WINNER SEIF AWARD FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL INNOVATION 2016 

CARBON DELTA is a research firm that specializes in identifying and analyzing the climate change resilience of publicly traded companies. Oliver Marchand, CEO and co-founder, started Carbon Delta in 2015 when he realized that the economic effects of climate change had started to really affect financial markets. Oliver will be one of the speakers at the SEIF Awards Ceremony on June 28, and we were curious to talk to him in advance about what has happened since winning the award in 2016.

 

Oliver Marchand
CEO & Co-Founder
CARBON DELTA


Oliver
, you won the SEIF Award in 2016. Can you tell us about your biggest achievements since then?
Overall, we have made a lot of progress in working with financial institutions on the complex topic of climate change. Our team has grown to over 20 fantastic people, we introduced our product to the market and won a United Nations backed project with over 20 large institutional investors as partners. Furthermore, we successfully closed a first investment with ZKB and a group of angel investors from the Swiss ICT Investor Club (SICTIC) in 2018 and recently received a loan guarantee by the Technology Fund of the Swiss Federation. These are all important milestones in building a social enterprise.


How did winning the SEIF Award help you develop your business, besides the money?

The most important aspect of the award was the recognition we received from the nomination. The award also helped us to gain additional traction as an employer.

 

The most important aspect of the award was
the recognition we received from the nomination.”


What strategy or tactic helped you the most in funding and growing your business?

One of our strategic goals has always been to build a team of highly skilled, passionate and dedicated people. The experience of the team and the management allowed Carbon Delta to form strong strategic corporate and academic partnerships with major players early on. These partnerships allowed us to reach our goals earlier, extend our network, and grow quicker. In addition, I strongly believe that social entrepreneurs have some important advantages at hand; thanks to the innovation we bring to the financial industry, we often receive a lot of respect and recognition. Another strategic advantage is the exceptional scalability of our business model in various aspects, which is a very important aspect for investors.

 

I strongly believe that social entrepreneurs have some important advantages at hand; thanks to the innovation we bring to the financial industry, we often receive a lot of respect and recognition.”


What is your current focus and what are your next steps?

Each stage in a startup comes with its challenges. We are now transitioning from the market entry to a scaling phase. The product and internal processes have become more complex and need more coordination. And even though we have significantly grown over the past year, we are aiming to grow our team as well as our business even further. 


What is your best advice for early stage Tech for Impact startups that want to make a difference?

First, I would like to congratulate all entrepreneurs going into this field. Please start selling your product as early as possible and be confident in the fact that you might very likely actually be able to create a better product than the big players in the field. Always try to do the best you can. Pay attention to detail.

 

Carbon Delta Team 2016