{"podcast":{"title":"Energytech Startups","slug":"energytech-startups-5673200","podcast_index_feed_id":5673200,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/energy-tech-startups","website_url":"https://collide.io","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/9aQ-p8TWw1dk7M2RoFhW6fgQJKBoQiW2AbMrIRAVzFI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9kM2Fj/MzRlYTQ3ZDM0NmJm/ZDllOWE1Y2Y3MmRm/MDFkOS5qcGc.jpg","author":"collide.","episode_count":92,"summary":"They say everything's bigger in Texas, including climate change. That's why Houston is leading the energy transition. Here in H-Town, the fourth largest city in the United States, entrepreneurs from across Texas and around the world are gathering to work with titans of industry to build the technology that will reduce emissions and power a low carbon future. Welcome to Energytech Startups with Nada Ahmed and Jason Ethier. We sit down with those change makers and wildcatters who are solving the toughest energy challenges with trillions of dollars on the line. We dig into how Houston will bring technology to market on a massive scale. Join us as we talk with the leaders of the energy capital of the world as they show us how the energy transition gets done.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T02:20:49.967269+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energytech-startups-5673200"},"episode":{"title":"Gabe Cuadra from Powerhouse Ventures","slug":"gabe-cuadra-from-powerhouse-ventures","published_at":"2026-07-22T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energytech-startups-5673200/gabe-cuadra-from-powerhouse-ventures","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energytech-startups-5673200","url":"https://energytechstartups.collide.io/episodes/gabe-cuadra-from-powerhouse-ventures","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/1e403795/2b433d44.mp3","summary":"Flat load growth is dead, and AI just flipped the whole power sector on its head. Gabe Cuadra of Powerhouse Ventures gets into what that means for founders chasing capital in climate and energy, why algorithms alone never make a real moat, and how to actually pitch an early stage VC without wasting the room. Plus the messy truth about selling into utilities, spotting founder market fit, and why Houston is quietly turning into a place worth building. Click here to watch a video of this episode. Join the conversation shaping the future of energy. Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward. Apply today at collide.io Click here to view the episode transcript. 00:00 Intro 00:45 What keeps a climate investor up at night 01:55 How Powerhouse Ventures invests 05:20 AI, load growth, and a changing grid 08:30 What traction looks like at early stage 10:25 Finding founder market fit 12:00 Houston vs the coasts 18:13 How to pitch early stage VCs 19:18 Why algorithms are never the moat 25:04 The reality of selling into utilities 28:17 Gabe's winding road into energy VC 34:40 Inside the investment process 37:02 Founder red flags 42:21 Standing out when you pitch 43:30 What has him excited next 46:27 The case for Houston 48:50 How to reach out https://twitter.com/collide_ai https://www.tiktok.com/@collide.io https://www.facebook.com/collide.io https://www.instagram.com/collide.io https://www.youtube.com/@collide_io https://bsky.app/profile/collide-ai.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/company/collideai","meta_description":"Flat load growth is dead, and AI just flipped the whole power sector on its head. Gabe Cuadra of Powerhouse Ventures gets into what that means for founder…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3019,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/energytech-startups-5673200/episodes/gabe-cuadra-from-powerhouse-ventures/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/energytech-startups-5673200/gabe-cuadra-from-powerhouse-ventures.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}