This article originally appeared in Forbes Switzerland in October 2024. See original here: Forbes Interview with Gina Domanig (German version)
BUILDING SUSTAINABLE BRIDGES
**25 years ago, Gina Domanig founded Emerald Technology Ventures, the first cleantech venture fund in Europe. Today, the Zurich-based company builds bridges between tech start-ups and industrial corporations – acting as a hybrid between a VC fund and an open innovation consultancy. But the industry is struggling.**
by Klaus Fiala
The VC industry has certainly seen better times, but Gina Domanig remains unfazed. For over 20 years, the American has been leading Emerald Technology Ventures, a Zurich-based venture capital fund specializing in cleantech. During this time, she has experienced several ups and downs, but the current challenges in the VC industry are also unusual for her. “The last 18 months have been brutal,” she says calmly. “Many start-ups that received high valuations during the 2021 boom are now fighting for survival.”
However, Emerald wasn’t really part of the start-up party in recent years. During that time, few investments were made, says Domanig, but they sold several start-ups. “That was fun,” says the investor. But the fund carefully considers when to invest in which companies – and currently, with lower valuations, it is buying significantly more than usual: instead of just three investments, there could be around 15 this year. Currently, there are 37 companies in the portfolio, and Emerald manages €700 million in total, which also includes four mandates. Emerald manages four corporate venture funds for large corporations and has been awarded the contract to manage the Swiss government’s technology fund, which alone includes several hundred million CHF in assets.
3,000 pitch decks (business plans) are submitted to Emerald each year. Of those, only about 15 make it into the portfolio – a process that requires a lot of patience and even more experience. “It’s not that the other 2,985 companies are bad,” explains Domanig. “They might be too early or too late, their valuation is too high, or they need to raise too much capital. It’s not just about whether we like the company.”
Emerald was the first fund of its kind in Europe – but today, the company is far more than a classic VC. Domanig builds bridges between two worlds that could hardly be more different: young, up-and-coming technology companies and established corporations. The fund’s investors are almost exclusively large corporations interested in start-up technology solutions – not just for higher returns but also to solve sustainability challenges or open up new business fields.
“We are almost like an open innovation consultant for large companies while also being a climate technology investor,” explains Domanig. Her task is complex, as it’s not just about money: “Our investors, mostly corporates, are looking for access to solutions that address sustainability challenges or help them develop new business models in the context of the climate transition.”
Today, as in the past, the focus is global. “Our portfolio companies are located all over the world, from Australia to Canada,” explains Domanig. This global perspective is also reflected in her own way of working: travel is a part of Domanig’s daily routine. “On average, I fly once a week. One week, I’m in Zurich, then in New York, Amsterdam, Singapore, or Japan,” she says. A life in airports? For Domanig, it’s not a problem: “It remains exciting because I learn something new every day.” Despite all the internationalism, Zurich remains the anchor point. From here, Domanig leads her team of 57 employees, with around 35 based in Zurich. The rest are spread across offices in Toronto, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Domanig herself embodies the bridge that Emerald aims to build. “I have a finance background, so I’m quickly impressed by the technologies we work with,” she says with a smile. Before becoming an investor, Domanig was with the Swiss industrial company Sulzer, where she led the M&A department. The transformation from a financial manager to a cleantech expert reflects her passion for the intersection of technology and environmental awareness: “Our initial strategy was to focus on sustainability – long before it became a trend,” she explains.
But it wasn’t always easy. After the financial crisis of 2008, many cleantech investors became more cautious; the term cleantech temporarily disappeared from focus. “Now everyone is talking about ‘climate tech,’ but our focus has remained the same: financial returns within the framework of sustainable technologies,” says Domanig.
Today, the key question for her is: how can we help corporates adopt technologies faster? Start-ups often have solutions, but without the support of large corporations, they may not achieve breakthroughs. Domanig: “It’s not enough to just send a list of start-ups to a company. We need to actively promote collaboration.” Because successful collaboration between young and established companies is by no means easy: “There is a clear cultural gap between these two worlds. The big challenge is overcoming that gap and achieving real results. Our goal is to build bridges and help both sides.”
Building that bridge is an art in itself. “Some corporates want to do everything themselves, while others are looking for a hybrid solution. There is no single way to bring innovation into a company,” says Domanig, emphasizing how important it is for companies to adapt their strategy and understand that collaboration with start-ups is more than just an investment. “Our experience shows that start-ups are successful when they receive support – not just financially, but also through strategic partnerships.”
But it’s not just the industry that’s changing; the spirit of the times is too. When Emerald started, hardly anyone understood the concept. “There were a few lean years,” says Domanig. “Our first fund was still called Sustainability, but no one knew what that meant. After the financial crisis, cleantech became a ‘dirty word’ in the USA because many investors lost money.” Today, people prefer to talk about climate tech.
Despite her success, Domanig remains realistic: climate change does not tolerate delay. “We don’t have time to think too long. We need to implement solutions now,” she says emphatically. But she remains pragmatic: “It would be nice if we could simply stop flying, but that’s not realistic. We need to develop innovations that allow people to continue living as they do now – just more sustainably.”
More from Gina Domanig:
Dedicated to sustainable prosperity; an interview with Gina Domanig