Insights
How Climate Tech Founders Can Scale Faster & Smarter
Jan 13
Reading Time: 5 minutes
A new wave of hardware and deep-tech founders is reshaping how we power the world, produce materials, and make use of resources once treated as waste. Through rapid testing and validation, these companies are developing novel technologies that outcompete conventional solutions to deliver a green discount, making the sustainable choice an economic no-brainer.
| Quick links: |
|---|
| Validate with the Simplest Prototype |
| Solve Customer Problems, Not Just Technical Ones |
| Be Relentlessly Realistic About Technical Risk |
| Build a Team Obsessed with Validation |
Hardware has always been complex, but the game is changing. Startups now leverage advanced tools like 3D printing, simulation, and additive manufacturing to prototype and build faster than ever before.
Take three examples:
- Brad Hartwig and Andres Garcia-Clark (Arbor), former SpaceX engineers, and their team are building carbon-negative power plants that started with $2,000 prototypes from The Home Depot
- Matt Rogers and Harry Tannenbaum (Mill), Nest and Apple veterans, first used cardboard mockups to reimagine how food waste is managed at home.
- Sarah Lamaison and David Wakerley (Dioxycle), both pioneering chemists, are turning industrial waste into high-value commodities.
Validate with the Simplest Prototype
“The best hardware companies are the fastest at iterating,” says Mike Schroepfer, founder of Gigascale Capital. “They’re obsessed with one question: What’s the quickest, dumbest, cheapest way to build something that gives us answers?”
To accomplish this, today’s founders have powerful tools their hardware predecessors didn’t:
- Simulation software to model real-world systems and test ideas before building
- 3D printing for rapid design, development, and testing of custom parts without waiting
- Local supply chains that slash development cycles from months to days
- Seasoned talent from Apple, Tesla, and SpaceX who know how to move fast
Mill’s $0 Prototype
For Matt Rogers, the key to validating an idea is starting with the simplest possible test. When developing Mill’s kitchen bin that turns food scraps into odorless grounds overnight, it all started with a cardboard box.
“Literally, it was a cardboard box the size of our bin with a little panel inside to see if the form factor made sense,” he explains.
Arbor’s Home Depot Solution
The Arbor team is repurposing technology first created for SpaceX rockets to create carbon-negative power plants. Despite the complexity of high-pressure, high-temperature systems, their first tests used parts from The Home Depot.
“That system cost $2,000 and helped us uncover fundamental truths quickly,” Brad says. “Speed is everything. Aim for the smallest, cheapest, fastest scale that can get you data.”
Prototyping Takeaways
- Start with the simplest test of core assumptions.
- Use off-the-shelf components whenever possible.
- Focus on speed to data over perfection.
Solve Customer Problems, Not Just Technical Ones
Even the most innovative technology won’t succeed unless it solves a problem someone will pay for. For climate tech founders, this means designing to meet market demand for faster, better, or cheaper solutions that can compete on more than being greener.
Arbor’s Dual Value Props
For Arbor, this meant answering two tough questions: What’s the most cost-effective way to draw down gigatons of CO₂ annually? And what’s the market willing to pay for?
They found their answer in turning organic waste into clean energy while sequestering carbon. Their model creates two revenue streams: selling clean energy and carbon removal credits. This approach resonated with Microsoft, which signed an early agreement to purchase 5,000 tons of carbon removal while generating 5MW of clean electricity (enough to power 4,000 homes year-round).
Business Models Are Flexible
While pivoting hardware is costly, adjusting your business model is much easier. Mill has iterated its strategy multiple times, from subscription services to offering commercial options for offices. Each iteration tested new paths to market while keeping the core technology intact.
Be Relentlessly Realistic About Technical Risk
“We operate in a world with limited resources and capital, so it’s critical to focus,” says Sarah Lamaison, CEO of Dioxycle.
For Dioxycle, this meant figuring out how to compete on cost from the start. The company is changing how ethylene, a $180-billion cornerstone of the commodity chemical market, is produced by recycling waste carbon emissions instead of burning fossil fuels. The team dedicated an entire year to mapping their path to viability, testing assumptions, and solving bottlenecks. “You want to embrace reality brutally,” Sarah explains. “Never push a technological path that isn’t going to work.”
Mike Schroepfer’s advice? Run at the most challenging problems first. “Everyone loves to make progress, so people subconsciously skip the hard things. That’s what will come back to bite you. Focus on the one hard thing no one has done before first.”
Brad adds, “People tend to stay in their comfort zone. You get really good at developing a specific type of technology, but that complacency is a risk,” says Brad. Instead, you need to identify the critical failure modes and attack them with full force.
Build a Team Obsessed with Validation
To test rapidly, you need great tools and the right people. “There’s now a massive hardware talent base of people who’ve built and scaled at companies like Apple, Tesla, SpaceX, and more,” says Matt. These engineers are trained to move fast, solve complex problems, and bring products to market with lean teams.
At Arbor, Brad and co-founder Andres Garcia-Clark recruited former SpaceX engineers. Their experience in high-pressure systems allowed them to test and iterate quickly while minimizing costs. For Dioxycle, building the right team means finding resourceful, data-driven people. “We want talented, resourceful people with a kind of underdog mindset,” says Sarah. “When doubts arise, we don’t debate. We run the experiment and get the data.”
Rapid Prototypes, Smarter Scaling
The founders of Arbor, Mill, and Dioxycle show how advanced tools, rapid testing, and a deep pool of proven talent are rewriting the rules of hardware development. By focusing on speed to data, customer needs, and methodical scaling, hardware companies and climate tech startups can go from concept to market faster and with less capital.
Visit the Gigascale blog for more insights on building and scaling startups.
