The highlight of our year: ZC Portfolio Day

At Zero Carbon Capital, we know that building truly impactful companies takes more than just financial capital. While we spend most of the year working closely with our startups individually, something magical happens when everyone comes together.

Yesterday, we hosted our third annual Portfolio Day, and we are still buzzing from the seeing all our founders in one room.

Our Portfolio Day is designed to give our founders a dedicated space to step away from the daily grind, connect with peers, and learn from world-class experts. This year, we dove deep into the critical human elements of scaling a business: trust, storytelling, and culture.

Learning from the Experts

We were privileged to be joined by three fantastic guest speakers who shared invaluable insights:

Trust as a Strategic Advantage: Joel Chippindale led a thought-provoking session on how founders can actively build and leverage trust as a foundational strategy to accelerate their growth.
The Art of the Hook: Paul Bourne took the stage to workshop storytelling, helping our founders refine their narratives and master the art of creating a hook that resonates with investors, partners, and customers alike.
Building Company Culture: Cherry Swayne guided an interactive roundtable discussion on the intentional design of company culture—a vital ingredient for any rapidly growing climate startup.

The Power of the Founder Community

While the expert sessions were phenomenal, the highlight of the day—as it is every year—was watching our founders interact. This year we dedicated time for our founders to share experience and learnings with each other on: Learning to Lead, Strategic Relationships with Corporates, and Investor Relationship Building.

Founding a climate-tech company is an exhilarating but uniquely challenging journey. Seeing our founders share their experiences so openly, vulnerably, and generously is a powerful reminder of why we do what we do. From trading war stories to offering practical support, there is much to be gained from learning from peers.

A Huge Thank You

This year we were hosted at HSBC Innovation Banking, a massive thank you to the team for being such great hosts and providing the perfect backdrop for our day.

Most importantly, thank you to all of our brilliant founders who brought their energy, passion, and collaborative spirit to make the day so awesome.

We left yesterday feeling more inspired than ever by the collective power of the Zero Carbon Capital portfolio. Together, we aren't just building businesses—we are building the future.

Want to learn more about our portfolio? Explore our companies here.

Industrial decarbonisation has a heat problem. The grid has a waste problem. Exergy3 just raised £10M to solve both. ›

Risk to capital

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Zero Carbon Capital Limited is an appointed representative of Sapphire Capital Partners LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Sapphire Capital Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number 565716). Registered office: 28 Deramore Park, Belfast, BT9 5JU, United Kingdom.

Zero Carbon Capital Limited is registered in England and Wales (Company Number 12028532). Registered office: Lake House, 2 Port Way, Port Solent, Portsmouth, PO6 4TY, United Kingdom. Firm Reference Number 916588. Sapphire Capital Partners LLP is responsible for the regulated activities carried on by Zero Carbon Capital Limited.

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On this website, "we" refers to the combined activities of Zero Carbon Capital Ltd, Sapphire Capital Partners LLP and the funds they advise and manage.

Investments in early-stage and growth companies involve a high degree of risk. Capital is at risk and investors may lose the entirety of their investment. The value of investments and any income derived from them can go down as well as up. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in future.

Where investments are made through arrangements operated by Sapphire Capital Partners LLP under its FCA permissions, eligible claimants may have access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) subject to the FSCS rules and limits. Not all investment activities or losses are covered by the FSCS.

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