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For climate tech startups, securing capital is no longer as simple as showing a promising idea with good intentions. Today’s investors want to see something more: scalable business models, commercial realism, and teams capable of managing a potentially complex capital journey from seed stage to scaled impact.
Few people are more familiar with the evolving expectations of the venture capital world than Tove Larsson, General Partner at Norrsken VC, one of Europe’s leading impact-focused investment firms. Here, Tove laid out a blueprint of what investors like her are actually looking for in 2025.
“We ask ourselves two things,” Tove said. “Is this startup solving one of the world’s largest problems? And is the impact embedded in the business model, not just as a byproduct, but at the core?”
“We ask ourselves two things,” Tove said. “Is this startup solving one of the world’s largest problems? And is the impact embedded in the business model, not just as a byproduct, but at the core?”
Norrsken, which last year closed its second fund at €320 million fund, is increasingly backing what it calls “impact unicorns” — companies that can deliver both billion-dollar returns and climate-positive outcomes for over a billion people.
What should founders keep in mind when preparing to pitch investors like Norrsken? Tove offered five key pieces of advice:
- Solve a massive, global problem, not a niche one
- Build impact into your business model
- Be cautious towards the green premium and show real, standalone commercial value
- Understand your capital journey and de-risk along the way
- Build a team that’s technically deep and commercially sharp
The Importance of a Commercial Mindset
Tove is among a growing number of investors who believe that climate tech must begin competing on the same terms as any other sector. “The subsidy-driven years are over,” she said, “and that’s a good thing.”
“Subsidies played an important role in the early days of climate innovation,” she acknowledged. “But today, we expect business models to be viable without depending on public support or green premiums.”
“We expect founders to understand, even at the seed stage, that they’ll need different kinds of capital over time.”
Startups must now show they can thrive in turbulent markets, with or without policy support. The best founders, Tove said, arrive with a clearly defined problem, a scalable solution, and a roadmap to profitability that doesn’t hinge on a 20% green price premium.
Beyond this, she said: “We expect founders to understand, even at the seed stage, that they’ll need different kinds of capital over time.”
“We meet brilliant technical founders. But too often, a startup team can lack a commercial mindset and that’s a problem if you’re raising serious capital.”
This includes traditional venture equity, but also project finance, other non-dilutive funding, and infrastructure capital. The most promising founders, she noted, are able to identify the proof points they’ll need at each stage to unlock the next round, whether it’s technical de-risking, off-take agreements, or market traction.
“We meet brilliant technical founders. But too often, a startup team can lack a commercial mindset and that’s a problem if you’re raising serious capital.”
The strongest founding teams, she explained, combine deep technical expertise with business fluency. Investors want to see that a company can not only build the product, but also understand its market, scale operations, and manage capital efficiently. Startups should build their teams accordingly, and invest the time into establishing a balanced team that has the skills and perspective to navigate the journey ahead.
Collaboration, Communication and Climate Brick
“In the climate space, the winners in terms of growth will be quite different to the ones that we've seen in the software space like Klarna and Uber and so on. It's not about moving fast and breaking things, as we’ve heard from some groups. It's rather moving fast but fixing things. And that calls for another kind of journey.”
“We really need to put a lot of different players together to enable real progress in climate impact.”
Asked how she believes startups can benefit from Climate Brick, Tove said: “A key aspect is collaboration. We really need to put a lot of different players together to enable real progress in climate impact, and I think this is something Climate Brick recognizes and provides useful guidance on. I think that Climate Brick can help founders take their solutions from promising ideas to some of the foundational pillars of this future economy that we're trying to build.”
“Another thing we need is to learn from each other. We're trying to fix a lot of problems at the same time here and we need to keep integrating learnings from projects and founders that are ahead of us. This is key to navigating the regulatory landscape around this space, which is oftentimes quite complex.”
As the climate tech sector enters a new era of maturity, founders must do more than promise a better future; they must show how to build it, fund it, and scale it.
Investors like Tove are ready to back them, but only if they come prepared.
Key Takeaways for Founders
- Impact must scale. Investors need to see businesses, not just causes.
- Subsidies are no longer enough. Financial viability is essential.
- Plan your capital journey carefully.
- Build a balanced team. Technology and solutions are critical, but so is commercial execution.
- Use frameworks like Climate Brick that can assist in translating potential into a pathway.
Tove’s quick tips for a good pitch deck?
- Clearly outline the problem and its magnitude
- Show indications of market demand
- Explain scaling strategy and timeline to market
- Demonstrate a diverse team with both technical and commercial skills
