FAQ

  • Peer groups for CEOs are not new. In fact, 100,000+ CEOs are in peer groups around the world.

    They exist because being a CEO or investor is a hard job. You’re expected to have all the answers (which is impossible).

    Peer groups serve as your personal advisory board – a group of 10-15 other peers in your cohort that want what’s best for you. Not for the company, or investors, or your team. But for you. (Though they are often related.)

  • Members spend about 3 hours per month in this community, including a monthly Zoom discussion for each small group cohort of 1CEOs, plus some 1:1 time with other members or with Chris.

    In contrast, many well-known CEO peer groups require 8-16 hours per month.

    On top of that, we run 3-4 in-person events each year. They are 1-3 days each. Given how busy CEOs are, they attend 2 of these on average.

  • Our review process is simple but not easy.

    Less than 1% of interested CEOs are invited to become EFI Climate Fellows.

    First, candidates find a way to reach Chris directly or via an intro from a current Fellow, Alumni, or Mentor.

    Second, we review the CEO’s background, company stage, and reasons for wanting to join.

    Third, if it’s a possible fit, we schedule a 45-minute two-way Zoom interview.

    Finally, we connect prospective members with 1-2 current peer group members so they get a firsthand perspective on what it's like to join the community.

  • Once EFI Climate Fellows, the expectation is that they remain in the group for 18-24 months, usually longer. There is no end date.

    Even when members sell their companies, they often remain in the community as they figure out what’s next.

    However, we don’t expect to “get married on the first date.”

    Instead, we begin with a 3-month trial to make sure it’s a fit for everyone. If so, then we get into longer-term relationships.

  • Our current limit is about 40 CEO Fellows. We aren’t trying to grow a huge community and maximize revenues.

    Instead, we care more about (1) finding quality over quantity, (2) helping each others’ businesses succeed in tangible ways, (3) solving big environmental challenges, and (4) developing authentic relationships among Chris and a tribe of CEOs.

  • With input from high-achieving and thoughtful CEOs, we cover business topics such as capital raising, investor relations, board dynamics, cofounder and team issues, org chart changes, talent attraction and retention, culture, vetted vendors, and go-to-market strategies.

    We also cover non-business topics like mindfulness, health hacks, mental fitness, personal challenges, meditation, longevity, legacy, purpose, and what’s next.

  • Our 30+ members are (1) Series A through Series C venture capital-funded companies with $15M to $300M raised, (2) growing enterprises with $10M to $150M in revenue, or (3) investors managing $100M to $1B in capital to invest in climate solutions.

    They have incredible backgrounds such as building a rocket for a billionaire, closing big deals as investment banking executive on Wall Street, selling prior companies to GE and Microsoft, managing an $800M annual budget, developing gigawatts of actual (not imagined) renewable energy projects, winning the Carbon XPRIZE, cofounding and exiting companies with $350M+ of value, catalyzing $3B of retail capital into ESG investment solutions, guiding $15B of transactions at a Fortune 100 company, winning TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year, and so much more.

  • If you’re a fit to be an EFI Climate Fellow, we’re happy to discuss this as the very last item on our agenda.

    Joining a highly vetted private community is not about cost. It’s about investment and value.

    The annual membership dues should be a rounding error relative to the ways these powerful peers help you grow your business.

    Proximity is power.

    And as they say, any small change in a large number is also a larger number.