Julian Green

A SAFE and convertible note had a baby and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was the midwife- out popped the D-SAFE! 👶🏽🎉 A new #climatetech funding instrument was announced by Elemental Excelerator last week. One of the company’s main goals is to support smaller, up and coming companies during the awkward “Scale Gap” phase between #VC funding and natural growth. It’s called the #DSAFE (Development Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and it aims to aid the process by giving companies a small amount of cash to overcome initial risks and expenses during the developmental stages of a product launch or company. How does it work? D-SAFE has a redemption clause meaning companies can choose to have their payments offered as a loan or convert to equity at the investor’s discretion. Funders and companies will have clear communication and expectations about where the money is going and how it will be applied to either the company or the projects at hand. Financiers and companies will work together with more #transparency, and that’s a great boon for #startups and VC alike. As of this month, Elemental has already invested using D-SAFE in eight different companies, including Dimensional Energy and Origen — both companies investing in innovative and out-of-the-box solutions to environmental issues! Seems like a win-win on the surface. What do you all think about the D-SAFE? Alfredo Coppola Momoka Ueda Tim Wagner Stephen D. Torres Olya Irzak Natsuho Toyama Noriya Tarutani Shin Ogawa

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The next founders to put the spotlight on in the 2024 cohort of the Norrsken Accelerator are Lewis Pierson and Denis Frischmann who are the founders of Leeana.💡Their company helps companies reduce their biodiversity footprint using geospatial data. It allows organizations to manage locations worldwide, set nature-positive goals and report on impending biodiversity regulation.🌍 The loss of biodiversity is one the planets big problems and since plants and species are deeply interconnected even small disruptions to ecosystems can have severe ripple effects. Tackling this problem is key for our future and that’s exactly what Lewis and Denis are doing with Leeana. They are off to a great start and I strongly suggest that if you’re working at a company and biodiversity is your responsibility you reach out to them so they can show what they can do for you. If they win, we all win!🤩

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AI for a New Era in Landscape Architecture and Horticulture. 🌿 As AI continues to reshape industries, it's crucial to understand the evolving landscape and position ourselves strategically. "The Emergence of AI-Powered Services Firms" by Alex Brussell and Brian O'Malley at Forerunner highlights several transformative insights about the integration of AI into service industries, which resonate deeply with our mission at Scapify and ServeScape . 1. Infrastructure vs. Complete Service: As technologies mature, businesses must either become the underlying infrastructure or deliver the complete service. O'Malley argues that middlemen offering solutions often get squeezed out (yet, ironically, The Home Depot and Amazon are the squeezer). This is particularly relevant for Scapify as we strive to be the go-to SaaS platform that directly serves growers and garden centers with end-to-end solutions. 2. Human Touch in AI-Powered Services: Certain services, such as law, healthcare, and landscape architecture, require credentialed individuals to be valid. At ServeScape, we recognize that while AI can enhance productivity, the expertise and personal touch of our landscape architects remain irreplaceable. Even the American Society of Landscape Architects emphasizes the importance of site visits for landscape architects, ensuring designs are tailored to specific site conditions and contexts. This is crucial for maintaining the high standards of our work. 3. High-Trust Transactions: Industries like investment banking and recruiting thrive on trust and confidence, which are essential for high-stakes transactions. In horticulture and landscape architecture, trust is equally critical, especially considering the significant investments involved. The average homeowner spends between $1,277 and $5,856 on landscaping, with a national average of about $3,415 a year. $30k+ on a 10-year LTV. These high dollar amounts highlight the necessity for trusted, knowledgeable professionals who can ensure that clients get the best value for their investments. 4. AI-Native Service Firms: The future belongs to firms that integrate AI at every stage, aligning incentives and creating cultures that embrace innovation. At Scapify, we’re not just adopting AI tools; we're embedding AI into our core processes to offer more efficient, reliable, and scalable solutions to our clients. 5. The Green Industry is a People Business: AI will make certain roles even more valuable, especially those that require judgment, trust, and relationship-building. For Scapify and ServeScape, this means leveraging AI to enhance our human-centric services, ensuring that our clients benefit from the best of both worlds—cutting-edge technology and personalized expertise. Interested in more AI and the #greenindustry? Join me at AmericanHort Cultivate Conference 9am, Saturday, July 13th, 2024 Columbus, OH. #AI #LandscapeArchitecture #Horticulture #Innovation #Scapify #ServeScape #FutureOfWork #asla

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