Your First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) project is where your climate tech startup is a startup no more. Investors, customers, and even your own team won’t fully believe in your technology until they see it in action at scale. So, how do you get it right?
𝟭. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱
Murphy’s Law is real. FOAK projects never go as planned - delays, supplier failures, site issues, regulatory holdups. How do you prepare?
• Use real-world data: Look at similar completed projects to estimate timelines realistically.
• Double-check your CAPEX assumptions: Costs will be higher than you expect - factor that in from the start.
• Stress-test everything: Bring in external experts to challenge your assumptions and uncover hidden risks.
💡 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘶𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵? 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 4,500 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘥-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘖𝘶𝘳 “𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦” 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥!
𝟮. 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗘𝗣𝗖 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿
Your EPC partner is either your biggest asset or your biggest liability.
• Cheap will cost you more. Prioritize experience and execution capability over the lowest bid.
• Look for aligned incentives. Top EPC firms want to expand their portfolio - if your project can be a flagship, they’ll be more motivated.
• Negotiate a fixed-price contract (if you can). EPCs will try to leave room for cost overruns - don’t let them.
💡 𝘑𝘙 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘚𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘢 500 𝘔𝘞𝘩 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘌𝘗𝘊. 𝘔𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮’𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 - 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘌𝘗𝘊 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦.
𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴
FOAK failures are never about just tech or budgets - they collapse under complexity.
• Simplify reporting. Have clear, standardized, regular updates - no bloated reports.
• Avoid siloed teams. Functional divisions lead to finger-pointing. Instead, create cross-functional execution squads.
• Empower team leads. They should solve problems - not wait for your approval at every turn.
💡 𝘈𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘍𝘖𝘈𝘒, 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦𝘱𝘵 12 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥.
𝗙𝗢𝗔𝗞 𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 - 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸!
Most investors shy away from FOAKs because they fear technology risk. But the real risk is execution.
If you’re planning a FOAK and want to discuss the above framework in depth and detail, let’s connect!