Philip Krim, co-founder of Casper, believes that there is a need for more zero-to-one founders in the climate startup ecosystem. He feels that compared to other industries, there are very few entrepreneurs working on climate-related solutions.
After successfully launching Casper in 2014, Krim turned his attention to incubating new businesses, like Haven, which focuses on home battery installation. Through this journey, he connected with Evan Caron, a former commodity trader, and Sharo Atmeh, a lawyer and portfolio manager, who shared his passion for fostering a fast-moving, entrepreneurial culture in the climate tech space.
Instead of starting a venture fund, the trio decided to launch an incubator called Montauk Climate. This incubator follows the startup studio approach and conceives business ideas from scratch, bringing in talent to execute them.
Montauk Climate is led by CIO Evan Caron, CEO Philip Krim, and COO Sharo Atmeh. Image Credits: Montauk Climate
The Montauk Climate team intends to create businesses that complement existing hardware-focused climate tech companies by leveraging their expertise in energy, software, and infrastructure. They aim to bridge the gap between consumers, utilities, and renewable energy sources.
Backed by an initial investment of $8.5 million, with $7 million from Sheel Tyle of Amplo, Montauk Climate plans to explore business opportunities in-house, and once validated, will hire a team and provide initial capital to the venture.
With a focus on sectors such as energy use in data centers, electrification incentives, weather data aggregation, and insurance, the team anticipates launching several incubated businesses later this year. They also plan to raise a venture fund to support these ventures as they grow.
Considering the increasing demand for climate solutions, there is a significant opportunity for new businesses to make an impact in this growing market, estimated to reach $5 trillion by 2030 according to the International Monetary Fund.
