Author: Erin Crowther

Erin Crowther highlights an important lens through which to view investment opportunities. 

Across the sectors we invest in—electrification, construction, mobility, water, and materials—one theme is increasingly clear: resilience.

As natural disasters become more frequent, supply chains grow more complex, and energy systems are pushed to their limits, infrastructure of all types must be built to withstand disruption.

For investors, resilience is now an essential lens for assessing opportunity. At HG Ventures, it’s influencing how we think about long-term value, risk mitigation, and the kind of technologies we want to back.

What Resilience Looks Like in Practice

Resilience takes different forms by sector. In transportation infrastructure, it means roads, bridges, and safety systems that can endure extreme weather events and extended maintenance cycles. In energy, it is grid stability, redundancy, and the ability to operate during power outages or demand spikes. In supply chains, it is robust logistics networks and smart systems that adapt to real-time conditions. And in materials and chemicals, it is durability, sustainability, and product lifecycles that reduce dependence on volatile inputs.

The unifying principle: Systems don’t just function in ideal conditions, they must continue to operate, perform and adapt under stress.

Why Investors Are Paying Attention

Traditional venture investing has often focused on scalability and speed to market, but resilience adds another layer: Can this business or technology withstand pressure—whether physical, financial, or systemic—and continue to deliver value over time?

At HG Ventures, we view resilience as a multiplier of long-term value. A water treatment solution that continues delivering clean water even during periods of scarcity or drought, or a construction material that doesn’t degrade in extreme temperatures, is more likely to scale sustainably. These aren’t just technological advantages—they’re strategic moats.

And for capital-intensive companies operating in highly regulated, mission-critical sectors, resilience isn’t optional. It’s existential.

How Resilience Drives Financial Return

As investors, we need to invest in companies that can deliver financial return. Here’s how resilience can increase enterprise value:

• Revenue continuity: If a $100 MM-revenue operation increases uptime by just 1%, that’s ~$1 MM incremental revenue annually—often at high contribution margins.
• Lower lifetime cost: Materials or components that extend asset life defer replacement capex; deferring a $10 MM replacement from today by five years at a 10% discount rate adds ~$3.8 MM in NPV.
• Maintenance and warranty savings: More durable systems cut unplanned maintenance by 15–30%, reduce warranty claims, and shrink service truck rolls—direct opex savings that widen EBITDA.
• Regulatory and bid advantage: Many public and industrial buyers now score for resilience; passing those gates with lower total cost of ownership raises win rate.

Resilience Is in Our DNA

This focus aligns closely with the legacy of The Heritage Group, our parent company. With nearly 90 years of experience in infrastructure, environmental services, and specialty chemicals, one of THG’s values ‘s ‘creating enduring value’, and the group has been designing and operating resilient systems since long before it became a buzzword.

That history gives HG Ventures a unique perspective on what durability and long-term operational viability really look like—and how to evaluate it in emerging startups.

It also means our support goes beyond capital. We bring operational know-how, industrial scale-up experience, and real-world pilot environments that help young companies test and refine their technologies under realistic conditions. Resilience isn’t just something we invest in—it’s something we help build.

Where We Go From Here

As climate risks, geopolitical shocks, and economic uncertainty continue to shape the landscape, resilience will only become more valuable. Investors will need to ask harder questions about how startups will perform under stress. Founders need to design for longevity, not just launch.

For us, the next generation of hardtech and industrial innovation will be defined not just by what works, but by what endures.

The process of securing investment for a startup can be daunting, especially for young or first-time founders. The newest and youngest member of the HG Ventures team, Erin Crowther offers guiding principles on how entrepreneurs in this position can focus on generating the most value and investor interest in these high pressure situations.

Let’s make one thing clear right from the start: I’m no expert. I have only been in the world of venture capital for a short period of time.

But I do know what it’s like to be the youngest person in the room, surrounded by individuals with a variety of impressive startup and industry experience themselves, something that can be intimidating to young or first-time founders.

And while I am certainly not claiming to have all the answers when it comes to pitching a VC (I’m not even sure I have all the questions yet), I can offer advice based on the numerous pitches I have seen.

As a general guiding principle, entrepreneurs should be thinking: “What is the key information I need to communicate, to generate interest and keep the conversation going?”

Given the blizzard of information at hand, this can be a challenging task. And while each fund may have a slightly different investment process, the information presented below can serve as a guideline to those looking to maximize value in that initial conversation:

1. Know Your Audience

Before stepping into the meeting room, take the time to understand the goals and incentives of the VCs to whom you’ll be pitching. Are they corporate venture capitalists (CVCs) like HG Ventures or pure VC funds? Knowing their investment thesis and financial motivations is crucial.

At HG Ventures, for example, we primarily invest in technologies that are aligned with the industries in which The Heritage Group operates, as these are where we are most able to add value. Other CVCs are purely strategic investors, seeking to leverage synergies between the startup and their own business. And most VC funds have a sector focus. Who are you meeting? Tailor your pitch to demonstrate how your startup aligns with their interests–and how it can generate substantial returns.

2. Demonstrate Your Value Proposition

Clearly articulate the value proposition of your product or service in a concise and compelling manner. It is surprising how many technical founders struggle with this, usually because they are just too close to the subject matter. VCs are unlikely to be experts in your industry, so it is essential to communicate in clear terms how your solution addresses a pressing need and offers significant market potential.

A key reason why many startups fail is because of a lack of product-market fit. So while your product many have substantial product-feature advantages, it is critical to communicate the economic incentives that differentiate your offering. Is your product at cost-parity? Are you helping realize cost efficiencies elsewhere? Are you solving a supply chain problem? This allows investors to understand what’s driving your customers’ purchasing decisions. As a general rule, most VCs, whether pure VC or CVC, are financially driven, so unless you can demonstrate that there is a willing-to-pay market for your product it will be a lot harder to secure any kind of investment.

3. Highlight Traction

Actions speak louder than words. Provide tangible evidence of your startup’s traction and success to date. Whether it’s paid pilots, customer acquisitions, revenue growth, or strategic partnerships, concrete metrics validate your business’s potential and instill confidence in investors. What better way to demonstrate initial product-market fit than showing that people are willing to pay or partner with you?

Describing traction sets the stage for go-to-market and sales pipeline discussions. The early years of a startup’s life are filled with estimates, and traction is the foundation to helping us believe those multimillion-dollar revenue projections you are forecasting.

4. Emphasize Team Capabilities

As you set out to solve a problem and address an industry need, chances are there will be other people trying to do the same. Venture capitalists will be looking at the competitive landscape and placing their bet on who they believe will emerge as the market leader. Due to the variable nature of a startups’ early life, a large part of that bet relates to the team.

For a young or first-time founder, this can be more difficult given that you are ‘new to the game.’ If you lack previous startup experience, acknowledge it transparently and showcase your ability to surround yourself with the right talent. Be able to talk about what gaps are missing on your team, and how you plan to fill those gaps; this demonstrates a grasp of forward strategy.

5. Be Clear with Your Ask

The purpose of a capital injection is to accelerate development towards commercialization, so be crystal clear about your funding needs and the value-added milestones you aim to achieve with that investment. VCs appreciate entrepreneurs who have a strategic vision for their business’s growth and can articulate a clear roadmap for success. Whatever your funding stage, outline your capital requirements and how they align with your business objectives.

In addition to the financial ask, be clear about what your ask is from an investor expertise and strategic standpoint. The best VCs have much more to provide than capital; it’s important to know what other value they can add, and to ask for it.

6. Keep the Conversation Open

Remember, securing funding is never just about just one pitch meeting; no founder should expect that an investor will be prepared to write a check right away. I keep coming back to that guiding principle, that the goal should be to spark enough interest to keep the conversation going. This is not only important to remember in current investor discussions, but can be a crucial element to future capital raises. While an investor may choose to pass today, maintaining a positive rapport can lead to opportunities down the road.

Progressing through the diligence process, investors will be looking to learn more and more about your business in order to make an informed investment decision. All funds handle their investment processes differently and there is no single ‘right’ way of approaching things. That said, having a well-articulated and validated value proposition goes a long way.