Latest / The Series A Show with Fexingo: Early-Stage Funding, Pitch Decks, and Startup Milestones / Why Series A Pitches Now Include a Climate Slide
Transcript
- Lucas: So I was looking at a batch of Series A decks this week, and something caught my eye. Almost every single one had a slide dedicated to climate risk. Not a sustainability mission slide, but a hard-nosed analysis of how weather, regulation, and supply chain emissions could hit their margin. Luna: Interesting. So climate has moved from the appendix to the main deck? When did that happen? Lucas: It's been building for a couple of years, but 2026 feels like the tipping point. I think it's a combination of new SEC disclosure rules finally having teeth, and investors realizing that climate events can directly impair a startup's ability to deliver. I mean, look at the floods in the Southeast last spring, they knocked out a bunch of small manufacturing hubs for weeks. Luna: Yeah, I remember that. But how do you put that in a pitch deck without sounding like you're preaching? I've seen some decks where it feels like a checkbox, not a real analysis. Lucas: That's exactly the distinction. The bad ones just say 'we care about the planet' and list some recycling initiatives. The good ones start with a specific question: what happens to our unit economics if our key supplier's factory floods? Or if a carbon tax hits our raw materials? Founders who can answer that with real numbers are standing out. Luna: Can you give me a concrete example? Like, what does a good climate slide actually look like? Lucas: I talked to a founder last week who runs a hardware startup, and her deck had a slide titled 'Climate Resilience.' She mapped out her top five components, where they're sourced, and what the flood risk was for each region. She had a mitigation plan for each, like dual-sourcing or building buffer inventory. It wasn't about saving the world, it was about protecting the supply chain. And she said investors zoomed in on that slide every single time. Luna: That makes sense. So it's almost like an operational risk slide, but climate-focused. Do investors actually ask for it, or are founders just adding it preemptively? Lucas: Both, really. I've seen data that suggests more than half of Series A term sheets now include some kind of climate-related due diligence request. And with the SEC's climate disclosure rules expanding to private companies in the pipeline, investors want to know if the startup will be caught off guard. It's also a way to filter for management quality. If a founder can't think about a two-to-three-year risk horizon, that's a red flag. Luna: Right. And I imagine insurance costs are a factor too. I've read that premiums for businesses in high-risk areas have gone up a lot. Lucas: Absolutely. If your warehouse is in a flood zone, your insurance could double overnight. That directly impacts your burn multiple, and investors are watching that like hawks. I think we're seeing a shift where climate risk is being treated as a material financial factor, not just an ethical one. It's almost like a new version of the 'risk factors' section in a public company's prospectus, but for private startups. Luna: So if I'm a founder preparing for a Series A, what's the one thing I should do to get ahead of this? Lucas: First, don't just copy a template. Look at your actual supply chain and identify the top three climate-related risks. Then, for each one, show a mitigation strategy with a cost estimate. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it shows you're thinking like a CFO, not a visionary. And if you can tie it to your unit economics, even better. For example, if a carbon tax is likely on your imported steel, what does that do to your COGS? Luna: That's a great point. I also wonder if this is a way for startups to differentiate themselves. In a crowded market, maybe showing you're climate-savvy is a way to stand out to investors who are looking for responsible bets. Lucas: Exactly. And it's not just about risk. Some startups are turning climate into an opportunity. I saw a company that built software to help manufacturers track their carbon footprint in real time, and they're using that data to help them secure better financing terms. So the slide can also be a way to show you're capturing a new market. But the core message is: climate is now a financial metric, and founders who treat it that way are going to have an easier time. Luna: Before we keep going, I feel like we should mention that if you're finding these conversations useful, and you're building something or running a company, you can support the show. It's what keeps us ad-free and independent. You can do that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate that. And it helps us keep digging into topics like this. But back to climate slides, I think the next frontier is measuring Scope 3 emissions, which are the ones in your supply chain, not just your own operations. That's where the real complexity lies. Luna: So it's not just about your own carbon footprint, but your entire value chain. That seems like a huge data challenge. How are startups handling that? Lucas: It's tough. A lot of them are using third-party databases that estimate emissions based on industry averages, but investors are starting to ask for more granular data. I saw one startup that's building a platform to help companies collect primary data from their suppliers, almost like a Salesforce for sustainability. That's the kind of tool that could become essential in the next few years. Luna: Interesting. So it's not just a slide, it's a whole new category of software. That's a real opportunity for founders. Lucas: Definitely. And I think we're only at the beginning. As regulations tighten and investors get smarter, the startups that embed climate thinking into their operations from day one are going to have a competitive edge. It's not about being perfect, it's about being prepared.