Favorite Parts of Working in the Venture Capital Industry as a Climate Venture Fellow
Nick, a Climate Venture Fellow, finds the potential for large-scale impact most rewarding, stating that "the work...has an impact for...individuals and orders of magnitude that I can even fathom sometimes." Early-stage investments, as seen with tech giants like Google and Facebook, can nurture companies that not only grow significantly but also revolutionize industries and improve lives, a prospect particularly fulfilling within the climate and sustainability sector.
Venture Capital, Climate Change, Investing, Startups, Impact Investing
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Nick Rojas
Climate Venture Fellow
Early stage VC
UCLA
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business MBA, School for the Environment and Sustainability MS Sustainable Systems
Environmental & Related Sciences
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Greek Life Member, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. High impact potential: Venture capital decisions can significantly influence company growth, job creation, and economic change. Investing in early-stage startups can lead to involvement in companies that revolutionize industries and even the world.
2. Focus on climate and sustainability: The work has a direct and meaningful impact on climate change and sustainability, potentially improving lives and creating a more equitable future.
3. Early-stage involvement: The role involves supporting small companies from their inception, witnessing their growth, and playing a pivotal part in their journey to success. This offers a unique opportunity to shape and influence the direction of innovative businesses from the ground up.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your industry?
I think it's rare for an individual to have such a large impact at a scale that can truly change something. Within venture capital, you're making decisions, sometimes on the order of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.
These decisions fund a company that can potentially grow and garner millions more dollars. This then hires dozens, hundreds, or potentially thousands of people down the road. It all starts with those early-stage investments.
Think of every big tech firm today – Google, Airbnb, Facebook, Uber. They all started as small startups that received early-stage funding. Whoever was working at those firms saw potential, made those investments, and that's how we got here.
Recognizing this, you might be investing in a small company of five people right now, making a thousand bucks a month. But you could be supporting the founding journey of a company that not only grows large and hires many people but completely changes our economy.
Within the climate and sustainability space, there's also the potential to completely change the world. They might provide a new form of transportation we never thought possible. Or, they could make energy access more equitable and affordable in a way that literally saves lives.
There are huge implications that come from this work. Knowing that the work I do has an impact not only for me and my firm but for individuals and on scales I can't even fathom is significant.