Business & Innovation
From left to right: Terra Venture partners Barak Goldstein, Astorre Modena, Harold Wiener.
If you want an investment from Terra Ventures,
“There’s no contradiction between making money and
doing good for billions of people,” says Harold Wiener, managing partner
at Terra.
Wiener co-founded Terra with Astorre Modena, a
physicist active in seed-stage venture capital, in 2007 after Modena
failed to get him to sign on to a project making biodiesel from algae
(“I didn’t think it was the correct model,” said Wiener, a biochemist).
Though
that particular project fell by the wayside, the more the two spoke,
the more they realized they were equipped with the combination of
science, business, and tech to make a push in impact investing.
Their
raised $25 million for their first fund, and used them for seed
investments in companies that had good founders and good ideas, but were
very early on.
One of the first investments they made was in
Phoebus Energy, a company that makes water heating and cooling more
efficient, preventing wasted energy and, accordingly, wasted money. The
company is operating in 100 sites in Israel and has begun expanding
abroad. The system can reduces related pollution up to 90%, reduce fuel
consumption, and save 60-70% of relevant energy costs, according to
Terra.
The success of the companies in Terra’s first fund, say
Wiener and Goldstein, has been impressive; some of the companies have
grown to values of $30m.-$40m. from nothing in just a few years time,
and most of them are still around.
But their investors have to be patient.
“We’re not looking, like other VCs, to have a fast exit. We want to build sustainable companies,” says Goldstein.
Their
investors, adds Wiener, are happy enough with the results that many
have invested in a second fund, which they linked to the labs’ incubator
with help from the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Economy
Ministry.
The seed companies that make it through the cutthroat
application process are given 18-24 months to grow, at which point the
TerraLabs decides whether to formally invest in them.
“We filter like hell before they come into the incubator, because not everything that shines is gold,” says Wiener.
During
that time, the companies teams sit together, and get daily support in
fields ranging from technology to patent law. The incubator also has
strong relationships with large corporations, who could serve as
potential clients or investors for the companies.
“Israel is by
far the most beautiful pilot country in the world. Everyone knows
everyone and is willing to take on some challenges,” said Wiener.
Once the companies have tested their product in Israel, they are ready to go global.
The
companies going through the incubator deal with a wide range of
problems; Kytera, a system to help deal with the difficulties of caring
for the elderly through a system of sensors and wearable devices. sPARK,
a company that aims to counter the time, fuel, and traffic congestion
associated with drivers inefficiently looking for parking. Sixgill is a
cyber security company that aims to protect businesses from financial
and IP theft.
Agricultural company collects and coordinates data
for farmers to help simplify and wring inefficiencies out their
operations. Its system was designed with the Carmel Winery.
“We’re looking for the technologies that can change the world,” says Goldstein.
And if they can make a profit while they’re at it, what’s wrong with that?
“We’re looking for the technologies that can change the world,” says partne at venture capital.
having a brilliant idea that could make millions of dollars isn’t
enough. Filling some gap in the business world, hopping on to the newest
trend in online dating, or figuring out the best way to advertise
online won’t help you. If you want an investment from Terra, the bar is
higher.“We’re looking for the technologies that can change the
world,” says Barak Goldstein, a partner at Terra and CEO of Terra Lab
Ventures, its accelerator.Terra Venture Partners is an impact
investment fund, meaning that it believes in more than one bottom line.
The philosophy of impact investing sees business as a plausible tool for
overcoming any number of social ills, whether environmental problems,
the challenges of dealing with an aging population, or improving
education.
enough. Filling some gap in the business world, hopping on to the newest
trend in online dating, or figuring out the best way to advertise
online won’t help you. If you want an investment from Terra, the bar is
higher.“We’re looking for the technologies that can change the
world,” says Barak Goldstein, a partner at Terra and CEO of Terra Lab
Ventures, its accelerator.Terra Venture Partners is an impact
investment fund, meaning that it believes in more than one bottom line.
The philosophy of impact investing sees business as a plausible tool for
overcoming any number of social ills, whether environmental problems,
the challenges of dealing with an aging population, or improving
education.
“There’s no contradiction between making money and
doing good for billions of people,” says Harold Wiener, managing partner
at Terra.
Wiener co-founded Terra with Astorre Modena, a
physicist active in seed-stage venture capital, in 2007 after Modena
failed to get him to sign on to a project making biodiesel from algae
(“I didn’t think it was the correct model,” said Wiener, a biochemist).
Though
that particular project fell by the wayside, the more the two spoke,
the more they realized they were equipped with the combination of
science, business, and tech to make a push in impact investing.
Their
raised $25 million for their first fund, and used them for seed
investments in companies that had good founders and good ideas, but were
very early on.
One of the first investments they made was in
Phoebus Energy, a company that makes water heating and cooling more
efficient, preventing wasted energy and, accordingly, wasted money. The
company is operating in 100 sites in Israel and has begun expanding
abroad. The system can reduces related pollution up to 90%, reduce fuel
consumption, and save 60-70% of relevant energy costs, according to
Terra.
The success of the companies in Terra’s first fund, say
Wiener and Goldstein, has been impressive; some of the companies have
grown to values of $30m.-$40m. from nothing in just a few years time,
and most of them are still around.
But their investors have to be patient.
“We’re not looking, like other VCs, to have a fast exit. We want to build sustainable companies,” says Goldstein.
Their
investors, adds Wiener, are happy enough with the results that many
have invested in a second fund, which they linked to the labs’ incubator
with help from the Office of the Chief Scientist in the Economy
Ministry.
The seed companies that make it through the cutthroat
application process are given 18-24 months to grow, at which point the
TerraLabs decides whether to formally invest in them.
“We filter like hell before they come into the incubator, because not everything that shines is gold,” says Wiener.
During
that time, the companies teams sit together, and get daily support in
fields ranging from technology to patent law. The incubator also has
strong relationships with large corporations, who could serve as
potential clients or investors for the companies.
“Israel is by
far the most beautiful pilot country in the world. Everyone knows
everyone and is willing to take on some challenges,” said Wiener.
Once the companies have tested their product in Israel, they are ready to go global.
The
companies going through the incubator deal with a wide range of
problems; Kytera, a system to help deal with the difficulties of caring
for the elderly through a system of sensors and wearable devices. sPARK,
a company that aims to counter the time, fuel, and traffic congestion
associated with drivers inefficiently looking for parking. Sixgill is a
cyber security company that aims to protect businesses from financial
and IP theft.
Agricultural company collects and coordinates data
for farmers to help simplify and wring inefficiencies out their
operations. Its system was designed with the Carmel Winery.
“We’re looking for the technologies that can change the world,” says Goldstein.
And if they can make a profit while they’re at it, what’s wrong with that?
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