Survey Results, Pt. 1 - The Findings
PART 1
As you know from our last post, the team at VertueLab has been hard at work listening and learning over the past few months. You may have seen and participated in the survey we sent out to get a better understanding of our community and stakeholders, getting a sense of VertueLab’s existing strengths and weaknesses. In this first of two posts, we share some of our learnings, what you told us and how we are taking this feedback in to help us steer how we work. In the second post, we will augment this data with our research across the climate tech sector in the region, including our observations on policy, funding, tech innovation and climate justice. These data sets together form the basis of our emerging organizational strategy.
Survey Participants Breakdown:
We had 128 unique participants engage with our survey. Out of 128 participants, 20% had participated in a VertueLab program while 21% indicated they were a funder, investor or partner of VertueLab. 20% of the respondents had previously attended a VertueLab event and the remainder indicated they were an email list subscriber.
In terms of the demographic information of our survey participants, 50% of respondents identified as Male, 41% female, 6% preferred not to answer and 3% identified as non-binary.
For Race and Ethnicity, 50% preferred not to answer while 42% identified as white/caucasian/European.
With only 8% of the survey participants indicating they were non-white and 50% of the respondents preferring not to answer, we see there is a huge gap in data reflective of the needs and perspectives of underrepresented founders, entrepreneurs, funders, investors, and community members. To address this, we are engaging in focus group interviews and research this quarter to ensure we have actionable insights and feedback from those who are underserved in climate tech to inform our work moving forward.
The Feedback We Received:
Below is what we heard from our survey participants and the ways we are interpreting this feedback as we move forward into our next phase of organizational learning and transformation:
What we’re getting right:
It's heartening to hear that some of the things we're doing are hitting the right notes. Whether it's our Federally Funding Assistance support, our historic expertise and knowledge in climate impact assessment or the role we have played as a funding catalyst in the climate tech ecosystem to date, your thumbs-up lets us know we're on the right track. Below are some key quotes about the positive impact VertueLab has made thus far.
“VertueLab not only provides financial support, but also provides a full range of support services such as startup accelerators, technology evaluation and consulting. This enables innovative enterprises to receive more comprehensive help, from technology development to commercialization, from strategic planning to market channels, professional guidance and support.”
“The ability to help organizations measure their impact analytically, to provide assistance when navigating government grants and programs (e.g. SBIR), and the willingness to connect with regional (PNW) companies well-aligned for a particular project (advisory, investment, supply chain, etc.)”
“Overall, VertueLab's program offerings have made a positive contribution to the clean tech industry, and I look forward to seeing continued innovation and growth in their offerings.”
“I value {VertueLab’s} ability to serve innovators working on a wide breadth of technologies that aim to solve the climate crisis. Federal funding assistance has been very impactful as well.”
Where we can grow:
We are constantly learning and growing and this survey confirmed it – we've got some areas where we can do better. Your suggestions and critiques are not taken lightly and have been shared with our entire team. How we communicate, how we support underrepresented founders and overburdened communities, how we differentiate ourselves and sustain as an organization were all growth areas identified.
We're listening, and we're committed to evolving our work based on your feedback. Below are key quotes that best illustrate the areas of growth for VertueLab flagged.
“{VertueLab} needs to communicate with clarity their vision, services and impact.”
“{VertueLab} needs to solidify its value proposition for entrepreneurs, making itself relevant in the national climate tech ecosystem, and expanding corporate partnerships. They need to prioritize their value prop for underrepresented entrepreneurs without duplicating services already in the ecosystem for underrepresented entrepreneurs (ie orgs that serve construction contractors)”
“Differentiation in a rapidly changing environment of climate tech investors, funders and technical assistance providers.”
“‘Clean Tech’ is an expanding field - too large for an organization to be expert in everything. I recommend carving out a niche in which VertueLab can become the recognized, de facto expert.”
“Frontline community/Just transition work is important and there are a lot of culturally specific and/or climate justice organizations in Portland who could serve as partners in this work rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.”
“Deepen collaborations and partnerships across industry, the existing climate tech ecosystem and communities.”
“Working more closely with government through advancing supportive policies for Climate Tech and partnering in the execution of existing policies.”
“Promote social innovation and the development of social enterprises.”
“Provide more business partner and supply chain support.”
Many thanks to all who participated in our survey. We are deeply grateful for your engagement, and for taking the time to share these valuable experiences and insights with us. We are excited to share more of our journey with you, so stay tuned for the next post!
