Mentor | Climate & Sustainability

What You Will Do

•  Advise founders on product strategy, business models, market positioning, and commercialization. 
•  Help startups identify their highest-value customer segments and use cases. 
•  Provide practical feedback on go-to-market strategy, pricing, partnerships, and customer acquisition. 
•  Challenge assumptions and help founders prioritize the opportunities that create the greatest commercial and environmental value. 
•  Share lessons learned from building, operating, investing in, or scaling companies within climate and sustainability markets. 

•  Help founders understand how sustainability and climate-related purchasing decisions are made within large organizations. 
•  Introduce startups to potential customers, pilot partners, corporate sustainability teams, investors, and industry experts when appropriate. 
•  Advise founders on navigating long enterprise sales cycles and complex stakeholder environments. 
•  Help companies design credible pilots and convert successful engagements into longer-term commercial relationships. 
•  Provide insight into procurement, implementation, and adoption within regulated or operationally complex industries. 

•  Help founders understand evolving industry trends, policies, regulations, reporting requirements, and market dynamics. 
•  Provide feedback on environmental impact claims, sustainability metrics, and customer value propositions. 
•  Support companies working through regulatory, technical, financial, or commercialization barriers. 
•  Help founders distinguish between compelling climate impact and a scalable venture-backed business model. 
•  Advise companies on how AI and data can create durable technical, operational, or commercial advantages. 

•  Help founders refine their fundraising strategy and investor positioning. 
•  Review pitch materials and provide feedback on how companies communicate their market opportunity, impact, traction, and differentiation. 
•  Introduce founders to relevant climate investors, strategic partners, family offices, corporate venture groups, or grant and non-dilutive funding resources when appropriate. 
•  Help startups understand the milestones required to become institutionally investable. 
•  Support founders preparing for investor meetings, strategic partnership discussions, and diligence. 

•  Participate in mentor office hours, workshops, panels, founder meetings, and community events. 
•  Collaborate with other mentors, investors, operators, and C10 Labs team members. 
•  Contribute insights that strengthen AI Nexus NYC programming and founder support. 
•  Participate in Demo Day or investor-readiness activities when appropriate.

What We Are Looking For

•  Climate Technology 
•  Corporate Sustainability 
•  Decarbonization 
•  Carbon Accounting and Carbon Management 
•  Carbon Markets 
•  Climate Finance 
•  Circular Economy 
•  Waste Reduction and Resource Recovery 
•  Sustainable Supply Chains 
•  Environmental Data and Analytics 
•  Climate Risk and Resilience 
•  Water and Natural Resource Management 
•  Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems 
•  Green Buildings and Infrastructure 
•  Environmental Services 
•  ESG and Sustainability Reporting 
•  Clean Technology 
•  Nature-Based Solutions 
•  Climate Policy and Regulation

•  You enjoy helping founders work through difficult and ambiguous problems. 
•  You bring practical operating, investing, technical, or market experience. 
•  You are candid, thoughtful, and constructive in your feedback. 
•  You understand that strong mentorship involves challenging founders, not simply encouraging them. 
•  You are curious about how AI can create new solutions across climate and sustainability markets. 
•  You want to help startups create measurable impact while building scalable and financially sustainable businesses. 

•  Founder mentoring sessions 
•  Office hours 
•  Workshops or panel discussions 
•  Customer, partner, or investor introductions 
•  Pitch and fundraising preparation 
•  Demo Day participation 
•  Periodic program and portfolio-company support