Tofu 2022: A Year of Connections
2022 was a big year for Tofu!
Not only for the community but also for the 300+ climate marketers and founders who joined us this year. Many members transitioned into climate, while others massively expanded their impact. All in all, it was a year of action to build connections and share perspectives and experiences while working toward making climate tech universal through the power of a brand, marketing, and storytelling.
In this last Tofu of the year, we wanted to highlight milestones from the community. Looking back made us eternally grateful for this community and recharged our batteries for 2023.
Here are some of our favorite moments in the community:
Having the first in-person meetups in Berlin, Warsaw, London, Portland, and San Jose.
Topics & questions that sparked inspired conversations on Tofu Slack:
🧐 Allison looked for the best ways to analyze specific companies’ climate risk/exposure.
🎪 James tried to source sustainable vendors for giving away swag for his first post-COVID tradeshow.
📒 Taylor and Deanna debated the use of subdomains versus subdirectories for one of Taylor’s pro-bono consulting clients.
🏎 In response to Ted’s ask for CAD/Autodesk illustrator recommendations, Dave shared an impressive process they’ve implemented at 75F.
📊 Ian asked if anyone had seen good examples of visualizing/communicating CO2 amounts for consumers.
🐦 James at Liminal asked if climate tech startups should re-think their presence on Twitter. Andrew of Recurrent Auto suggested that this view may be a slippery slope, especially when finding marketing channels 100% aligned with our values is hard. In contrast, Dave countered and called for hosting the first sustainability-focused mastodon instance.
💸 Matt shared an investor database with over 600+ incubators, accelerators, and VCs driving climate startups forward.
The community collectively powered 50+ intros to climate tech jobs and freelancing opportunities.
We hosted a Q&A on Intellectual Property (IP) rights with Drew Smith, Founder of Resonate IP. We chatted about intellectual property (IP), when you should start considering protecting your IP, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and how to take the first steps. Read the summary here.
We also like to give a shoutout to some of the most active Tofus who lifted everyone this year!
⛪️ Kathrin Bussman, for being a founding Tofu member. She wrote a guest blog for cleantech businesses looking to go global and continues to share her highly insightful podcast, The Wordly Marketer.
👮🏻Amy Yanow Fairbanks for keeping the community abreast of the latest opportunities in climate tech.
⚙️ Dave of 75F and Ted Dillon at Clean Energy Ventures for regularly chipping in on some of the most complex questions around tech stack and scaling businesses.
👯♀️ Natalie Lavery for being the perfect friend of Tofu and encouraging many climate marketers to join!
👩❤️💋👩The countless members who opted for a paid subscription to support the community and access premium content.
You all make it worthwhile for everyone at Tofu ♥️
Finally, these are the five most loved Tofu Substack posts in 2022. Bookmark them for your winter reads:
✍️ Repurpose with Purpose - Content Marketing in Climate Tech
📈 Go-to-Market Strategy vs. Marketing Strategy
🔥 8 Types of Sustainability Theatre- and how climate tech companies can avoid them
👩🏾💼How to Get a Role in Climate Tech Marketing
🤝 When to Hire an In-House Marketer vs. a Marketing Agency vs. Freelancer(s)
As we look to 2023, we’re curious to hear your top three marketing priorities for the new year. Join the discussion in Slack and let us know here.
Thank you for being a Tofu supporter!
We will be back in 2023 with more insights and views on climate tech marketing, member-only events, and offline meetups worldwide!
Until then, happy holidays!
With love,
Mel & Bettina