities claim 50% equity and “blow up” a cap table from day 1 highlights how critical doing tech transfer “right” is for the industrial sustainability ecosystem. 3. The “valley of death” is shrinking – Fascinating insight into where Anthony sees the next wave of hard tech financing coming from, including why the "valley of death" between VC and institutional debt is beginning to close. I explore these ideas and more with a mechanical engineer-turned-COO-turned VC, Anthony Del Porto. Anthony Del Porto began his career as a mechanical engineer doing industrial process automation – literally walking factory floors, building custom machines, and watching firsthand how the physical world gets made. After a pivot into fintech as COO of an early-stage startup, he developed a dual lens that's rare in early-stage investing: deep technical credibility in hard, physical systems combined with firsthand experience navigating the chaos of a high-growth software company. He now runs BetterWay, a pre-seed VC firm focused exclusively on industrial sustainability - funding startups that are both environmentally superior and economically compelling, a combination he argues is the only kind worth backing. During our conversation, Anthony shares: • A framework for evaluating whether a sustainability startup can actually compete on price, including why "techno economic analysis" from a third party is the first document he asks for and what it reveals about scalability before a single dollar is deployed. • Why circular economy startups are uniquely insulated from tariff risk and supply chain volatility. • The specific reason he looks for startups that can be profitable at small scale before building a large plant, and why this single criterion separates fundable hard tech from the capital-hungry deals that can so easily dilute early investors into irrelevance. What We Cover: 00:00 Introduction 03:52 AI Leaves Real Moats 05:27 From Engineer to VC 08:56 Industrial Sustainability Thesis 10:06 No Green Premium Examples 13:39 Filtering and Finding Deals 24:17 Small Checks in Hard Tech 25:16 Avoiding Factory Dilution 27:11 Debt Financing vs Equity 28:11 Hard Tech Exit Paths 30:07 Fundraising in a Tough Macro 32:02 Where the Puck Is Going 38:28 Regions and Tech Transfer Wrap Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more. Connect with Anthony • LinkedIn:   / anthony-del-porto   • Website: www.betterway.vc Connect with Andrew • Newsletter: https://thediligentobserver.substack.com • X:   / akazlow   • LinkedIn:   / andrewkazlow   • Book: https://angelops.pitchfact.com/ • Website: https://pitchfact.com/ Stuff We Reference • BetterWay Ventures: https://www.betterway.vc/ • DexMat: https://dexmat.com/ • Ravel: https://www.ravelfuture.com/ • Third Sphere: https://thirdsphere.com/ • Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/ • Dow Chemical: https://www.dow.com/ • Greentown Labs: https://greentownlabs.com/ • Front Porch Venture Partners: https://www.frontporchvp.com/ • Rice University: https://www.rice.edu/ • The Ion District: https://iondistrict.com/ • The Biomimicry Institute: https://biomimicry.org/ Know someone who would enjoy this episode? Share it with them! P.S. Your feedback is important to me. Also, it tells the algorithms to pay more attention, which helps me out a lot. If you enjoyed this episode, hit the "like" button or leave a comment with your thoughts. Want more? • Get essential angel intel straight to your inbox every week with The Diligent Observer Newsletter. • Check out the entire show library and follow via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. All opinions expressed are personal and may not reflect the views of the individual’s organization or of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.