The Greenhouse

A collaborative innovation program for women starting new ventures in climate

Apply by May 10 to join the Spring-Summer cohort (May 20 - August 16)

For women, for the planet

Women are better leaders in tackling crisis situations and climate change is the biggest crisis of our lifetime. Yet, in the first quarter of 2023, women founders received only 6.9% of climate tech venture funding.

It’s time to change that.

We empower feminine, earth-centered innovation

The Greenhouse is a collaborative innovation program based on the conviction that women's voices, ideas, and approaches are critical to helping us address climate change, adapt and thrive.

We empower women to make meaningful progress on their founder journey by leveraging an Earth-centric innovation model, in collaboration with extraordinary women in the climate space.

“I found the Greenhouse to be an intimate community of really smart and mindful women passionate about making a change in climate. The program added a lot to my toolkit for responsible innovation in climate and provided a safe space to bring in my full self while gaining critical feedback. I would definitely recommend it to any woman who is serious about their climate venture!”

Akhila Kosaraju, Co-Founder of What If Design

Gain confidence and grow as a founder

The Greenhouse will guide you through key steps of the founder journey so that you can navigate the iterative and uncertain process of innovation with more clarity and confidence.

Over the course of the program, you will:

  • Discover your authentic voice and style as a founder in a safe, uplifting, and collaborative space

  • Explore climate problems that you are excited to work on

  • Imagine and envision solutions using an Earth-centric innovation model

  • Ground your initial assumptions with real input from your target audience

  • Experience the power of collaboration and community to expand the potential of your solution

  • Learn how to iteratively prototype, test, and share your founding story

“Being a part of the inaugural cohort of Greenhouse Women was such a good investment for me. I learned how to bring a concept from idea to reality, surrounded by an incredible group of supportive and accomplished women (the members and the speakers). The combination of rigor and community was not something I've experienced quite in this way elsewhere.”

Caetie Ofiesh, Co-Founder of Project Green Takeout

Learn from inspiring founders and experts

“The Greenhouse honestly felt like a high-end MBA entrepreneurship class. The talks and sessions were top-notch. As a UX professional who is founder-curious, I learned so much about the process of researching problem spaces, validating business ideas, and what a founder needs to get done before pitching to investors. It's not just theory; you get to put into practice what you learned every week. Plus, getting to hear from badass female founders and mixing in earth-friendly ideas into business? That's gold. I'm way more confident now in my potential to pursue my own ideas.”

Sanjana Galgalikar, Product Designer and Aspiring Founder

Experience the joy of creating in community.

Explore, develop, and hone your idea in a safe and collaborative environment, supported by virtual innovation workshops, 1:1s and small groups collaboration sessions, and interactive conversations with leading women in climate.

Looking for a community of women climate founders but not ready to join a cohort? Apply to join our Slack community.

“I cannot say enough about my experience with the Greenhouse and Anu and Anya.  This was a very unique experience with other women who want to make a big impact on climate, and who are courageous to start a company doing what they feel passionate about.  I learned about myself and my deeper capacities and callings.  I was inspired by women founders and my fellow Greenhouse women.  And I came away with a new understanding that supports knowing I can lift a start-up from seed of idea to full bloom.”

Amber Noelle Hanlin, Founder of a Stealth Startup

You don’t have to go it alone.

Have you thought about starting a company or organization related to climate change, but don't know where to start or haven't felt ready to take that leap yet? Or perhaps you’ve already started working on an idea and are yearning for more support.

We invite you to join us for this collaborative innovation program, where you'll be empowered and energized to make meaningful progress on your founder journey and connect with a community of extraordinary women.

“The Greenhouse gave me the confidence and support to push ahead with my nascent climate idea and powered my progress, not only with tangible actions and a ready-made toolkit, but also with a cheering squad of champions by my side. Having other like-minded females understanding elements of the trials and tribulations I'm up against is worth its weight in gold, and my relationship with many of the inspiring humans I've met through The Greenhouse will continue long after my 10-week program has ended.”

Nicole Darsney, Founder

Apply for our Spring-Summer Cohort

We currently accepting applications for our Spring-Summer Cohort (May 20 - August 16, 2024). This cohort will include a 3 week break between June 17 - July 5 for cohort members to take summer holidays and continue their customer research and solution discovery. We welcome women from diverse backgrounds and from all stages of their careers who are interested in creating a new climate-related venture. This could be a VC-backable startup, non-profit, or small business.

Want to join a community of women climate founders but not ready to join a cohort? Apply to join our Slack community.

Who we are

Anu Sanghvi and Anya Lamb met at a climate tech happy hour and immediately connected over their common backgrounds in product management and storytelling, and a shared intuition that a more earth-centered, feminine, and collaborative style of entrepreneurship is sorely needed in climate innovation.

Anu Sanghvi is a Terra.do Climate Fellow, #OpenDoor Climate host, Venture Advisor at Ankur Capital and Startup Mentor at Princeton’s Keller Center of Entrepreneurship.

With 15+ product innovations under her belt, Anu is a serial intrapreneur with a vetted customer-centric product playbook from her time at Sunbasket, Intuit, Caredotcom, and several early-stage startups.

She holds an MBA from Stanford Business School and a BA in Computer Science and Economics from Mount Holyoke College, and has spent much of her life elevating girls and women through active mentorship.

Anya Lamb is an On Deck Climate Tech Fellow and product and marketing consultant with 10+ years of experience in product and go-to-market strategy and execution.

Her experience includes work with startups in climate tech, B2B SaaS, robotics, and remote sensing, including LinkedIn, DroneDeploy, and Pachama.

She holds a B.S. in Atmosphere/Energy from Stanford University and is also a trained coach and experienced facilitator with a long-standing passion for helping individuals and groups reach their potential and collaborate to solve problems.

Anu and Anya have experienced the transformative power of creating in community firsthand and can’t wait to share it with you!

“ENRICHING! The approach at The Greenhouse was unique in that it combined structured course material with a safe space for us to lean on each other, share our stories and find our voice. My biggest achievement out of The Greenhouse was an attitude shift, one that I'll always be grateful for.”

Khyati Gupta, Founder of ReRack

 FAQs

  • This program is for you if you are a woman or woman-identifying person who is interested in starting a new venture focused on addressing or adapting to climate change. This could be a VC-backable startup, non-profit, or small business. We welcome women from diverse backgrounds, and from all stages of their careers.

  • We welcome women from diverse backgrounds and from all stages of their careers who are interested in creating a new climate-related venture. This could be a VC-backable startup, non-profit, or small business.

    To be accepted into a cohort, applicants must be:

    • A woman or a person who identifies as a woman

    • Committed to working on a climate-focused idea

    • Just getting started on your founder journey

    • Able to join Zoom calls during from 1-3 pm Pacific Time on Tuesdays and Thursdays

    Once we review your application, we will reach out to connect live, and answer your questions.

  • This program is designed for women, by women, and is focused on empowering women to collaborate together to dream, ideate, experiment, and build a better future for all. You will learn, you will connect with an engaged community, and most importantly, you will begin taking tangible steps to begin creating your new venture. We’ll guide you in laying the foundational building blocks to grow your impact, and provide honest feedback and encouragement at every step of the way.

  • We recommend that you dedicate at least 10 hours per week to the program. This time may include attending live classes, joining interactive workshops, listening to experts in the climate space, working on your business idea, and meeting 1:1 or in small groups with other members of the cohort.

Investment

Fees for the Spring-Summer 2024 cohort are outlined below.

Individual Pricing

$450 per person

This is ideal for founder-curious women who are ready to invest in themselves.

Group Pricing (up to 5)

$2000 per group

This is ideal for incubators, accelerators and VCs who are interested in sponsoring women founders in the climate space from the very start of their journey. All sponsors will be featured on the Greenhouse website and in program materials.

“The environment at The Greenhouse was unlike any other program I've experienced; it was a place where we could share our experiences openly, learn from each other, and grow together in a genuinely supportive atmosphere. What set this program apart for me was the profound warmth and unwavering support of Anu and Anya, and my fellow women entrepreneurs.

The ethos of The Greenhouse was one of nurturing rather than competing, a safe space where I didn't feel pressured to perform or be perfect. Instead, I found myself increasingly inspired and empowered, evolving alongside a group of incredible women who were all on similar journeys of innovation and impact.

It instilled a sense of confidence and belonging that is often missing in other similar programs. I am immensely grateful for this experience and would wholeheartedly recommend The Greenhouse to any woman founder who is looking for more than just skill-building; it’s a community where you grow, feel supported, and become part of a network of inspiring women dedicated to making a difference in the world.”

Ania Korsunska, Founder of Zemlia | Let’s Build a Better World

“The Greenhouse is the only program I know of focused on supporting women founders in climate. Becoming an entrepreneur can be a lonely journey in the best of times, and especially so given the gender gap across climate startups, accelerators, and VC funders. In contrast, the Greenhouse founders, Anu and Anya, have cultivated a supportive community of brave, curious, kickass women from across the country, and I’m so grateful to have been part of the second cohort. The speakers are incredibly inspiring, and the program’s framework helped me get clear on which problems to focus on solving, and the business models best suited to those.”

Isabella Akker, Exploring restoration and adaptation finance

“Here is the thing. Anya Lamb and Anu Sanghvi have co-created a thoughtful and intentional space in The Greenhouse for women who are "curious climate founders." The course is more than an opportunity. There is magic here 🌱 💚. The framework they provide will accelerate your founder journey and facilitate a supportive process for building an organization to call your own. We all get one life, and I invite you to spend part of yours with the women here.”

Kaarsten Turner, Founder working on forest resilience

“I am amazed at how much I've learnt in the past two months in The Greenhouse program -

- Mindsets and frameworks that give structure to the chaos associated with inventing something from nothing 😇
- First-hand start-up experiences shared by people hustling in a wide range of industries, from software, energy and food, to finance, CPG, HVAC and fashion 💪
- Motivation that comes from a genuine community 👭

I recommend The Greenhouse program to anyone who wants to dream big and experiment small with a sustainability angle. Anya Lamb and Anu Sanghvi are truly great at building a nurturing community!”

Chao Wang, Exploring waste reduction and circularity

“I really loved my 12 weeks with The Greenhouse Women and the ongoing community it fosters. The format encouraged open discussions, problem-solving, and learning from peers and speakers. Anya and Anu are such amazing champions of women on a mission to solve climate issues, and the value from this class is incredible. If you're looking to solidify your concept or are in the pre-revenue stage, this program could be extremely beneficial for an emerging entrepreneur.”

Carmen Velasquez, Founder of Lazy Beans

Grow your venture with The Greenhouse

We would be delighted to support you on your founder journey in our Spring-Summer Cohort (May 20 - August 16). Applications due May 10.