Building Your Capital Stack: Insights and Conversation from Wells Fargo and LACI
We’re excited to invite you to join LACI and Wells Fargo for an exclusive breakfast and networking event during Houston Energy & Climate Week. We are bringing together a select group of cleantech investors and startup founders for a morning of connection and insight focused on the current financing landscape.
The event will feature a fireside chat with the Wells Fargo team, providing a great opportunity to learn about various cleantech financing options, and a founder panel highlighting some of the real experiences cleantech startup founders have building their capital stacks. This event is designed to help you connect with peers, discuss industry challenges, and share insights in today's cleantech market.
Founder Panel Speakers:
Dana (Daenera) Vazquez, Chief Commercial Officer & Co-founder, Coflux Purification
Dana Vasquez is an ESG professional specializing in sustainability strategy and implementation. She has her Masters in Business Administration, concentrating in energy and entrepreneurship, from Rice Jones Graduate School of Business and her Bachelors in Arts from Emory University, majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Corporate Sustainability and Ethics. Dana is Chief Commercial Officer and Co-founder of Coflux Purification, a deep tech startup focused on the capture and destruction of PFAS, bringing clean water to all. She has experience in commercialization, strategy and planning, and communications, with a history of working with a number of chemical, biomedical, and materials organizations as an environmental consultant. She is winner of 2023’s MIT’s Food and Water Prize, second place at the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition, and finalist at MIT’s 2024 Climate and Energy Prize.
James Greer, Founder & CEO, Wildfire Defense Mesh
James Greer is an entrepreneur and wildfire mitigation specialist dedicated to protecting communities from the increasing threats of climate change. He is the Founder and CEO of Wildfire Defense Mesh (WDM), a company that manufactures high-performance, code-compliant ember protection systems designed to stop the primary pathway of structure and asset ignition.
Dr. Rawand Rasheed, CEO & co-founder, Helix Earth
Rawand Rasheed earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Rice University, and has more than 5 years of experience at NASA, first as a graduate research fellow and then as a Life Support Systems Engineer where he developed a patented no-touch distillation system for spacecraft water recovery. Under his leadership, Helix Earth has raised $19 million in venture funding and $2.3 million in non-dilutive support from agencies such as NSF and DOE. The company has received recognition on the national stage, with Rawand himself named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy, ACHR 40 Under 40, and the ASME Mechanical Engineering Magazine Watch List in 2025. Rawand has numerous patents and publications, including a top 5% journal publication (based on impact factor) for his work on developing the Helix MICRA™ technology as part of his PhD and job at NASA. He has also received the Herschel M. Rich Invention Award from Rice University for his Helix MICRA™ technology.