​Calls going unanswered? You're not alone.

​The Triangle builds serious hardware — but raises less capital for it than Boston, New York, or San Francisco. Founders here have to get creative.

​This session puts founders in a working conversation with the investors who underwrite first-of-a-kind initiatives, covering what sits between a strong pitch deck and a fundable financial package. Expect specifics on how catalytic, concessionary, and commercial capital stack, what diligence looks for in a university spinout story, and which questions a founder should be able to answer before they raise.

​You'll leave knowing what investors need to see before they return your call, and how to build a capital strategy that doesn't depend on a single check.

​Speakers

​Sasha Brown

​Sasha Brown is a Senior Partner at the Ecosystem Integrity Fund. Her responsibilities include investment due diligence, strategy development, process management, deal sourcing, and portfolio company support. She assists with system and sector analysis, firm operations, and financial structuring. Sasha serves as a board director at iyris, Claros Technologies, Ambient Photonics, Trashie, and Upflex.

​Lister Delgado

​Lister Delgado is Managing Partner and sole owner of IDEA Fund Partners, an early-stage technology fund he co-founded in 2006 and which is now among the most active seed investors in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Born in Lima, Peru, he came to the US at 17 speaking no English, worked construction for three years, and went on to earn a ScB in Electrical Engineering from Brown, an MS in Computer Engineering from UT Austin, and an MBA from UNC Chapel Hill.

​Lister began his career in telecommunications and semiconductors at AT&T Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies, then joined MCNC Ventures, where he designed and launched the NC IDEA grants program, now a key source of seed funding in North Carolina. An early-stage investor and advisor since 2001, he has evaluated thousands of companies and advised hundreds of entrepreneurs. With IFP IV, he is narrowing the fund's geographic focus and backing more diverse founders.

​Drew Geer

​Drew Geer is Director, Innovation and Investments at Elemental Impact. His work focuses on energy, the built environment, and Elemental's Data Center Investment Initiative — sourcing and managing a pipeline of high-potential companies, supporting portfolio companies through their growth, and connecting them with the catalytic capital and expertise they need to scale. Drew’s work sits at the intersection of the organization’s four-pronged approach: mobilizing investors, deploying catalytic capital, deepening project expertise, and strengthening local partnerships. With a background spanning community banking, private equity, and climate venture, he brings both financial rigor and operational perspective to evaluating opportunities and supporting founders navigating the complex path from promising technology to proven impact.

​Before joining Elemental, he served as Vice President at Carbon Drawdown Collective, a family office, where he led investments and advised founders across a climate venture portfolio. He also supported early- and growth-stage investments in decarbonization and clean energy as an advisor to Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. Earlier in his career, he led M&A and strategy for multiple private equity-backed platforms, beginning in community banking — a grounding that still shapes how he thinks about capital, risk, and community. Drew holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a BA from New College of Florida.

​Dr. Ashley Rivenbark

​Dr. Ashley Rivenbark is a scientific writer, project manager, and grant strategist dedicated to accelerating technologies that improve human and environmental health. Over her 10+ years supporting early‑stage innovation, she has managed and submitted more than 250 proposals, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), Department of Energy (DOE), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), European Union (EU)—helping teams secure well over $15 million to advance solutions spanning biotechnology, sustainability, and climate‑relevant research.

​Ashley has spent two decades strengthening scientific communication for diverse research communities, with deep expertise in editing proposals and manuscripts for scientists. She holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences from NC State University and a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the UNC School of Medicine, where her research centered on cancer epigenetics and environmental drivers of disease.

​Her postdoctoral fellowship at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, funded by the American Cancer Society, expanded her work on epigenetic regulation. Ashley is an American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Excellence in Science Award recipient and has published 25+ scientific works across journals, reviews, and book chapters.

​Location

​​American Underground @ATC

​📍 324 Blackwell Street, Bay 9, Durham (map)

​​Questions?

​Learn more about Raleigh-Durham Climate Week plus get answers to your FAQs here: www.raleighdurhamclimateweek.com

​​Partners

​Raleigh-Durham Climate Week is made possible by an Impact Partner Grant from the City of Raleigh.