Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures

Create exciting new products and build successful companies in the climate and energy sectors

In Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures: 24 Steps to Build Solutions for People and the Planet, veteran entrepreneur Bill Aulet, climate tech expert Ben Soltoff, and the faculty behind MIT's Climate & Energy Ventures course, Tod Hynes, Francis O'Sullivan, and Libby Wayman, deliver a comprehensive discussion of how to bring your climate or energy startup/venture to life.

You'll learn how to create a successful climate and energy venture using the authors' effective, 24-step framework that you can apply to your entrepreneurial idea, taking much of the guesswork and uncertainty out of your business journey. The book offers a precise, scientific approach to entrepreneurship and proves that effective entrepreneurship is more about the careful application of data and science than it is an exercise in blind intuition.

You'll find:

• A step-by-step guide to starting your new climate or energy venture offering a clear, systematic path to profitability
• Instructions on building and scaling your new firm and meeting your entrepreneurial ambitions
• Templates, tools, techniques, and strategies for climate and energy entrepreneurs at every stage of their business' growth, from initial idea to globally scaled solution

Perfect for aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs, founders, and managers in the climate, energy, and environment sectors, Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures is an expert guide for professionals ready to level-up their entrepreneurial skills and achieve a positive impact on people and the planet.

Ben Soltoff is an Entrepreneur in Residence and the Ecosystem-Builder in Residence at the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. He has extensive experience in the area of climate technology and was previously the Environmental Innovation Manager at the Yale Center for Business and the Environment as well as an Innovation Fellow at the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale.

Bill Aulet is the Ethernet Inventors Professor of the Practice of Entrepreneurship at MIT Sloan School of Management and the Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. He has over 45 years’ experience in entrepreneurship and business. He is a bestselling author and an award-winning educator.

Tod Hynes is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and a co-founder and long-time instructor in the MIT Climate and Energy Ventures course at MIT. He has been working, investing, volunteering, and advising in climate and clean energy since 2002. In 2008, he founded XL Hybrids and served as CEO for 11 years. The company went public in 2020 as XL Fleet and today is Spruce Power.

Francis O'Sullivan is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and long-time instructor in the MIT Climate and Energy Ventures course at MIT. He holds a PhD from MIT and was the Director of Research for the MIT Energy Initiative where he authored numerous seminal reports. His industry work experience includes senior positions at McKinsey, Ørsted and currently as Managing Director at S2G Investments.

Libby Wayman is a Senior Lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management and long-time instructor in the MIT Climate and Energy Ventures course at MIT. She holds a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Her industry and government work experience includes Sun Power, Alion, the U.S. Department of Energy, and General Electric (GE), and she is currently a Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

24 STEPS TO SUCCESS!

In 2013, the release of the first Disciplined Entrepreneurship (DE) book fundamentally changed the field of entrepreneurship. It took the seemingly black magic art of creating a new company and demystified it. The DE approach showed that entrepreneurship is not an art or a science but a craft, and it made that craft accessible to millions. It captured the complexity required to successfully launch a new venture but also broke the process down into concrete fundamentals, with a prescriptive and now famous map of how to sequence them. It rejected the notion that great entrepreneurs are born instead of taught and gave a clear blueprint to prove that anyone can learn to be an entrepreneur.

This new book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures: 24 Steps to Build Solutions for People and the Planet (DE4CEV), builds off the original and takes on the most daunting challenge of our generation. Energy and climate entrepreneurship is a riddle with even more complexity, as well as enormous opportunity and benefits to society. The original author, Bill Aulet, has joined forces with climate technology expert Ben Soltoff and the long-term instructors of the iconic course at MIT on this topic, Tod Hynes, Francis O’Sullivan, and Libby Wayman, to deliver a comprehensive, customized, hands-on framework for transforming your climate or energy idea into a profitable and scalable business.

DE4CEV is perfect for both aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs and innovators who are interested in contributing to the field of energy and climate, not only through startups but also through big companies, government, nonprofits and investment firms. The book makes explicit the practical actions you need to take today, tomorrow, and the next day to systematically build your solution, scale your venture, and accomplish your entrepreneurial, societal, and environmental goals.

PRAISE FOR DISCIPLINED ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY VENTURES

“The energy system is challenged simultaneously to deliver reliably and affordably while minimizing emissions and serving the needs of investors. Technology and business model innovation are the essential tools for meeting this complex challenge, and MIT’s Climate and Energy Ventures class has, from its inception, supported and developed entrepreneurs whose success we all depend on. This book captures the insights gained over fifteen years by faculty and students alike and, as such, provides an invaluable guide to those who will build the clean energy economy.”
—Ernie Moniz, Former U.S. Secretary of Energy

“Addressing the closely coupled climate and energy challenge is the moral imperative and economic opportunity of our generation. I have watched the MIT climate and energy entrepreneurial ecosystem from its start and as it has successfully grown well beyond MIT. I know that at the core of its success have been rigorous frameworks to bring research to market. This book describes the MIT model in ways that should be useful to all current and aspiring innovators in this field.”
—Susan Hockfield, President Emerita, MIT

“There is no pathway or prescription to successfully address climate change, nor energy security, economic and environmental well-being without energy innovation. This book makes accessible to everyone proven, actionable, entrepreneurial strategies arising from one of the world’s greatest epicenters of innovation. I highly recommend it to all.”
—Andy Karsner, Former Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy, Current Member of Board of Directors, Exxon Mobil, Managing Partner, Emerson Collective

“Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures is more than a guide—it’s a catalyst for action. What sets this book apart is its tailored focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within the climate and energy sectors.”
—Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO, Greentown Labs

“Through my personal journey in building companies and supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs, I know that the learnings are hard won, and the journey can feel lonely. This book captures best practices that I hope every entrepreneur can benefit from to accelerate their progress and build world-changing companies.”
—Carmichael Roberts, PhD, serial co-founder of multiple deep tech companies, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Material Impact, Co-Lead, Investment Committee of Breakthrough Energy Ventures

“The energy system is challenged simultaneously to deliver reliably and affordably while minimizing emissions and serving the needs of investors. Technology and business model innovation are the essential tools for meeting this complex challenge, and MIT’s Climate and Energy Ventures class has, from its inception, supported and developed entrepreneurs whose success we all depend on. This book captures the insights gained over fifteen years by faculty and students alike and, as such, provides an invaluable guide to those who will build the clean energy economy.”
—Ernie Moniz, Former US Secretary of Energy

“There is no pathway or prescription to successfully address climate change, nor energy security, economic and environmental well-being without energy innovation. This book makes accessible to everyone proven, actionable, entrepreneurial strategies arising from one of the world’s greatest epicenters of innovation. I highly recommend it to all."
—Andy Karsner, Former Under Secretary, US Department of Energy, Current Member of Board of Directors, Exxon Mobil, Managing Partner, Emerson Collective

“Addressing the closely coupled Climate and Energy challenge is the moral imperative and economic opportunity of our generation. I have watched the MIT climate and energy entrepreneurial ecosystem from its start and as it has successfully grown well beyond MIT. I know that at the core of its success have been rigorous frameworks to bring research to market. This book describes the MIT model in ways that should be useful to all current and aspiring innovators in this field.”
—Susan Hockfield, President Emerita, MIT

“Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures is more than a guide—it’s a catalyst for action. What sets this book apart is its tailored focus on the unique challenges and opportunities within the climate and energy sectors. It’s an empowering blueprint for anyone committed to harnessing entrepreneurship as a force for meaningful, lasting change.”
—Georgina Campbell Flatter, CEO, Greentown Labs

“Through my personal journey in building companies and supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs, I know that the learnings are hard won, and the journey can feel lonely. This book captures best practices that I hope every entrepreneur can benefit from to accelerate their progress and build world-changing companies.”
—Carmichael Roberts, PhD, and serial co-founder of multiple deep tech companies, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Material Impact

“What I learned in the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework has helped me found and build two successful climate and energy companies. This framework has been my road map, and I can’t recommend it highly enough as a reference book for climate tech entrepreneurs.”
—Alex Wright-Gladstein, CEO and Founder of Sphere, Co-Founder of Ayar Labs

“At Breakthrough Energy, we’ve learned that building and deploying reliable, affordable, and clean energy solutions takes more than just good technology. It also takes teams with focus, humility, and grit. This book distills hard-earned wisdom into a guide that is both practical and inspiring for anyone working to build the next generation of transformative energy ventures that the world will rely on for decades, even centuries, to come.”
—Rodi Guidero, Executive Director, Breakthrough Energy

“People often say that there is no ‘playbook’ for building new ventures in the climate & energy space. That changes today with the arrival of this singular new book that distills the hard-won lessons learned in the trenches over the last almost 20 years by the teaching team at MIT’s Climate & Energy Ventures course. A bible for aspiring entrepreneurs who want to save the planet and make a lot of money while they’re at it.”
—David Danielson, Former Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, USDepartment of Energy, Co-Founder, ARPA-E, Founder of MIT Energy Club and MIT Energy Conference

“In my quest to address the dual challenge, I have looked far and wide to find the best methodology. I found it in this Disciplined Entrepreneurship approach, and we have successfully brought it to Texas. I strongly believe it should be adopted globally, and we intend to help facilitate this.”
—David Baldwin, Partner at SCF Partners, Co-Founder of OpenMinds and TEX-E

“When I launched my energy startup Kurion—later acquired by Veolia—I faced countless challenges. The frameworks now clearly laid out in this book were my guideposts, giving me the confidence and structure to reach both success and impact. After years of working closely with founders from zero to exit, the authors have distilled their insights into this invaluable resource, tailored towards energy ventures. I can’t recommend this highly enough.”
—Gaëtan Bonhomme, PhD, Co-Founder & CTO, Kurion, Partner, Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe

“It was the Climate and Energy Ventures class at MIT that showed me that there was a systematic way to build and evaluate these types of companies. These lenses, as well as the discussions in the classes, have been invaluable to me as a global investor with a focus on sustainability and impact investing for the last 15+ years.”
—Shahazwan (Juan) Harris, Head of Strategic Investments, EPF Malaysia, Former Executive Director, Investments, Khazanah Fund (Malaysia)

“I’m not sure my start-up company would have made it without these frameworks—but I know for certain it wouldn’t have achieved the same level of success. The prescriptive, actionable guidance in this book is unmatched for anyone building a climate or energy company. For me, Disciplined Entrepreneurship was a true north star.”
—Oliver Stahl, Founder and CEO, Entelios AG

“This book is a call to action for the next generation of innovators poised to lead the energy transition, and this book should become the Bible for all that want to join the crusade. In Houston—the energy capital of the world—the stakes are especially high. But so are the opportunities. We need leaders who can navigate both the technical and commercial challenges of building transformative solutions. At TEX-E, we’ve seen firsthand how critical it is to equip young entrepreneurs with the right tools, frameworks, and mindset to tackle these challenges. Whether you’re in a university lab, a startup incubator, or a garage with a big idea, this book will help you translate your vision into venture. I recommend it to anyone serious about making a lasting impact in the energy space.”
—David Pruner, Executive Chairman, TEX-E

"As a passionate government and then corporate advocate for sustainability, it is my fervent desire that rigorous and systematic approaches like this be adopted globally as quickly as possible. It will not just help preserve the planet but also create significant concurrent, economic prosperity. These two do not have to be at odds with each other, as this book shows."
—Brune Poirson, Former Secretary of State and Minister of Parliament, Government of France