What’s your story, Lizzi Gold?
The stories behind climate tech founders
This year, we’re sharing a series of posts profiling founders of Climate Connection’s tech community, asking them to share their journeys, inspirations, and insights into how they got to where they are today.
Today, meet Lizzi Gold – the Business Development Manager at RheEnergise, who also spoke at our April Climate Tech Time. Lizzi is part of a team building a first-of-its-kind “high-density” hydro system that takes existing technology and, in Lizzi’s words, “makes it better by an order of magnitude”.
Here’s the story of how Lizzi came into climate tech from a background in studying chemistry at the University of Bristol, then as an English teacher in Querétaro, Mexico, before joining RheEnergise as its first full-time employee in 2021.
How did your career begin?
I studied Chemistry at university and, after graduation, started working at an international marketing consultancy, following a year abroad, during which I supported independent marketing agencies in finding local partners. I then joined RheEnergise as the first full-time employee 5 years ago, when I decided to apply my scientific background to the challenge of decarbonising energy.
How did you balance the pressure to move fast with the reality that next-generation infrastructure requires significant capital and time to build?
It’s important to sometimes take a leap of faith, accepting that you won’t have all the answers before making a decision. At the same time, it’s important to know when to stop putting effort into something that no longer has a strong chance of success, so that time can be better spent elsewhere. It’s a constant exercise of spinning plates, but making sure they’re the right plates to be spinning!
What have been the toughest challenges along the way?
Our main challenge is always team resources. If we had a 10x bigger team, we would still be busy.
Have you ever felt like giving up?
It’s sometimes demotivating when you don’t get an opportunity that you were really excited about, like winning grant funding or signing a new customer, but there are always other projects happening in tandem which need attention.
What has kept you going?
It’s important to keep looking ahead to what your ultimate goal is, and recognise the successes you have had along the way.
What advice would you give to anyone else looking to build a climate tech startup today?
Document everything! And celebrate every success, no matter how small.
Can you tell us a story about how this community or an unexpected connection helped propel you to where you are now?
We have hired lots of amazing people from events like Climate Connection. It’s a great way to meet truly motivated people.
So there’s a glimpse into one of the founders of our Climate Connection community – a community built around the strategic magic of connection and intentional networking.
Interested in seeing yourself or another founder onstage?
We’re always looking for new startups and scale-ups to tell amazing stories. You can fill out our speaker nomination form here.
