What Happens When Climate Founders Lead Together
Early-stage climate CEOs face a strange paradox: they are asked to lead boldly in uncertain markets—while also building entirely new categories, managing lean teams, and often doing it all without a sounding board.
At Among & Between, we see this every day. Founders are navigating layoffs, cofounder misalignment, team structure questions, and existential strategy shifts. Yet most support programs feel misaligned: too academic, too transactional, or simply not built for the real-time decisions CEOs have to make.
Last year, we co-founded Groundwork, an 8-week leadership experience grounded in real-world startup pressures. This wasn’t a bootcamp or a lecture series. It was a peer-led space where founders worked through their actual challenges—in the moment—with others who understood the stakes.
The results surprised even us:
A 100% completion rate
A 38% increase in founder leadership confidence
Real applications in real startup decisions—from hiring freezes to hard conversations
But what mattered most? Founders said the most valuable thing was “the ability to grapple with real issues in real time.”
We’ve put together a short case study summarizing our approach, the results, and what we learned about leadership in the climate sector. If you’re a founder, investor, or ecosystem builder—this one’s for you.