Capital Series: Rob Day, Spring Lane Capital

This episode is part of our new Capital Series hosted by Jason Jacobs. This series explores a diverse range of capital sources and the individuals who drive them. From family offices and institutional LPs to private equity, government funding, and more, we take a deep dive into the world of capital and its critical role in driving innovation and progress.

Rob Day is Partner and Co-founder at Spring Lane Capital.

Spring Lane Capital provides hybrid project capital with equity for small-scale systems and projects across food, water, energy, transportation, and waste markets. They also bring experienced tools and capabilities to help developers and entrepreneurs succeed with their project deployments.

Rob has been around the block in climate tech even before it got its name, and he’s learned a lot of useful lessons. Not to mention, Spring Lane has an innovative approach that plays in the capital gap, that so many people talk about between early-stage venture capital and project finance.

In this episode, we cover:

• [2:36] An overview of Spring Lane Capital and the firm's origin story
• [4:49] The large gap between venture capital and project finance
• [8:05] Spring Lane Capital's broad approach to different areas of climate
• [10:52] Capitalizing early-stage companies, scaling, and the role of equity and debt
• [13:42] Advice for entrepreneurs thinking about different types of capital at various stages of a company's lifecycle
• [16:06] Triggers for founders to understand when equity is optimal vs debt (Rob's Atlas Organics example)
• [22:22] How terms vary with Spring Lane Capital's deals vs more traditional lenders
• [24:43] Where first-of-a-kind (FOAK) projects fit in
• [30:41] Spring Lane Capital's fund two and its institutional investors
• [33:19] Skillsets required to be successful in Spring Lane's capital allocation
• [38:23] Success milestones and Spring Lane's role
• [40:46] Changing macroeconomics and their impact on Spring Lane's corner of the industry
• [43:48] Spring Lane's process, key steps, diligence, etc.
• [50:17] Issues with financing FOAK projects and Spring Lane's plans to address them

Get connected:
Jason Jacobs Twitter / LinkedIn
Rob Day Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on Jun 14, 2023 (aired on July 5, 2023)

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