This Entrepreneur Raised $110 Million To Make Crypto Green

Thomas Puskas is now on his third startup. A clean energy company that is using tokenization to ensure we have plenty of fresh air to breathe. 

On the Dealmakers Show Puskas shared how he moved into the renewable energy space, has been using tokenization to raise capital for his latest of three startups, and where he sees the future going. 

Make sure you check out the full interview for how to get in touch with this growing company that is still hiring. 

Listen to the full podcast episode and review the transcript here.

Solving Waste & Energy Issues

Thomas Puskas was born in Austria, but spent much of his time growing up in Hungary. 

After attending university in Vienna, he again returned to Hungary as the country was undergoing massive changes. 

At the end of the 80s, and beginning of the 90s, Hungary began selling off state owned assets, and allowing the privatization of everything for the first time. 

Puskas began working with the nation’s privatization agency, and was involved in its early transactions. Many factories and processing facilities were being sold to big international corporations. Of course, these buyers were focused on the big operations for their economies of scale. 

Many smaller assets were left overlooked by international investors. Thomas decided to step up, and acquire these smaller food processing plants and facilities. Then combine them into a larger premium food company. 

This venture quickly informed him of all the many working parts involved in the food production ecosystem. There are so many things that it touches and integrates with. Including real estate, infrastructure, and utilities. 

He also found dealing with waste was one of the largest factors in food production. This led them to build one of the first biogas plants in Hungary, and to get involved in renewable energy. 

Many other companies noticed, and turned to them for help and solutions in dealing with their own waste and energy challenges. 

After selling this company, Thomas next went on to develop solar power plants in Ukraine. After several years working in renewable power plant developments, he was able to roll even more learnings and technology into his latest company, Ecowatt.

Ecowatt

Ecowatt is tackling climate change, and helping companies stay ahead of new green mandates with a green investment platform.

One that utilizes the blockchain and tokenization to develop more renewable energy projects, and de-carbonization projects, as well as carbon credits for businesses. 

Ecowatt is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. With global offices in Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Dubai, and the US.

Thomas says that they continue to attract like minded talent who care about climate change and a better future, with more clean air. They are hiring more people on a weekly basis as the company continues to grow. 

Their vision is to help us get to net zero by 2030, or even earlier.

Tokenization, ICOs & Fundraising

While every new technology has its structural, legal, and other challenges, Thomas Puskas is adamant that he believes blockchain and tokenization, are the future. It’s about looking at the underpinning technology and the breakthrough applications that will move business into a new realm of efficiency. 

With all of the awareness about the climate, and mandates being issued, he says it is also really the best time to be getting started in renewable energy. 

Ecowatt brings both of these things together. 

They use tokenization to get the world involved in constructing new renewable power projects, including both solar and wind, as well as reforestation and other social impact projects. They are on a mission to plant 200M trees. 

Ecowatt initially  used an ICO (Initial Coin Offering), and tokenization to help fund their venture . Investors received a token worth 1 watt at issuance, and could receive carbon credits as a return. 

They began with private offerings, and then listed on exchanges in 2021. After raising an initial four million Euros, they have more recently reached a deal for another $10M from a crypto fund. 

Storytelling is everything which is something that Thomas Puskas was able to master. Being able to capture the essence of what you are doing in 15 to 20 slides is the key. For a winning deck, take a look at the pitch deck template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel (see it here) where the most critical slides are highlighted.

Remember to unlock the pitch deck template that is being used by founders around the world to raise millions below.

In order to utilize this strategy for raising for your own capital, Puskas told the Dealmakers audience that you must first show success in private sales, before selling to crypto firms or listing your token on an exchange. 

You’ll still need the same paperwork, and a winning pitch deck if you decide to go this route, over hitting the usual startup investor circuit. On top of this he says that you should have a good white paper which explains all of the details and economics, and focus on hiring the right talent upfront

He also notes that you cannot rely on the marketing of exchanges to do the work for you. You are still going to have to do 90% of your own marketing. Which is a substantial piece of the fundraising challenge. Not just on social media, but using industry publications and the news media to raise awareness, and show that your company is the real deal.

Listen in to the full podcast episode to find out more, including:

• Thomas Puskas’s top piece of advice for launching a business
• How to get in touch with Ecowatt
• How tokenization and using ICOs to fund your business works

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