Irena Spazzapan's guest appearances

Irena Spazzapan

My Climate Journey

ClimateTech with Kentaro

Venturing in Climate

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This episode is part of our new Capital Series hosted by Jason Jacobs. This series explores various capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress. Irena Spazzapan is Managing Partner at Systemiq Capital, the climate-tech VC spin-off from the world's largest pure-play climate advisory firm, Systemiq. Irena built the current team and led most investments in Fund I, including companies like Charm Industrial and Brimstone. And in 2022, she led the spin-out of Systemiq Capital from Systemiq with the launch of Fund II, which continues to back early-stage companies across the UK, EU, and North America. In this episode, Irena and Jason have a great discussion about the origin story of Systemiq Capital, their approach to climate investing, and how they evolved over time. We also cover a bevy of related topics, including what's been happening in the macro, some of the bottlenecks that are holding up progress, what we can do to accelerate progress and, of course,  where Systemiq Capital and early-stage climate tech innovation generally fit in. Enjoy the show! In this episode, we cover: [2:17] An overview of Systemiq Capital [3:17] The fund's origin story spun out of McKinsey [5:17] Irena's background and professional journey [7:26] The impetus for Systemiq's investing efforts[10:49] The fund's investing matrix and their rationale for it[14:42] The role of family offices in Systemiq's pilot fund [16:43] Systemiq's goals for its pilot fund [18:36] Systemiq's views on impact vs returns [21:21] Why are LPs mostly climate folks? [24:36] The working relationships and collaboration between Systemiq and Systemiq Capital[27:27] How learnings from Systemiq's Fund I informed Fund II[31:27] The importance of timing and impact on returns [33:38] Irena's thoughts on regulation and upcoming directives [35:45] Risks Systemiq is comfortable taking vs. non-starters [37:13] FOAK projects and Irena's views on how they should be funded [40:06] Differences between real assets experts vs. Silicon Valley founders [44:19] Differences between climate tech innovation in Europe vs. the US [47:05] Challenges of getting financially-driven institutional capital allocators to invest in climate[52:32] Systemiq's current deployment status and returns [54:05] Types of capital Systemiq doesn't take and Irena's thoughts on the topic generally[59:21] How Systemiq measures and tracks success[01:01:16] Irena's theory of changeGet connected: Jason Jacobs Twitter / LinkedInIrena Spazzapan LinkedInMCJ Podcast / Collective*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded on July 11, 2023 (Published on July 26, 2023) 

This episode is part of our new Capital Series hosted by Jason Jacobs. This series explores various capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress. Irena Spazzapan is Managing Partner at <a href="https://www.systemiqcapital.earth/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Systemiq Capital</a>, the climate-tech VC spin-off from the world's largest pure-play climate advisory firm, Systemiq. Irena built the current team and led most investments in Fund I, including companies like <a href="https://charmindustrial.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Charm Industrial</a> and <a href="https://www.brimstone.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brimstone</a>. And in 2022, she led the spin-out of Systemiq Capital from Systemiq with the launch of Fund II, which continues to back early-stage companies across the UK, EU, and North America. In this episode, Irena and Jason have a great discussion about the origin story of Systemiq Capital, their approach to climate investing, and how they evolved over time. We also cover a bevy of related topics, including what's been happening in the macro, some of the bottlenecks that are holding up progress, what we can do to accelerate progress and, of course,  where Systemiq Capital and early-stage climate tech innovation generally fit in. Enjoy the show! In this episode, we cover: <ul><li>[2:17] An overview of Systemiq Capital </li><li>[3:17] The fund's origin story spun out of McKinsey </li><li>[5:17] Irena's background and professional journey </li><li>[7:26] The impetus for Systemiq's investing efforts</li><li>[10:49] The fund's investing matrix and their rationale for it</li><li>[14:42] The role of family offices in Systemiq's pilot fund </li><li>[16:43] Systemiq's goals for its pilot fund </li><li>[18:36] Systemiq's views on impact vs returns </li><li>[21:21] Why are LPs mostly climate folks? </li><li>[24:36] The working relationships and collaboration between Systemiq and Systemiq Capital</li><li>[27:27] How learnings from Systemiq's Fund I informed Fund II</li><li>[31:27] The importance of timing and impact on returns </li><li>[33:38] Irena's thoughts on regulation and upcoming directives </li><li>[35:45] Risks Systemiq is comfortable taking vs. non-starters </li><li>[37:13] FOAK projects and Irena's views on how they should be funded </li><li>[40:06] Differences between real assets experts vs. Silicon Valley founders </li><li>[44:19] Differences between climate tech innovation in Europe vs. the US </li><li>[47:05] Challenges of getting financially-driven institutional capital allocators to invest in climate</li><li>[52:32] Systemiq's current deployment status and returns </li><li>[54:05] Types of capital Systemiq doesn't take and Irena's thoughts on the topic generally</li><li>[59:21] How Systemiq measures and tracks success</li><li>[01:01:16] Irena's theory of change</li></ul>Get connected:  Jason Jacobs <a href="https://twitter.com/jjacobs22" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a> / <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jjacobs22/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> Irena Spazzapan <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/irena-spazzapan-741a53/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> MCJ<a href="https://twitter.com/mcjpod" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Podcast</a> /<a href="https://twitter.com/mcjcollective" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Collective</a>*You can also reach us via email at info@mcjcollective.com, where we encourage you to share your feedback on episodes and suggestions for future topics or guests.Episode recorded on July 11, 2023 (Published on July 26, 2023)

Capital Series: Irena Spazzapan, Systemiq

In this episode of Venturing in Climate, I spoke to Irena Spazzapan, Managing Partner of Systemiq Capital. Systemiq Capital is a London-based climate technology venture capital firm which has recently launched the first close of its £70m Fund II. We discuss:1) Irena's career journey to managing a climate tech VC firm 2) Building a VC firm and adding value3) What Systemiq Capital looks for with examples4) Investing in hardware, capital intensity and dilution5) Fundraising process for a VC fund6) Over and under-invested areas of climate tech7) Quantifying impact potential8) Typical fund terms and returns9) Portfolio company: Brimstone10) Carbon Capture &amp; Storage11) Quick-fire round Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Venturing in Climate, I spoke to Irena Spazzapan, Managing Partner of Systemiq Capital. Systemiq Capital is a London-based climate technology venture capital firm which has recently launched the first close of its £70m Fund II. We discuss:1) Irena's career journey to managing a climate tech VC firm 2) Building a VC firm and adding value3) What Systemiq Capital looks for with examples4) Investing in hardware, capital intensity and dilution5) Fundraising process for a VC fund6) Over and under-invested areas of climate tech7) Quantifying impact potential8) Typical fund terms and returns9) Portfolio company: Brimstone10) Carbon Capture &amp; Storage11) Quick-fire round Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Episode 6: Irena Spazzapan, Managing Partner @ Systemiq Capital

This week’s episode tackles systems change — and the partnership needed between policymakers, businesses, finance and civil society, to make economic systems sustainable. To dive into these themes, we invited SYSTEMIQ Capital’s  Irena Spazzapan and Georgina Fleming. Irena is a partner, while Georgina is a junior partner at SYSTEMIQ Capital, a London-based VC that backs early-stage climate entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and impact.    In this episode, we talk to Irena and Georgina about SYSTEMIQ Capital’s multi-specialist approach, what they’re looking for as investors, and their firm’s investment in ZeroAvia, a company that is producing the world's first practical zero emission aviation powertrain.   Learn more about Irena and Georgina’s work at SYSTEMIQ Capital.   ClimateTech with Kentaro is produced by our incredible team at Persefoni and Hueman Group Media.  Learn more about Persefoni and our climate management and accounting platform by subscribing to our  weekly newsletter!

This week’s episode tackles systems change — and the partnership needed between policymakers, businesses, finance and civil society, to make economic systems sustainable. To dive into these themes, we invited SYSTEMIQ Capital’s  Irena Spazzapan and Georgina Fleming. Irena is a partner, while Georgina is a junior partner at SYSTEMIQ Capital, a London-based VC that backs early-stage climate entrepreneurs to accelerate their growth and impact.    In this episode, we talk to Irena and Georgina about SYSTEMIQ Capital’s multi-specialist approach, what they’re looking for as investors, and their firm’s investment in ZeroAvia, a company that is producing the world's first practical zero emission aviation powertrain. Learn more about Irena and Georgina’s work at <a href="https://www.systemiqcapital.earth/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SYSTEMIQ Capital</a>. ClimateTech with Kentaro is produced by our incredible team at <a href="https://persefoni.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Persefoni</a> and <a href="https://www.huemangroupmedia.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hueman Group Media</a>.  Learn more about Persefoni and our climate management and accounting platform by subscribing to our <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/esg-and-climate-news-6773642479246831618/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> weekly newsletter!</a>