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According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, an overwhelming 70% of Americans have expressed that they want to combat climate change and that they would actively do something about it if they were given the opportunity. The only problem is that no one has been asking. That is until Raise Green Capital was established in 2021.

Raise Green Capital is a climate investment platform and the first inclusive funding portal in the US with a specific focus on climate solution projects with a social mission. We are joined today by its co-founder and CEO, Franz Hochstrasser, to talk about how this company was founded, why they saw a need for it, and how they are empowering a new league of investors to help combat climate change. 

Tuning in, you’ll learn about the projects that Raise Green is funding, how the company is democratizing access by embracing both accredited and non-accredited investors, and what they hope to achieve over the next decade. We also discuss how regular investors’ willingness to accept higher risks when investing in fighting climate change is sending a signal to more powerful investors like banks and hedge funds and why it’s time to switch from extractive to inclusive capitalism. Tune in to discover how you can put your investment dollars towards the fight against climate change and make a difference!

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Key Points From This Episode: [with timestamps]

• Get to know today’s guest, Franz Hochstrasser, and his company, Raise Green, a climate investment platform. [01:27]

• How Raise Green was designed to appeal to both accredited and unaccredited investors and how this democratizes investment. [03:03]

• When Raise Green was launched and an overview of their current offerings. [06:31]

• Learn about the current projects listed on Raise Green and how they help investors put their money behind projects that combat climate change. [09:09]

• Some of the challenges that communities, and institutions like schools, might face in becoming solar developers. [12:55]

• Raise Green’s ability to structure competitive offerings; how this relates to their typical investor profiles along with the risk-return profile they are willing to tolerate. [16:03]

• What Raise Green hopes to achieve in the coming decade. [22:31]

• An outline of the Inflation Reduction Act, its strengths and weaknesses, and how to use it to help transition from extractive to inclusive capitalism. [26:12]

• How the efficiency of Raise Green’s projects is set to drastically improve. [31:40]

• Where you can learn more about Raise Green’s investment opportunities, their climate finance toolkit, and how to get in touch if you have a project that requires funding. [35:50]

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Tweetables:

“We built this company for folks that are overwhelmed by the climate crisis and are tired of being told to recycle or partition their way out of it.” — Franz Hochstrasser [0:01:51]

“We started this business to democratize sustainable investment, and crowdfund a healthy, just, and sustainable future.” — Franz Hochstrasser [0:22:34]

“We want that game to be done in a way that's inclusive, not purely extractive. Creating more opportunity for economic and social justice and mobility as part of the transition.” — Franz Hochstrasser [0:27:15]

“Programs or policies like [the Inflation Reduction Act] are tipping the scales toward allowing more distributed generation on the grid. And doing it in a way that is still profitable to the developers that are sticking their necks out.” — Franz Hochstrasser [0:30:46]

“The longer we wait to get those solutions deployed, the more expensive it becomes for us, as a society, to deal with this climate crisis.” — Franz Hochstrasser [0:36:56]

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Raise Green — https://www.raisegreen.com/

Franz Hochstrasser on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/franzhochstrasser/

National Energy Improvement Fund — https://www.neifund.org/

BlocPower — https://www.blocpower.io/

Yale Program on Climate Change Communication — https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/

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LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

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Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

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