Fundraising
Build a credible commercial case for investors and strengthen the materials behind it.
StoryNarrative and pipeline
PositioningInvestor targeting
DiligenceModels, materials, and data room
From fundraising through revenue
Funding. Strategy. Revenue.
Cairn supports climate and energy technology companies through every phase of growth, from first fundraising dollars through commercial scale. We build fundraising plans, commercialization strategies, pricing, enterprise sales motions, asset sales, and commercial structures grounded in nearly a decade of originating and closing complex energy transactions.
261 MWSolar
604.6 MWhStorage
19Projects
$446.9MContracted
Services
Solutions for startups, developers, EPCs, investors, and asset buyers.
Select an audience to view services
Go-to-Market & Commercial Strategy
Choose the right markets, customers, positioning, and pricing for initial traction.
MarketBeachhead and customer discovery
PositioningValue proposition and pricing
TractionLeads and early pipeline
Sales & Revenue Execution
Build the sales systems and deal support required to turn pipeline into revenue.
Sales systemProcess, cadence, and roles
PipelinePrioritization and forecasting
CloseNegotiation and contract support
Offtake & Contract Negotiations
Structure and negotiate complex energy contracts from strategy through close.
StructureTerms and risk allocation
NegotiateStrategy and key terms
CloseDefinitive agreement execution
Portfolio Transaction Support
Support project and portfolio transactions through commercial diligence, structuring, and negotiation.
DiligenceContracts and counterparties
StructureValue, terms, and risk
NegotiateSeller-side commercial support
RFPs & Procurement Strategy
Design and run competitive procurements from RFP drafting through selection and award.
DesignRFPs and bid packages
ManageBidder outreach and Q&A
SelectScoring, bid leveling, and award
Sales Organization Optimization
Improve conversion by fixing pipeline, process, forecasting, and origination.
DiagnosePipeline and conversion gaps
OperateQualification, cadence, and forecasting
OriginateAccounts and outbound strategy
Market Growth & Strategy
Prioritize where to compete and sequence market entry across segments and geographies.
PrioritizeMarkets, segments, and customers
AssessMarket size and competition
EnterSequencing and entry strategy
Deal & Commercial Diligence
Evaluate contracts, economics, counterparties, and execution risk before committing capital.
ContractsTerms and obligations
EconomicsPricing and downside cases
RiskCounterparties and execution
Selected work
Companies we have worked with.
How we work
Defined Scope
- A defined commercial problem.
- Clear boundaries on what is and is not included.
- Clear objectives before work starts.
Defined Price
- Fixed fee agreed before work begins.
- Milestone-based when appropriate.
- No hourly billing.
Defined Deliverable
- Senior work, done directly.
- Concrete output, not open-ended advisory.
- Project-based or ongoing deal and pipeline review.
Featured insight
Why Project Development Timelines Break Venture Returns
Climate infrastructure runs on a different clock than venture capital. Long development timelines delay bankability, compress returns, and create a structural capital formation problem for founders and investors.
Read the pieceRecent insights
Commercialization
Founders Are Hiding From Sales
Marketing often becomes a way to avoid the customer conversations that actually create revenue.
Read →FundraisingWhat Business Are You Actually In?
Positioning determines which investors engage, which companies you are compared to, and how you are valued.
Read →Energy InfrastructureWhat Space-Based Data Centers Say About the Grid
Orbital data centers expose how badly power constraints are limiting infrastructure growth on Earth.
Read →
About
Sterling Root
Sterling has worked in the energy industry for a decade, and is now using his experience to help businesses fundraise, scale and sell efficiently.
He joined EDF Renewables as a Project Originator and progressed into senior commercial leadership, ending as Associate Director of Business Development. Over that period he originated, structured, and negotiated complex solar and storage transactions representing $446.9M in contract value and $73.3M in profit, at a 16.4% weighted margin.
That work meant sitting across the table from utilities, corporate offtakers, EPCs, and technology vendors. Sterling worked with those organizations to determine what could get bought, on what terms, and on what timeline. It is the same commercial reality climate technology founders are selling into.
He founded Cairn Climate Partners to bring that experience to companies whose technology works and whose commercial engine is still being built.
MBA, Berkeley HaasClean Energy Leadership Institute FellowEDF Renewables