Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures: 24 Steps to Build Solutions for People and the Planet

by Ben Soltoff, Benjamin Soltoff

Create exciting new products and build successful companies in the climate and energy sectors

In Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy 24 Steps to Build Solutions for People and the Planet, veteran entrepreneur Bill Aulet, climate tech expert Ben Soltoff, and the faculty behind MIT's Climate & Energy Ventures course, Tod Hynes, Francis O'Sullivan, and Libby Wayman, deliver a comprehensive discussion of how to bring your climate or energy startup/venture to life.

You'll learn how to create a successful climate and energy venture using the authors' effective, 24-step framework that you can apply to your entrepreneurial idea, taking much of the guesswork and uncertainty out of your business journey. The book offers a precise, scientific approach to entrepreneurship and proves that effective entrepreneurship is more about the careful application of data and science than it is an exercise in blind intuition.

You'll

A step-by-step guide to starting your new climate or energy venture offering a clear, systematic path to profitability Instructions on building and scaling your new firm and meeting your entrepreneurial ambitions Templates, tools, techniques, and strategies for climate and energy entrepreneurs at every stage of their business' growth, from initial idea to globally scaled solution
Perfect for aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs, founders, and managers in the climate, energy, and environment sectors, Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures is an expert guide for professionals ready to level-up their entrepreneurial skills and achieve a positive impact on people and the planet.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 25, 2025

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before i tell you about my review, i must tell you about where i’m coming from here :
- I’ve read (and applied) the original Disciplined Entrepreneurship (DE) book, read the 2nd edition, and read the “toolbox” book.
- I’ve applied these books both in an entrepreneurship context (where i was the entrepreneur) , and when i was helping innovative, climate and energy start up in a corporate role (where we were investing , and/or organizing pilots, and/or doing techno-economics on our side) .

With that being said :
- If you are thinking of building a climate and/or energy venture - and you have not built ventures before and/or your ventures were in pure software space - reading this book - even if just sampling a few chapters that resonate with you - is likely a good investment of time.
- Someone who at least have a think through most of these 24 steps - will be in a very good position to have mature and productive discussions with whoever they need to partner with in their start up lifecycle - be it early potential funders, potential employees, potential first adopters, etc.

I do appreciate the clear discussions of funding / stage gates / milestones at various steps, for hardware demonstration - something i believe not discussed like that in the original DE book.
I also liked the example of the “equity split” discussed in one of the cases, again - to my memory not covered in detail in original DE.

As with all the books in the series - something that shines through and is extremely valuable - are the real case studies that every chapter / step has , often from MIT-related start ups. Some of the cases were really cool and illustrated the steps very well.

And they sometime illustrate the risks / pitfalls / traps that await you at different corners of the venture.. which can give you good ideas for de-risking / watching out for certain things. For example : the very valuable lesson that a motivated small business wanting to try your thing is WAY more valuable than a lukewarm “brand recognizable” corporate contact who leads you in circle.

Now - only minor downside : there are some chapters where i might have asked to see things written / approached a bit differently - but its probably because i’ve seen a lot of the material from the other books in the series. So its still a 5 star for me in terms of value for the audience that wants to use it to build something.

Finally, be sure to check out the book / author website - there are tons of additional ressources ( spreadsheets / slides / templates for the steps) (that frankly i think you might be able to access without the book even!) .

Happy disciplined venturing!
Sam

[Kiley Feickert · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a founder spinning technology out of the lab at MIT, I found Disciplined Entrepreneurship for Climate and Energy Ventures to be an invaluable guide for bridging the gap between technical innovation and company building. The framework has been particularly valuable for me because it challenges a common assumption in scientific research: that superior technology alone is sufficient to create impact. As engineers and researchers, we're trained to solve hard technical problems, but not necessarily how to identify the right customers, navigate adoption barriers, or build a scalable business.

What I appreciate most about this book is that it treats commercialization as a disciplined process rather than a leap of faith. It encourages founders to think carefully about where value is created, who captures that value, who ultimately makes purchasing decisions, and what barriers stand in the way of adoption. These questions are less familiar to researchers than technical validation, yet they are equally critical to building companies capable of delivering meaningful climate impact at scale. I would highly recommend it to anyone working to bring climate technologies from the lab to market.

[Danny Briere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having spent much of my career working with startups, innovation programs, and commercialization efforts, I appreciated how this book acknowledges that climate and energy ventures operate under a different set of realities than most startups. The path to success is often longer, more capital-intensive, and more complex. The authors do an excellent job of adapting the Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework to address those challenges while keeping the guidance practical, structured, and grounded in real-world experience.

What stands out is the book's focus on execution. Rather than simply discussing climate challenges or emerging technologies, it provides a roadmap for building ventures that can successfully move innovations from concept to market impact. The combination of disciplined thinking and practical application makes this a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, investors, educators, and students who are serious about advancing climate and energy solutions.

I would highly recommend for anyone looking to get really good insight into this space.

[Fiona Bennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and method has already been impactful in our thinking about how climate and energy ventures are supported in our region and beyond. They need different strategies and support to think about how they will effectively bring to market infrastructure level innovation. I love the stepping stones approach to derisking and enabling these companies to secure paying customers sooner than they would otherwise manage, not just enabling them to unlock revenue but also to test the technical viability in a staged process that feels more manageable, and build credibility doing so rather than expect the market to procure off the back of no real in situ evidence in one leap. These ventures are hard but critically important and any content that can make founding them more successful is one we need to pay attention to. This is it!

[Tom Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was never the energy entrepreneur, but I had a front row seat for the past 2 decades and I can say that building an energy startup is hard. Long sales cycles, conservative buyers, regulatory complexity, and massive capital requirements. The authors draw from loads of lived experiences to provide a roadmap for anticipating and navigating the unique difficulties of breaking into the energy industry as an entrepreneur.

DE4CEV reflects the dynamics that I watched companies work through in real time. How I wish we knew then what this book lays out so clearly. The section that hit closest to home was the emphasis on systematically reducing the barriers that prevent these highly conservative customers from saying yes. As a security professional, this put a fine point on the essential nature of my job.

Thank you, team, for publishing this essential, definitive guide.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A practical and super helpful guide for anyone building climate or energy ventures! This book does a terrific job adapting the classic 24-step framework to the unique challenges of climatetech, such as long timelines, complex stakeholders, regulation, and commercialization hurdles. Particularly useful for founders, innovators, and program managers trying to bridge technical solutions with real market adoption and impact. < This comes from my own experience supporting founders in accelerators and incubators and my current experience working at a climatetech startup!

[Josephine A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who supports students building climate and energy ventures, I found this book to be an excellent practical guide for turning technical ideas into viable businesses. The 24-step framework provides a clear, structured approach to customer discovery, market validation, and venture development, making it especially valuable for early-stage climate tech founders. A highly useful resource for both entrepreneurs and the mentors who support them.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, digestible, and comprehensive guide to launching a climate and energy venture. It offers valuable insights and practical advice for anyone exploring entrepreneurship in the climate space. Highly recommended for aspiring founders and innovators.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a punchy but detailed book that belongs on the desks and bookshelves of entrepreneurs, educators, early-employees, and folks interested in making an impact in climate and energy. It contains great references and case studies to real companies and follows a clear path to impact.

[Andrew Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book that blends between an entertaining read of climate tech company case studies and a roadmap on climate entrepreneurship. I helped TA the class this book came out of and thought it accurately reflects the journey the students and companies go through.

[Nathan Sedlander · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have if you're building a climate venture, advising a climate startup, or teaching a climate entrepreneurship class. Taking the already solid Disciplined Entrepreneurship methodology and refactoring it for climate makes it clear how to move forward with a plan. Highly recommend!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most comprehensive founders manual I’ve seen for cleantech/hardtech/chemical startups.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about a vital subject. Ben breaks this very complex undertaking down into manageable steps, writing with everyone and anyone who wants to pursue a career in climate tech in mind.