DREAMORE, GROW MORE: Green is good!

Sustainability in finance, startups, your life, the WORLD

Author

Davina Kaonohi
August 15, 2024

Welcome to our online community garden!

This is a place for founders/investors/creators/leaders to inspire, learn, and grow.

The theme for this issue is GREEN! It’s our environmental issue.

Not everyone agrees why climate change is happening, but it seems we generally agree our planet is hotter, dryer and wetter.

Here in Los Angeles this week, it was also 4.4 shakier.

If you’re inspired by sustainability and tired of all the ways we waste money, time, or energy: keep scrolling - you’re in the right place.

Dreamore is a female/diversity led recruiting and advisory firm with our proprietary FounderSuccess tool. We’ve built 1000s of startups over the last 30 years, ranking highly on Forbes’ America’s Best Professional Recruiting Firms.

If you need hiring support or strategic startup advice contact us!

Davina and Lydia

 💸 Invest More

There are so many definitions for “green investing” that we wanted to help everyone understand the overall landscape.

What is ESG? Turns out it’s not as defined as we would like.

Many companies in the green/sustainable/ESG universe are not startups but big corporations, and all that implies. ESG (environmental, social, governance) is sometimes used interchangeably with green - but it is actually broader in scope as those three letters imply.

< A favorable ESG score is not always what it seems - so buyer beware!>

Green investments, also known as sustainable or eco-friendly investments, focus on companies and projects that promote sustainability and help climate change.

Sustainable investing is a broader term that encompasses ESG investing, but it also includes other factors such as impact investing and climate investing.

Five main categories for green investing:

Renewable Energy - Investments in wind, solar, hydro, and geothermal energy projects.

Green Bonds - Bonds specifically issued to fund environmentally friendly projects.

Sustainable Agriculture - Investments in organic farming and sustainable food production.

Energy Efficiency - Companies that develop energy-saving technologies and infrastructure.

Clean Technology - Investments in innovations that reduce environmental impact, like electric vehicles and recycling technologies.

Green investing is only ONE slice of the overall Purpose-Driven landscape (sorry not sorry for the gardening pun).

For the sake of our planet, our health and quality of life… green is good.

Grow your own food: worth the investment!

🌍 Connect More

THIS SUNDAY (August 18, 4pm - sunset) is our next monthly Dreamore event for founders, investors, and business leaders. Bring a picnic, enjoy our 10 acre garden and meet others like you. It’s a launch party so we’ll have some special treats!

Save the date for our September 15 themed ALOHA. We are talking to sponsors right now, so if you have a startup product or service that you’d like to promote to the group, let us know!

Other events for founders, women, wellness

Another lovely Dreamore sunset

🎧 Listen More

Our friends and past clients at deepcast.fm are curating an incredible array of podcasts - enjoy one of our favorites here.

As a purpose-driven firm, we are enthusiastic about Finding Your Why!

<giggle> their platform is currently accented with the color green so there’s your thematic tie-in.

The Joy of Why on DeepCast

"The Joy of Why" is a Quanta Magazine podcast about curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge. The mathematician and author Steven Strogatz and the astrophysicist and author Janna Levin take turns interviewing leading researchers about the great scientific and mathematical questions of our time. New episodes are released every other Thursday.

deepcast.fm/podcast/5544/the-joy-of-why

💬 Share More

This Week's Founder Spotlight: MelRose Wild, Founder of Permaculture Capital, Wholeness Technology & Decision Society

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

Walt Disney

Describe your business? I am a serial entrepreneur and banker, currently leading three separate entities, each contributing to a circular economy. My core focus with Permaculture Capital is on Investor Relations & Fundraising, supported by Female Founder Support in Operations & Growth through Decision Society and a commitment to high transparency around SDG/ESGs with Wholeness Technology. Wholeness and Decision not only enhance our fundraising efforts but also ensure that the companies we build are healthier from the start.

What’s your Why? It took me 7 years to transition from the fashion industry through real estate and then into finance, with a lot of pain, sweat, studying and tears, but I persisted and feel great today. I emerged out the other side of that work with more purpose and mission that feels aligned with my ethics and prioritizes my health and the health of others and the planet but maintains skills that I worked hard to attain. It feels pretty magical and I am grateful I didn't give up. 

Why’d you launch your business? I launched because of the efforts I made in fundraising, specially for large private equity cannabis, and the lack of transparency around what was really going on in those 75 companies in the holdings. The need to know exactly how healthy a company is, not just financially but for the people buying from them as well as the environment. It has never mattered to investors more and will only continue to matter later. 

What's a pivotal point that's defined you? Two pivot points that changed everything for us. The first was deciding to leave fashion. I only ever thought I would be in fashion. But when it stopped spiritually filling my cup, I knew I had to do something else. Which was terrifying and exciting. But when nothing is certain, anything is possible! The most recent pivot point has been seeing the interest in wholeness and in building the tool I saw a need for in private equity. We have interest now from companies and funds to use our process. From report partners to quick, efficient and cost effective solutions, so that they can build a company they can be proud of. By doing this work early, companies won't have to solve for these issues in growth mode, pre or post IPO/Acquisition. Which can save millions of dollars. 

What's your challenge? Bad actors in the space overcomplicate processes and price gouge. We're focused on providing cost-effective solutions that build loyalty and community, aligning with SDGs and ESG regulations.

What do you do for fun? I love nature. I spend most of my free time in Nature, hiking, swimming, exploring, learning, skiing and snowboarding, and studying plants. I'm obsessed with botanical wellness. I think when I retire I will become a botanist and herbalist. That's my plan for my late 50s and 60s. After that in my 70s I plan to become an environmental and human rights lawyer. I like to dream about how much I can learn in a single lifetime.

😂 Giggle More

The Other Green Summer. Confused? I was too.

It seems like Brat has accidentally become the soundtrack of a generation— When the Internet suddenly decided that “this is BRAT summer,” a lot of us were scratching our heads, wondering if we missed some kind of memo.

Why Has Brat Become a Cultural Touchstone?

The past few years have had more twists and turns than a rollercoaster. People have been desperate for something that gives them permission to not care—like, at all. Enter Brat, the carefree vibe of living in the moment, even if it’s a mess.

Every Generation Has Its Anthem

It might feel odd to see Brat becoming a symbol of the times. But every generation latches onto something that feels just right for that moment.

Think of the rebellious energy of rock-and-roll and party anthems that made your early 20s a blur of questionable decisions. (cringe.)

Will Brat be a long-lasting legacy or just a fleeting trend? Only time will tell, but as an immortal frog once said…

“It’s not easy being green.”💚

❤️ Remember More

Half of this audience remembers the Malibu Dream House and our previous firm, Apex Direct Search. Some of the best years ever, growing startups and making friends for life.

For the rest of you: wish you’d been there! But glad you’re here now.

It’s “impossible” to have an edition about sustainability and climate change without a respectful nod to the history that brought us here.

The Woolsey fire in 2018 started with sparks from a bad transformer (this is public information) but it was the “winds of climate change” that quickly sped the fire to the ocean. It blew in a straight line to the Malibu Dream House and many other homes like it.

We’ll always be a bit sad over what was lost, but grateful for what we’ve gained, including YOU dear reader.

Sustainability as a concept is not only about the environment.

Sustainability applies to our human relationships, how we spend our time, what we spend our money on, and the way we scale our businesses, too.

Are we constantly consuming, and wasting?

Or are we investing for the long term, creating energy that will last far beyond ourselves?

2016: Malibu Dream House

2018: End of an era, and also a beginning.

🏡 Build More

There’s a very special place just above Dreamore called 69Bravo.

There’s no other firefighting center like this in the world.

In the last four years, we’ve had two dangerous fires in this area. This resource made all the difference; no structures or lives were lost.

Visit their live webcam so you can check the weather at Dreamore anytime!

Now that we’ve cleared coastal, we are ready to entertain investors. Click Build More to access a detailed presentation.

Off grid is definitely eco-friendly!

🤝 Support More

Dreamore is always excited to promote other like-minded founders and companies on this platform!

Your DreamTeam,

Annemarie, Lydia and Davina

dreamore.io