Welcome to EcoTech Capital

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Companies are confronted by two powerful forces that, if ignored or neglected, could leave them behind. First, no business can afford to ignore climate change any longer. Consumers and investors are demanding that sustainability be integrated into a company’s business model. Whether they are working to develop a sustainable technology or create contingency plans to mitigate climate risk, start-ups and established corporations alike can benefit from expert advice. 

At the same time, the pace of development for new technologies is accelerating, impacting every sector of the economy and forcing companies to figure out how to respond.  Digitization, which has, over the last two decades, significantly disrupted production methods, supply chains and delivery options for customers in industries such as business services, healthcare and financial services, is impacting many other sectors today.  With each passing day, technology becomes available that enables companies to improve operations and product development, as well as to be more competitive and profitable. 

While many companies realize that the double threat of climate change and of the disruption caused by new technologies will force them to develop new strategies or risk obsolescence, most have neither the resources nor the knowledge to tackle these challenges on their own.

EcoTech Capital provides strategic insight and financial direction to senior executives and boards on growth strategies, tactical initiatives and strategic alternatives at the intersection of climate change and technological innovation. We work with companies at all stages of development, from Series A to Global 1000. EcoTech Capital serves companies in a diverse group of industries, including agriculture & food, energy, industrials, mobility & transportation and utilities, which are dealing with the twin challenges caused by climate change and digitization. Additionally, we support new entrants disrupting these sectors with innovative technology and business models and looking to displace incumbents. 

Early-stage and growth-stage CleanTech companies face unique challenges in developing, commercializing and scaling technologies. These include significant obstacles to raising adequate amounts of capital due to the high capital intensity of their product offering and an inability to show a competitive price structure before achieving commercial scale. Additionally, these companies struggle to gain market penetration in large and established sectors of the economy. New entrants must be able to demonstrate that their technology actually works. They also have to overcome skepticism regarding their short operating history and weak balance sheets, which cause key customers to question their long-term viability. 

For early-stage and growth-stage CleanTech companies to be successful,  they need to develop a plan to finance their business until cash flow profitability. They must also identify industry leaders that can be key suppliers, customers and channel partners to drive product adoption quicker than can be done on their own. 

EcoTech Capital provides guidance to early- and growth-stage companies to determine the best sources of capital (be it debt or equity) as well as help them raise capital to fund rapid growth. In addition, we leverage our extensive network to provide introductions to leading corporations that can help validate technologies and drive their rapid commercial adoption.

Throughout the last two decades,  there have been many examples of how new technologies and innovative business models have severely disrupted major industries, from healthcare to financial services to business services. Today, the same thing is occurring in energy, food & agriculture, industrials, mobility & transportation and utilities. 

It is essential for industry leaders to understand the impact of new technologies on their business models and to develop effective responses. To achieve this, chief executives need to speak with experienced advisors who can provide valuable insight based on previous experience working in sectors that underwent tremendous change. Companies cannot afford to ignore the realities occurring within their industry, but must address change head on, and embrace both the challenge and the opportunity presented before them. 

Ecotech Capital’s team has been actively working with companies in sectors experiencing rapid growth and consolidation caused by technology innovation for over two decades. EcoTech Capital assists industry leaders to better understand how new technologies and innovative business models are poised to impact their operations, and provides advice on ways to partner with or acquire sustainability-oriented businesses.

The CleanTech landscape is very broad, reaching across several trillion-dollar sectors of the economy including energy, food & ag, industrials, mobility & transportation and utilities.  Given that these are some of the least technologically advanced industries, they are ripe for improvements driven by technology. 

Over the past two decades, the CleanTech revolution started with the renewable energy sector, which became a Wall Street darling, and whose meteoric rise was matched only by its swift implosion following the 2008 financial crisis. Since that time, the trend of overhyping the next big CleanTech sector has happened to electric vehicles, energy storage, LED lights, and smart meters, resulting in tremendous amounts of investment being poured into companies at dizzying valuations, which ended in failure for most of them, repeating the experience of the solar sector. However, following the bursting of these bubbles, the next generation of companies in these sectors are geared for success, with business models that are more capital efficient and that have a quicker path to commercial revenue and profitability.

Today, CleanTech companies are better positioned for success than ever before. There are plenty of companies that have grown rapidly and have business models that are focused on achieving positive cash flow.  At the same time, consumers are demanding more sustainable products, policies and services. With almost two decades of experience covering the CleanTech sector, and its impact throughout the economy, the EcoTech Capital team has unequalled industry knowledge of, and transaction experience in, all major areas of the CleanTech sector. EcoTech Capital supports companies raising capital as well as pursuing other options such as M&A, strategic partnerships and joint ventures.

Adam Bergman is Managing Director at EcoTech Capital. Adam is a sustainability executive leader with almost two decades investment banking experience in the CleanTech sector. He provides strategic insight and financial direction to senior executives and boards on growth strategies, tactical initiatives and strategic alternatives. As one of the first investment bankers to focus exclusively on CleanTech, Adam is recognized as a leading subject matter expert and is a frequent speaker at industry events and publisher of articles on sustainability.

Adam has built or expanded CleanTech Investment Banking practices at Jefferies, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo. He has extensive transaction experience working on financings and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) globally, including deals in the AgTech & FoodTech, Biomaterials, Energy Efficiency, Energy Storage, Industrial IoT (IIOT), Mobility & Transportation, Renewable Energy, Smart Grid and Water Technology sectors. 

During his time at Wells Fargo, Adam built an industry leading practice by connecting Food & Ag executives with FoodTech & AgTech executives and investors as means to create an ecosystem to help drive adoption of technology and innovation throughout the broad Food & Ag value chain. Additionally, Adam established the AgTech cohort for Wells Fargo’s innovation incubator (IN2), which was launched at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, MO, in 2018. 

Over the past 20+ years, Adam has worked for leading global investment banks, including Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, JPMorgan, Rothschild, UBS and Wells Fargo, and has covered the CleanTech, Technology, Industrial and Healthcare sectors. 

Adam has a B.A. in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Additionally, he holds an M.A. in International Development from the International University of Japan.