Welcome to Awarepreneurs, the world's longest running social entrepreneur podcast. I'm Paul Zelizer, your host. If you could take a moment and hit subscribe and do a review on your favorite podcast app, it helps our guests help more social entrepreneurs, and it costs you nothing. Thank you so much. Today our guest is me, Paul Zelizer, the host of this podcast, and our topic is Raising Smarter: How Cleantech Startups Are Adapting in 2026. I've been a business coach for social entrepreneur and cleantech companies for the past 18 years and host of the Awarepreneurs Podcast, also co-founder of NM Tech Talks and NM Climate. And a growing portion of my work is as a fractional VP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships for cleantech startups. And mission-driven companies.

So over the past few months, I've been hearing a question over and over again from many founders I know, both the clients I have who are founders of clean tech companies and impact companies, as well as folks in my network. And the question is, how do we raise in this environment? 2026 has been a challenging year with less non-dilutive funds available, longer cycles, tougher questions coming from investors, and a lot less easy yeses, it's clear this isn't just a tougher market in 2026, it's a fundamentally different one. So in this month's solo episode, I wanted to share some of what I'm seeing that's working on the ground in this environment, some strategies that the most thoughtful tech startup leaders I know are using to adapt. And these include things like being more intentional about who's leading fundraising, being more skillful about generating revenue sooner, learning to leverage strategic partnerships and unlock new pathways of capital, and getting sharper about targeting the right capital for the right stage that you're in. So first of all, why does fundraising feel different in 2026? I think there's a couple of key things. Number one is that capital is more selective and that cycles are getting longer. Investors are moving more slowly, doing deeper diligence, and they're really prioritizing real clear, tangible, visible traction over just a great idea. We've also seen very significant policy changes in the clean tech space, including federal pullbacks, and that's really changed how investors are prioritizing.

And even some of them have left the clean tech space altogether, the impact space altogether, because there is some more political critical headwinds in terms of funding these types of startups. And founders really need a resilience mindset if you're going to raise money in 2026. You need to, you know, be aware that you might be asked for more information, it might take longer, you might hear no more often than a similar idea would have heard in the past. And all of that is just part of the new ecosystem that we're in. It's not personal. A couple of suggestions about how to navigate and how to be the most successful you can as a startup founder raising funds in 2026. First of all, I really want to encourage you to bet on the right fundraising talent. Experience and your network matter.