Interview With Will Wiseman, CEO and Co-Founder of Climatize
Welcome to this latest edition of Founder Spotlight Interview with Will Wiseman, the CEO and co-founder of Climatize.
The market for renewable energy projects, particularly in the solar sector, is experiencing significant growth. The global solar energy systems market was valued at $219.79 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach approximately $1,146.25 billion by 2034. This growth is driven by increasing public awareness of climate change and declining costs of renewable technologies.
Will Wiseman’s journey into entrepreneurship was sparked by witnessing the 2019 Global Climate Strikes, where he realized the need to transform collective activism into actionable change? This led to Climatize, a platform that democratizes access to renewable energy investments, allowing individuals to invest with as little as $10 while earning competitive returns.
Let’s hear from Will Wiseman about all the challenges and notable achievements of Climatize under Will Wiseman’s leadership.
Firstly, our team loves the idea of Climatize. What was the inspiration behind founding it?
Climatize was born from the realization that traditional activism, such as the 2019 Global Climate Strikes, lacked tangible change. After joining over 100,000 protesters, we came to understand that once everyone went home, nothing would be different; reliance on cardboard signs as our best form of protest was a glaring issue.
You offer a minimum investment of just $10. What motivated you to make investing in solar projects accessible to everyday people?
Crowdfunding offers an opportunity to positively reform the financial system during a time of global adaptation. If people work together and if people take back control of their own money and invest it transparently and tangibly in the real economy, ethics can be reintroduced into financial decision-making. With Climatize, this is a chance to grow together and give power to the people.
Small- and medium-sized solar projects, despite their value to communities, often struggle to secure financing. They fall into a gap where they are too large for community lenders, who may not be versed in solar technology or economics, yet too small for the attention of major funders. Moreover, many solar projects are unable to fully utilize their tax credits, resulting in significant wasted value.
Can you elaborate on the vetting process for solar projects? How do you ensure a project is financially viable and environmentally impactful?
Climatize caters to retail investors who may bring a lesser degree of sophistication when it comes to evaluating investment risks & project viability. While Climatize does not allocate capital on behalf of its clients, we hold ourselves to the same fiduciary duty as a financial advisor by ensuring that due diligence on projects is robust including third-party technical evaluations, CPA audited financials, background checks on project developers’ management teams, insurance coverage where possible and asset assignment in the event of default.
Climatize seeks to mitigate project risks before ever offering these investment opportunities on the platform, providing a curated experience by partnering with experienced counterparties with track records of success.
Recently, Climatize raised $1,750,000 in funding. How do you plan to use this investment to expand or improve the platform?
Climatize has recently added 3 key hires; 2 in engineering and 1 in finance. We’re in the process of making at least one additional hire to strengthen our marketing team. With these additions Climatize will be set with a stage-appropriate to continue improving the platform while iterating towards repeatable acquisition channels.
Can you elaborate on the process of working with trusted organizations like the DOE, NREL, and NYSERDA, and how do these partnerships benefit Climatize and its users?
Climatize is currently partnered with the US Department of Energy through the National Community Solar Partnership, a consortium of lenders, project developers & philanthropists working to create scalable & replicable financing processes for community solar projects. Additionally, Climatize has a partnership with Arcadia, the largest community solar subscriber manager in the United States. Arcadia connects Climatize with developers seeking capital for small- to medium-scale community solar projects and offers its customer base the opportunity to invest in managed community solar projects.
Climatize collaborates with 10 renewable energy project developers, with 17 Letters of Intent signed for project financings in 2024. While the current developer network is limited to the United States, Climatize’s platform vision is to expand globally.
Furthermore, Climatize is a partner of the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), having received grant funding. Through their Climate Fintech accelerator, Climatize partnered with New Energy Nexus, focused on building a 100% clean energy economy for 100% of the population in the shortest time possible. Climatize is also a member of the Techstars network, gaining access to additional talent and capital after completing their accelerator.
What challenges have you faced in creating a platform that balances profitability for investors with positive environmental impact?
The reality is that when running an investing platform people’s top 3 concerns are 1.) risk:return, 2.) risk:return and 3.) risk:return. We originally led with climate-first marketing messaging but had to pivot to finance-first language since that’s the core driver behind investing, even if people aren’t entirely transparent about that.
How does the Climatize app simplify the investment process for users, and what has been the feedback so far?
Investing in renewable energy as an asset class has been exclusively for banks and high net-worth individuals however now through Climatize it’s the first time that anyone can participate. Beyond making it incredibly easy to get started in a matter of minutes, Climatize has added an entirely new asset class to the menu.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to start companies that solve financial and environmental challenges?
Find the intersection of your passion and your skills. Entrepreneurship for the sake of financial gain will be a painful process while instead, pursuing a passion project will empower you to go further and faster. That passion translated into a mission will give you a competitive advantage in both marketing, hiring and frankly every aspect of your business.
