vicki knott

I recently recorded a podcast where I was relayed a comment from a third party executive in the midstream sector. Their comment was that innovative new companies, like @CruxOcm should target failing businesses as their first customers. This is backwards and I’m surprised that executive is an executive, failing businesses are failing because they have not adapted and in my experience, tend to double down on whats not working rather than embrace the new, further advancing their plight. Blockbuster or Kodak are just 2 of many examples. Debating sluthing who this executive is cause I def do not want to be a shareholder in that O&G company.

My neighbor recently proudly proclaimed they were now "100% electric" - but here's the reality check from California's energy landscape. When my neighbor boasted about going all-electric, I couldn't help but do the math. California's electricity grid is still 50% powered by natural gas. So that "100% electric" claim? More like "50% fossil fuel-powered" with good intentions. In our household, we've made a pragmatic choice. We're keeping our natural gas furnace because: Direct natural gas heating is more efficient. We avoid energy conversion losses. Our current infrastructure makes this the most practical low-emission choice Fact Check: ✅ California's electricity mix (2021):50% Natural Gas 34% Renewable sources 16% Other sources The state's ambitious goal: 100% zero-carbon electricity by 2045. But until then, "100% electric" is more marketing than meaningful environmental impact. Pro tip: Real sustainability is about smart choices, not just trendy declarations

That was an inspiring 48hrs with the fellows of this years @theC100! Connections made. Core memories formed.

@NaveenP314 like it more than perplexity?

Must Have!

@CendanaCapital @CruxOcm Thanks for the amazing many times over support @CendanaCapital !!

It's not often that we at @CendanaCapital have 3 portfolio funds invested in the same company, but when we do, it's a very strong signal! @knottv and @CruxOcm are using AI to optimize control rooms for companies that are critical to energy infrastructure⚡ We are very happy to be a direct investor, alongside our portfolio funds @rootvc, @GoldenVentures and @AngularVentures 💥 worldpipelines.com/business-news/…

@MKRocks @CendanaCapital @CruxOcm Glad to be part of the @CendanaCapital family so many times 🤣 such amazing support from you all. Founders - if you can get these folks on your Cap table even once, do it!

It's not often that we at @CendanaCapital have 3 portfolio funds invested in the same company, but when we do, it's a very strong signal! @knottv and @CruxOcm are using AI to optimize control rooms for companies that are critical to energy infrastructure⚡ We are very happy to be a direct investor, alongside our portfolio funds @rootvc, @GoldenVentures and @AngularVentures 💥 worldpipelines.com/business-news/…

what i wish someone had told me: blog.samaltman.com/what-i-wish-so…

@oilmutt Safety first friends!

Outside of Carlsbad, So glad to see he said everyone got out okay. 🙏

@fintechjunkie There are cannon battles to be had in the energy sector.

Does a startup’s product have to be 10X better than existing options to take-off? Many times the answer is “yes” but the answer can be “no” in ecosystems that are busy fighting “cannon battles”. Startups win cannon battles when they have a product that’s a little better than their competitors’ products and being a little better matters a lot to their customers! Let’s step back in history to the “Age of Sail”, a time in the 16th and 17th centuries when naval battles progressed from “grapple and board” combat tactics to battles resolved by “floating artillery.” The most advanced weapon of the time was the cannon and for nearly 200 years massive investments were made in its design and use. The reason for this is fairly obvious but worth stating: If one ship had cannons that fired a small percent farther than those of another, it should win ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the battles between them. Minor improvements led to devastating advantage and therefore justified investment in continuous improvement. Rinse and repeat. This is true for many segments of the financial services ecosystem. Lending businesses are a good example of the cannon battle concept. Small advantages can literally suck the oxygen out of a market and create havoc for the competitive landscape. And the why is obvious: Because financial products exist in a world of increasingly near perfect information and good customers behave rationally. I’ve observed this effect time and time again in my 30+ year career building and funding financial services companies and I can say without a doubt that the cannon effect is more present than one would initially think. Which brings us to the moral of the story. Ask yourself how important small improvements in price or service are to your prospective customers. The more important they are the more likely you’re entering into a cannon battle. And when fighting a cannon battle, if you can’t definitively say that a rational customer would pick your product when faced with perfect information then you might as well give up before you start. Why get into a battle you know you can’t win?

@FounderEric Canada also needs Angle Investor training so that new Angle Investors aren’t learning off the backs of founders 😊

Canada needs more angel investors.

@kane Equity restored.

@kane A win for the kids with dyscalculia who can’t do simple math but crush at algebra.

SF public schools bringing back basic math classes, but it’s incredibly sad that progressives intellectually kneecapped a whole generation of kids in the name of “equity”

I’m in #Israel 🇮🇱 for @unherd as war with #Hamas intensifies. Follow me for updates from the ground. This am I attended a session where Israel is releasing “raw footage” of the 7th October massacres. Devices were banned from the initial session. Here is my report. THREAD

How wonderfully insane is Israel? 🇮🇱 Muslim Bedouin IDF soldiers on their way to Gaza to show Hamas they picked on the wrong nation. Singing in native Arabic on their ride. Stay safe brothers!

No words. The Heartbreaking Situation in Israel Gil Dibner This newsletter (and Angular Ventures as a firm) is committed to ambitious world-changing innovation in Europe and Israel. We try to keep politics out of our work and out of this newsletter. No one signed up to this newsletter to read our opinions on global affairs. The events of the past three days, however, have been so overwhelming that we can not continue with business as usual. On Saturday, we were all witness to one of the most horrific deliberate attacks on civilians in recent memory. It took place in Southern Israel, and its scale was so massive that nearly everyone in Israel (or anyone who knows enough Israelis) knows someone who was directly affected. As a firm, we have invested in 19 Israeli companies. Everyone is affected. On Monday, I learned that the nephew of one of our CEOs was killed in combat. Earlier that same day, I learned that the son of one of the VCs I most admire in Israel was killed in combat. At least two of our CEOs are on active duty in reserve combat units. Another founder, an American, told me that one of his relatives was severely injured (but expected to recover) and that one of his relatives is returning to Israel to rejoin his reserve unit. Several of our founders and many of their employees are serving in the reserves, risking their lives to defend their families. Every Israeli civilian and parent is spending these days aware that rockets are being fired at them and that terrorists are seeking to harm them. The scale of the human tragedy that is unfolding is nearly unimaginable, but for anyone who has seen the videos, heard the testimonies, and spoken with those affected - it is all too real. There are no words to capture this level of pain. Our hearts go out to our Israeli friends and families. I am not a political analyst, but there is every reason to expect that the war that broke out over the weekend will last for some time and will lead to more suffering on both sides. I pray it will be shorter than I fear it is likely to be. I pray it will be less costly than I know it is likely to be. Things will get darker for a while. Despite the scale of the pain and the depth of the tragedy, Israel (and Israeli tech) will recover from this. The incredible success of Israeli high-tech is not a random event. It is rooted deep in a culture of innovation, adaptability, teamwork, and resilience against impossible odds. These qualities will lead Israel through the very dark days to come and - ultimately - out the other side. As an American, Israeli, and now honorary European VC, I have the unique privilege of working across cultures. I want to share a note from a German CEO I worked with some years ago. He emailed me today: “I just want to take a moment to express my deepest sympathy in this horrific moment for your country. Seeing the atrocities done to your people leaves me shocked and speechless. They remind me of what nine decades ago, my country did to your people, bringing tears to my eyes. …just know that you, your people and your country have my everlasting sympathy, admiration and support. I deeply hope that your loved ones are safe and that Israel will be able to stop this horror very soon.” Amen.  Between Hebrew speakers, when one discusses a tragedy or a great sadness, it is common to use the expression: “sheloh tedah.” It translates roughly to: “may you not know (such sadness).” That is my wish for everyone reading this, whether you are in Israel or anywhere else. May we never again know such sadness and pain as we know today. Gil

Currently underway in the ICC Hall, the session 'Predicting the Energy Jobs of the Future: Levelling Up Your Skillset in the Artificial Intelligence Era' is in full swing at the Future Leaders Programme.

Best back stage entrance to an energy conference ever. @ADIPECOfficial @ADNOCGroup #ADIPEC2023

The ADIPEC Awards 2023 Future Energy Workforce Development Programme Award has been awarded to @ADNOCGroup and SLB. Congratulations!

Fantastic evening and an honour to present with Samantha Gross, The Brookings Institution, the @ADIPECOfficial award for Future Energy Workforce Development Program to @ADNOCGroup and SLB for their Energy Futures Initiative: Pioneering Innovation in Future Talent Development