#151 Winning Grants w/ AI, The Palo Alto Effect, Expanding Your TAM, & More w/ Helena Merk (Streamline Climate)

CleanTechies Podcast

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There are a plethora of national and local grants available to help companies solving the climate problem, but landing one is a herculean effort. Writing them takes months and can result in absolutely nothing. Half of the battle is picking the right grant to apply for. Well, Helena Merk and her team at Streamline Climate are solving that.
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Their AI powered tech helps companies identify which grants to apply for and then helps them land them by ensuring every t is cross and i dotted.
Aside from telling us what they are doing, we also got to hear the story of how Helena met her co-founder Douglas Qian and how growing up in Palo Alto impacted her career decisions, among other things.
Enjoy the episode! 🌱🌎
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Topics:
**3:03 Crash Course on Grants
**5:57 Streamlining the Grant Process
**12:37 Choosing the Right Grants
**19:55 More TAM
**25:33 Finding a Co-Founder
**26:51 GTM Strategies
**42:25 Fundraising Journey
**41:27 VC Funding and Grant Writing
**44:40 Inbound Processes and VC Decision-making
Links:
**Helena Merk | Streamline Climate
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1. #151 Winning Grants w/ AI, The Palo Alto Effect, Expanding Your TAM, & More w/ Helena Merk (Streamline Climate) (00:00:00)

2. Introduction and Overview (00:01:30)

3. Streamline's Mission and Services (00:01:55)

4. Crash Course on Grants (00:03:03)

5. Streamlining the Grant Process (00:05:57)

6. Customer Types (00:11:28)

7. Choosing the Right Grants (00:12:37)

8. Streamline's Business Model (00:14:12)

9. Finding the MVP and Paying Customers (00:14:38)

10. Lessons from Building Spirals (00:16:26)

11. Training the AI Model (00:17:55)

12. Addressable Markets Beyond Grants (00:19:55)

13. Finding a Co-Founder (00:25:33)

14. Go-to-Market Strategies (00:26:51)

15. VC Funding and Grant Writing (00:41:27)

16. Fundraising Journey (00:42:25)

17. Inbound Processes and VC Decision-making (00:44:40)

18. Exciting Announcement! (00:45:30)