This episode is part of a larger project exploring Indigenous partnerships for climate tech startups with Climate Door. More to come soon.
Chad Rickaby is the CEO and co-founder or ClimateDoor. Through it’s Unify Partners practice, Chad has spent years helping put together meaningful partnerships between climate tech companies and Indigenous entrepreneurs and Nations.
Many climate tech founders know there's an opportunity to work with Indigenous communities - as project partners, technology co-developers, or as adopters and buyers. But few know where to begin - and are afraid to get it wrong.
As a result, companies pursue other markets and partners, or burn trust before projects start.
In this episode, Chad shares his perspective on what it takes for companies to build meaningful partnerships, the failure modes that keep showing up, and why co-developing technology deserves more attention than it gets.
This conversation is one piece of a larger project. We've spent the last few months working with the Climate Door team on a brief to help climate tech founders and their teams make sense of this space and start building their own relationships. It's grounded in primary interviews with Indigenous stakeholders, as well as some climate tech operators who've actually done this work. Today's conversation is a preview of that work - which we’ll be releasing soon - focused specifically on Chad's experience.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!
TALKING POINTS
Why Indigenous Nations are playing a growing role in energy and climate projects
Breaking down the range of partnership models — from land access to full co-development — and what each one unlocks
Why co-developing the technology itself, not just the project, is the least understood and most valuable opportunity
How to start partnerships on the right foot
Common failure modes that companies run into like "install and leave"
How international investors see Indigenous partnerships and consent
Where the real momentum is right now — critical minerals, forestry, grid, and beyond