Connecticut Innovations Venture Team Internship | Climate Tech Fund

Connecticut Innovations ("CI")

As Connecticut's strategic venture capital arm and one of the most active investors on the eastern seaboard, CI has a portfolio of 220+ companies across various industries, with strengths in life sciences, technology and Climate Tech. CI meets with hundreds of companies every year, identifying the most promising early-stage companies looking to grow in the state. Every year, CI invests in 20+ new companies, in addition to providing follow-on capital to existing portfolio companies.

• CI has invested $620 million in innovative startups since 1995.
• CI's leveraging power is 9x, or $5.6 billion.

CI invested $42.2 million in 71 companies in the fiscal year (FY 2023) ending June 30, 2023. CI's investments also attracted an additional $454.5 million in outside capital into its portfolio companies. This fiscal year generated $38.2 million in cash proceeds through company exits, which includes acquisitions and IPOs.

During the past two fiscal years, CI officially launched two new funds, the $100 million ClimateTech Fund and the $50 million Future Fund, both of which are actively deploying dollars into early-stage companies. In addition to these new funds, CI launched the Innovation Lab to match and fund pilots between state agency partners and CI's scalable portfolio companies, expediting the pilot-to-procurement process for innovative technologies.

Our culture is vibrant, diverse, collaborative and inclusive. We embrace perspective and have mission alignment on our impact to Connecticut's innovation ecosystem. We host or participate in over 20 ecosystem events per year, and our headquarters at The District in New Haven is a catalyst for partnership and an innovation ecosystem community hub.

CI ClimateTech Fund

Governor Lamont has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 while ensuring vulnerable communities receive investment and are resilient to the impacts of climate change. Connecticut has passed the Clean Air Act, set a 2040 zero emissions target for school buses, passed advanced clean truck standards modeled off California, and more.

Connecticut is taking a macro government strategy to decarbonize, with CI working in tandem with the Connecticut Green Bank, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation, Office of Workforce Strategy, and more.

The CI Climate Tech Fund is a $100 million fund that invests capital and strategic support in early stage and growth companies. The fund is looking to invest in the following areas: Energy, transportation and mobility, food and agriculture, water, climate-related software, waste and circular economy, advanced materials/manufacturing, carbon removal/sequestration and more. The fund invests between $150,000 and $5 million per company and does require co-investment.

Venture Team Internship

An internship with CI is an exciting opportunity to gain valuable venture capital experience in a small team and innovative work environment. You will work collaboratively on lead generation activities tied to new investment opportunities, due diligence activities on companies considered for investment by CI, and portfolio management activities for current investments. There might be opportunities to participate in a think tank based project tied to a specific market vertical that the team is pursuing investments in as part of the Climate Tech Fund Portfolio strategy.

We are seeking MBA and Joint master's degree students with a strong interest in the intersection between venture capital and helping the State of Connecticut meet decarbonization goals. Preference will be given to candidates demonstrating curriculum, research and/or practical experience in technology, engineering, and sustainability, and enrolled in a Connecticut College or University or a resident of Connecticut.

Responsibilities may include:

• Data collection and analysis of portfolio activity
• Cash flow modeling for individual projects, programs, or investments
• Research and document preparation for external and internal stakeholder meetings
• Assistance with initial assessments of applicant's business plans in relation to CI investment criteria
• Assistance with regard to "due diligence" activities to obtain and analyze pertinent information relative to the applicant's management, market, technology, products, competitors, financial history and projections, and business strategy and plan
• Assistance in preparing analyses and presentations to the CI Investment Committee
• Assistance with investment monitoring activities such as financial analysis, market research, etc.
• Participation in lead generation, business development activities

Skills & Competencies

• High personal passion for a fast-developing innovation ecosystem
• Detailed, action-oriented person who takes initiative to follow-up on items
• Project management and organization skills to solicit and follow up on meetings
• Communicate comfortably with a wide range of stakeholders
• Ability to synthesize data into a compelling story
• A seeker and learner mentality and someone that likes to laugh

Connecticut Innovations is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We welcome all candidates to apply regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.