About us

Climate change is here and we must invest in both mitigation AND adaptation

We partner with early-stage companies that can rapidly deploy and scale bold solutions, homing in on software and simple hardware.

We invest for financial results with a commitment to measure climate impact across our portfolio.

As a woman-owned fund, we aim to support and help build diverse teams.

MEET THE TEAM

Built by founders, for founders.

As early-stage investors, we align with you from the very start.

Our drive is not to simply keep you afloat, but to help you best navigate the full depths of your potential.

Amy Francetic

Amy Francetic

Managing General Partner
Co-Founder

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Read Amy's full Bio

Allison Myers

Allison Myers

General Partner
Co-Founder

Lori DeLuca

Lori DeLuca

CFO

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Jacob Gleason

Jacob Gleason

Principal

Laura Dyer

Laura Dyer

Senior Associate

Joanna Taddeo

Joanna Taddeo

Executive Assistant

CORE VALUES

Creating a climate-resilient world where current and future generations flourish and nature is restored

Celebrating authenticity and diversity of ideas, backgrounds and perspectives

Building a firm to last for generations, with a commitment to developing climate-passionate talent across the ecosystem

Trusted steward of investors capital, and trusted partner to CEOs and co-investors

Commitment to curiosity and creativity – always learning, thinking differently

Staying afloat during choppy waters and rebounding from setbacks

Belief that humanity depends on a healthy, natural world

FINANCIAL
IMPACT

+

CLIMATE
IMPACT

Digital Focus

We invest in Seed and Series A companies with digital solutions.

Our digital foundation focus allows for maximal financial & climate impact on our key investment sectors:

BUILT
ENVIRONMENT

food &
agriculture

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

MOBILITY

climate
intelligence

WATER

ENERGY

IMPACT INTENTIONAL

We screen all potential investments for climate impact.

We require that our founders commit to measuring climate impact and diversity across their company.

Mitigation

GHG Emissions reduced/avoided

Waste reduced/avoided

Increased efficiency/output

(e.g., renewable energy, crop yield, electric vehicle usage)

Adaptation

Cost Avoided

Risk assessed/detected

Vulnerabilities decreased

(e.g., flood or fire area protected, increased crop resistance, improved water quality)

In alignment with:

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

We are hands-on partners.

We invest capital, but also, dedicate our time & passion to help grow businesses in the best way possible.

Early Stage

Seed & Series A

Climate Impact

Mitigation & Adaptation

DEI

Diverse teams

Amy Francetic is co-founder and Managing General Partner of Buoyant Ventures, a new venture fund in Chicago with $81M AUM that invests in digital climate solutions for energy, transportation, agriculture, water, and the built environment.

Her career spans over 20 years of high technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Amy previously founded and led Energize Ventures, a $165mm venture fund that invests in digital energy technologies.

She also co-founded and served as CEO of technology accelerator Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly Clean Energy Trust,) which has invested in over 40 early-stage clean energy companies across the Midwestern US. She now serves as Chair of its Board of Directors. Amy also held roles at private equity firm MVC Capital, and at Stanford Research Institute where she worked on an early version of the voice recognition technology that became Siri. Earlier in her career, she was co-founder and CEO of a consumer technology company that was funded by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, and that she sold to the Danish toy company, Lego Systems. Amy also helped fundraise for mobile gaming company, GluMobile, on whose board she served until it went public on the NASDAQ.

In addition to the Evergreen Climate board, Amy serves on the boards of Buoyant Ventures portfolio companies FloodFlash, ReelData, Beni, and Raptor Maps. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the WISER Institute at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 2020 Crain’s recognized her for the third time as one of Chicago’s Top 50 Technology Leaders. In 2019 she was honored by Streetwise as one of the “20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans.” In 2015 she was an Emerging Leader at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs. In 2014 she was awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award from the Executives’ Club of Chicago, and Leading Woman in Technology from the Illinois Technology Association. Amy is a regular lecturer in energy and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago’s Law School. She has a BA from Stanford University.

Amy lives in Lake Forest, IL with her husband and two teenage daughters.