Together with RA Capital Plantar Health, we’ve just opened a $120 million fund. This new initiative is an important first step towards addressing the landscape of environmental health through strategic investments. Led by managing partners Tim Teamey and Brigid O’Brien, the fund employs a rigorous rubric to determine where to allocate its resources. This approach is less about picking the best overall startup and more about discovering the startups capable of getting their innovations to market in a five-year window.
Tim Teamey, a seasoned investor with a deep background in clean technology. More than ten years ago, he was the co-founder of ventures in that first clean tech wave. He received a PhD in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned a BA in environmental studies, English, and biology from St. Olaf College. His wealth of experience is informed by previous work in In-Q-Tel and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Brigid O’Brien, a managing partner at RA Capital Planetary Health, deepens Teamey’s experience in her field. She passes on her expertise as a lecturer in MIT’s Graduate Program in Science Writing. Combined, they bring tremendous experience from both the public and private sector to find strong, promising startups that fit their investment strategy.
The fund’s rubric includes three negative screening criteria, the first and most important of which is the potentially fatal time to market screening criterion. To O’Brien’s point, “We want to identify companies that can be commercialized in under five years. Under this criterion, the fund can prioritize those startups that are best able to show that their technologies can be deployed at scale quickly.
RA Capital Planetary Health invests in rounds from seed stage to Series C. They really only want to write first checks of a half million dollars to $10 million. O’Brien is quick to point out that it’s not about the names of each funding round. What really matters is whether the startup can deliver on what the market wants and more specifically, fits into RA Capital’s investment thesis.
“The name of the round doesn’t really matter, right? What matters is, what’s your time to market and does their return profile fit our strategy?” – Brigid O’Brien
The firm has previously put their money into cutting-edge companies such as Sortera, Optivolt, and Bia. These companies are deeply committed to creating efficient, sustainable solutions to serve multiple industries. From the team’s perspective, knowing what the market wants and needs helps inform better investment decisions.
Kyle Teamey, a key member of the RA Capital team, gives his perspective on the current fundraising climate. He likes to remind everybody that we all have to fundraise, a lesson that’s becoming increasingly more difficult these days. This truth shines a bright light on the challenges most startups encounter in raising money — particularly in today’s hypercompetitive landscape.
Brigid O’Brien – “Kyle and I have talked about this a lot. We really think back on our careers and all the great things we’ve done and the bad times that have sucked us down with the market. Their common experiences grounds their investing approach with empathy for entrepreneurs who are forging pathways through difficult financial terrains.
RA Capital Planetary Health relies on this rubric, as well as their deep experience in the space, to identify promising startups. Their emphasis is on finding those that are the most technically excellent and market responsive. As O’Brien puts it, “How quickly can you die on venture capital’s undertaker?” This last question highlights the pressure one-foot-in-the-grave startups already feel go pissed about.
“We really want to have some sense that they’re building something that people actually want to buy.” – Kyle Teamey
