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Jonathan Greene
Investment Principal @ New Climate Ventures | Decarbonization, Venture Capital
Professional Background
Jonathan Greene is a seasoned venture capitalist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of rich experience in founding, advising, and investing in high-growth start-ups backed by prominent venture capital firms. His career has been marked by a unique passion for empowering innovative entrepreneurs who are courageously addressing some of the most pressing and complex challenges of our time, including climate change, social impact, and the healthcare sector. Currently, Jonathan dedicates his expertise to investing in early-stage start-ups focused on enabling carbon avoidance and reduction, specifically those within the realms of deep-tech and enabling technologies.
Throughout his extensive career, Jonathan has accrued significant expertise through a variety of roles, which have equipped him with the skills to identify and nurture the potential of more than just traditional business models. He has experience on both for-profit and not-for-profit boards, providing him with a diverse perspective on market dynamics and social responsibility. His commitment to innovation and social impact extends beyond his professional life, as he takes an active interest in mentorship, often sharing his knowledge with students on technology commercialization at both undergraduate and graduate levels.
In his personal life, Jonathan showcases his vibrant personality through hobbies that blend adventure and creativity. In his spare time, he plays in a rock band, rides his mountain bike, and volunteers as a ski patroller and first responder. These activities reflect his commitment to community service and healthy living, which aligns with his professional dedication to environmental and social endeavors.
Education and Achievements
Jonathan Greene's educational background is as impressive as his professional journey. He is an alumnus of the esteemed Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, where he pursued an MBA with a focus on strategy, honing his skills in business acumen and strategic thinking. Furthermore, he expanded his knowledge through an Online Certificate Program in Venture Capital Investing from VC University, a collaboration of the Startup@BerkeleyLaw, NVCA, and Venture Forward, which provided him with specialized insights into venture capital dynamics.
In addition to his MBA, Jonathan holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental & Industrial Health Science from the University of Michigan. His foundational studies in Applied Economics & Environmental Policy from Cornell University further equipped him with the analytical tools necessary to assess the economic impacts of environmental strategies and policy implementations. This educational pathway amplifies his capability to innovate solutions that integrate profitability with sustainability.
Jonathan Greene’s resume is enriched by numerous leadership positions and achievements throughout his career. Notably, he served as the Investment Principal at New Climate Ventures and as the Senior Investment Director at New York Ventures, where he spearheaded investments in promising ventures that align with his vision of solving critical global issues. His commitment to fostering young talent is reflected in his role as a Mentor at the Praxis Center for Venture Development at Cornell University, where he guided aspiring entrepreneurs in navigating the venture landscape.
Moreover, Jonathan has played a pivotal role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem as the Founder and Vice President of Business Development at Sterifre Medical, Inc., and as the Founder and CEO of Widetronix, Inc. He has also contributed significantly to academic institutions, serving as Executive in Residence at the Cornell University McGovern Family Center for Venture Development in the Life Sciences and as an Adjunct Instructor at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. His directorial roles at the Cornell Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise and for Development at Vail Resorts Inc showcase his ability to merge business expertise with sustainable practices, further solidifying his role as a thought leader in the industry.
Achievements
Jonathan Greene's achievements tell a compelling story of innovation, perseverance, and impact. In the venture capital sphere, he has led multiple successful investments, guiding start-ups to scale their solutions addressing critical issues like climate change and healthcare, significantly impacting their respective industries. His hands-on experience as a founder equips him with invaluable insights, allowing him not only to identify potential in others but also to provide the resources and mentorship needed to flourish.
His transformative approach to venture investing is reflected in his strategic initiatives at New Climate Ventures and New York Ventures, where he prioritized opportunities that promise long-term social value alongside exponential financial returns. His forward-thinking perspective enables him to foresee market trends and invest in technologies that fundamentally change the way businesses operate, helping pave the way for a sustainable future.
Jonathan’s commitment to education and mentorship augments his accomplishments, as he shapes the upcoming generation of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Through his teaching roles, he has imparted critical knowledge regarding technology commercialization, crucial for aspiring business leaders to succeed in the competitive landscape.
In addition, serving as a volunteer ski patroller and first responder underlines his dedication to the community. This volunteer work exemplifies Jonathan's belief in giving back, not just professionally but also personally, impacting lives positively beyond the constraints of business. His extracurricular activities, from music to sports, depict him as a well-rounded individual who balances professional ambition with personal fulfillment and community service.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
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Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.