Gabe Cuadra from Powerhouse Ventures

Gabe Cuadra from Powerhouse Ventures

Author: collide. July 22, 2026 Duration: 50:19

Flat load growth is dead, and AI just flipped the whole power sector on its head. Gabe Cuadra of Powerhouse Ventures gets into what that means for founders chasing capital in climate and energy, why algorithms alone never make a real moat, and how to actually pitch an early stage VC without wasting the room. Plus the messy truth about selling into utilities, spotting founder market fit, and why Houston is quietly turning into a place worth building.

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Click here to view the episode transcript.

00:00  Intro
00:45  What keeps a climate investor up at night
01:55  How Powerhouse Ventures invests
05:20  AI, load growth, and a changing grid
08:30  What traction looks like at early stage
10:25  Finding founder market fit
12:00  Houston vs the coasts
18:13  How to pitch early stage VCs
19:18  Why algorithms are never the moat
25:04  The reality of selling into utilities
28:17  Gabe's winding road into energy VC
34:40  Inside the investment process
37:02  Founder red flags
42:21  Standing out when you pitch
43:30  What has him excited next
46:27  The case for Houston
48:50  How to reach out

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They say everything's bigger in Texas, including the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change. That's precisely why Houston has become a surprising epicenter for the global energy transition. In H-Town, the fourth largest city in the United States, a new wave of entrepreneurs is converging, partnering with established industry titans to forge the technologies that will slash emissions and power a low-carbon future. This is the landscape explored in Energytech Startups, a podcast from collide. that goes straight to the source. Hosts Nada Ahmed and Jason Ethier sit down with the very people driving this change-the founders, investors, and innovators who are building companies at the intersection of energy and technology. Each conversation digs into the real work: the engineering breakthroughs, the complex business models, and the hard-won lessons from the front lines of a sector undergoing massive transformation. It’s a direct line to the strategies and stories shaping the future of energy, making this podcast an essential listen for anyone curious about the business and investment dynamics behind building a sustainable world. You’ll hear frank discussions about funding, scaling, and the practical realities of bringing a transformative idea to market, all set against the backdrop of a city historically known for oil and gas now betting big on its own reinvention.
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