From 2023 to 2024, Climate Tech startups experienced a massive shift in both venture capital funding and recruiting, with go-to-market (GTM) talent acquisition making up a sizable portion of the latter. However, while the sector continues to experience record growth, most companies in the space are still hiring cautiously as seen in the rest of the technology industry.
In this blog, we will dive into the top trends we found impacting recruiting for Climate Tech startups and how they are shaping up over the next year:
Climate Tech Sales in 2024
Clean energy and other subsectors of the environmental technology market saw a gradual increase in investor attention throughout 2023. This is noteworthy, as this space was overlooked by venture capital funds in favor of other SaaS sectors only recently edging into the forefront after about a decade of sitting on the sidelines. Many companies here are far outpacing other parts of tech in recruiting pace, with sales teams taking the top spot for headcount expansion.
However, with all that said, investment still lags behind more disruptive sectors like Generative AI and hiring rates remain relatively slow. Climate Tech startups are still maintaining cautious talent acquisition strategies for the most part, with a large candidate pool available after previous rounds of layoffs by other SaaS companies.
Role in Energy Tech Sector
The climate-based technology subsector holds an increasingly prominent place within Energy Tech, driven largely by growing investments in clean energy methods like carbon capture solutions. Much of the job growth in this market is attributed to these areas, largely due to changes in the political climate (no pun intended) and emerging technologies that create new opportunities for scaling. While this environment makes it easier for new startups to disrupt the current market, it also increases the pressure to stand out among the more established enterprises in the space.
Crafting the Sales Motion for a Climate Tech Startup
A sales motion is, in simplified terms, the underlying strategy for how any organization sells. The Climate Tech industry represents a progressively growing but still ultimately niche market that requires extensive knowledge of a lot of different key pain points, from changing regulations to resource usage. Achieving sales success in the current SaaS landscape necessitates clearly and concisely presenting the actionable benefits of technical functionality, while also defining new benchmarks for sales motions and cultures.
Key to Scaling Revenue – Unicorn Sellers
Most technology companies are on the hunt for their unicorn seller – an experienced sales professional who is already familiar with their sales motion and understands the technical aspects of the product well enough to bridge the informational gap with prospects. Their impact is not just tied to driving volume, but also to their ability to take a strategic approach to closing deals in a market where buying cycles are often cautious and heavily vetted.
Climate Tech Startup Recruiting Trends
Many of the top trends we found impacting GTM recruiting in Climate Tech are reflective of those in other technology sectors, but adapted to this space’s unique challenges and growth factors. For example, while most startups are still looking for their unicorn seller, many of those are also bringing on entry-level go-to-market talent even as other industries slow down hiring. The other top developments we found often speak to this dual reality of fast growth and resilience balanced against caution in this space.
Hiring for Sales Unicorns
Sustainable energy startups need their tech sales unicorns just like any other SaaS company, but as the market moves to its highest level of commercialization to date, we have seen that many are still committed to building out their entire GTM teams. However, Climate Tech firms must be mindful of the skill and experience gap among the available talent pool for GTM positions, especially after last year’s layoffs, which prompted several candidates to “migrate” from other technology sectors. Relying on traditional recruiting methods like job boards will make sourcing a unicorn seller more challenging without a way to better define the vetting process.
Tech Specialists Required
Despite the drive to build out go-to-market teams, the sustainable energy sector is also seeking to hire for technical roles, and many startups are prioritizing specialists in nearly every category.This carries over into GTM recruiting as well as into the hunt for unicorn sellers, where an overlapping focus from both camps is a technical seller experienced in Climate Tech solutions. These are typically Sales Engineers or a similar role, who leverage their expertise not only for explaining feature details, but also help qualify prospects and tailor a solution for their needs, refining the sales process and making it more likely to close successfully.
Fewer Remote Jobs in Climate Tech
There has been a growing return-to-office (RTO) push across the technology industry over the past couple of years, but Climate Tech is noteworthy in this becoming a standard for many roles. Whereas companies in other sub sectors have often retained hybrid setups, startups in the environmental technology space require that most GTM positions be in-office.
Growth of Support SaaS in Energy Tech
A notable trend is the rise of SaaS products that support the sustainable energy market, ranging from logistics and data tracking to compliance enablement. These companies are among the most active recruiters in Climate Tech, often expanding and hiring at even higher rates than firms in other areas.
Find Your Climate Tech Unicorn with Betts Recruiting
The dynamic nature of the sustainable technology sector demands a strategic approach to talent acquisition, especially for GTM roles. With Betts Recruiting and our new Comp Engine, you can gain real-time insights into compensation trends and the available talent pool, helping you source top-tier candidates who will drive your growth and help you scale faster. Sign up for the Comp Engine here and gain access to real-time salary data that will help you find your unicorn seller for Climate Tech faster.