Case Study: Salient Predictions

INTRO

Salient Predictions works to help people and organizations better understand and prepare for the increasing weather volatility from climate change. They combine data with machine learning and climate expertise to deliver the world’s most reliable subseasonal-to-seasonal weather forecasts 2 to 52 weeks in advance.

Founded in 2019, this new company is growing rapidly and needs a team well-suited for adaptability and impact.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

• Funding Stage: Seed

• Climate Sector: Climate Intelligence

• Number of employees: 1-15

BACKGROUND

Matt Stein, the then VP of Global Business Development for an established analytics platform, was having a typical work week when he received an out-of-the-blue LinkedIn message from Climate People’s founder, Brendan.

A few months prior, Brendan was introduced to the emerging startup, Salient Predictions, by VC firm First Star Ventures. First Star was the initial funder that helped co-create this climate intelligence and weather analytics platform alongside the founding team — and they were seeking an experienced CEO to scale the business.

When Brendan came across Matt’s profile, he immediately knew he was the right person for the job.

”I was a little skeptical about the role to begin with,” Matt said. “I was pretty happy at my last job. I found Brendan to be persistent yet respectful.”

Persistent he was, Brendan knew that with Matt’s background in entrepreneurship and previous climate-focused executive roles, Matt would excel in this position.

”I really enjoyed talking to him on the side and found that as I was thinking about the role, it was very easy to just pick up the phone and speak with Brendan. I never felt any pressure,” Matt said.

After weeks of discussions with the founding and venture teams, Matt accepted the CEO role for Salient Predictions. This was just the beginning.

HIRING TRAJECTORY

Matt knew that hiring a skilled team would be one of his top priorities to keep in stride with Salient’s product advancement.

Matt called Brendan back up, and they discussed his hiring needs:

• Wanted to achieve 50% diverse candidates

• Needed hires across all business units

• Preferred Boston-based talent

Brendan looped in Senior ClimateTech Recruiter Aruna into these searches.‍

HIRING ROADBLOCKS:

• Salient was experiencing rapid growth and needed to act quickly

• They conducted multiple interviews and had a hard time finding the right candidates

TIMELINE

In early July, Aruna kickstarted her work with Salient by finding a Chief Product Officer to help optimize and scale their software. The team unanimously agreed that Janet Lee was the perfect fit for the team.

“We had a great experience working with the team at Climate People,” Matt said. “They calibrated on the C-Level role quickly and found us an amazing candidate.”

Soon after, Salient launched its search for a Head of Operations. They were thrilled to be introduced to Laura Fieselman, a seasoned professional with 15+ years of sustainability experience who could ensure Salient was set up for success.

In September 2022, Brendan placed Jesi Merrick, an experienced Front End Software Engineer and team lead.

Most recently, Katherine Kerr, a Sales Development Representative with a strong energy background, joined Salient’s growing team.

”Aruna was an excellent communicator, especially as the go-between between our hiring managers and the candidates,” Matt said. “Candidates really like her.”

INTENTIONAL HIRING

The Climate People and Salient teams worked together to prioritize diverse hiring. As a result, four of the five placements we made in 2022 were women. This was across various executive-level positions and in nearly every department.

“I’m pretty adamant on this issue,” Matt said. “Not because it looks good externally or because my board is demanding it, but because I’m a student of decision-making research. I love to have vigorous debates about decisions internally, and having diverse opinions that come from diverse backgrounds is a really important piece of that."

SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP

At Climate People, we take a holistic approach to working with our customers — our relationships far extend the jobs we hire for.

“We chose to work with Climate People because it's almost like a virtuous cycle,” Matt said. “Committing a little more deeply to an agency allows them to understand you better, they can serve you better, and everyone grows in the process.”

Through our partnership with Salient, we introduced the Salient team to Kate Rogers from CNBC, and their work was featured on national news.'

Climate People solely works with climate-focused companies looking to grow their teams. We have such a narrow focus to better serve our customers and support them in their streamlined efforts.

“We constantly get approached by new and novel candidate pipeline-building services. After evaluating some of them, I'm skeptical,” Matt said. “Call me old-fashioned, but I think working with a proper recruitment firm is far more effective. You get what you pay for.”

COMING BACK FULL CIRCLE

Are you looking to grow your ClimateTech company? We’d love to discuss your current or future hiring strategy. Book some time with our founder, Brendan, here.