Today we speak with Wade Bitaraf, founder of Energy & Sustainability at Plug and Play.
As a leader in energy innovation, Wade collaborates with entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and investors to drive impactful solutions. With a background in solar energy, research, and startup development, he combines technical expertise with strategic insight.
A passionate advocate for sustainability, Wade identifies transformative startups and equips them with funding, a global network, and industry expertise. At Plug and Play, he focuses on aligning emerging technologies with market needs to accelerate the energy transition and create lasting impact.
Tell us more about yourself.
Wade : I’m Wade, the founder of Energy & Sustainability at Plug and Play, the largest corporate innovation center and one of the most active early-stage investors globally. In my role, I work closely with entrepreneurs, corporate innovation leaders, and investors, focusing on the energy industry value chain.
Before this, I worked in solar energy, published scientific articles, and led business development efforts at a startup. I hold master’s degrees in Chemical Engineering and Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. My passion lies at the intersection of technology and business, where innovative solutions can drive meaningful change.
What do you usually want to see in a startup before you decide to look into it further?
Wade : I like to see early traction in their team as well as their customers/investors relations. In my opinion, it’s telling when the founder has been able to convince a group of world class talent to join them on in their journey of building something that has previously not existed. That skill set can translate in many of the other situations in the future where as the leader they have to help the team overcome a barrier or resolve a conflict.
Which sections of the pitch deck do you pay more attention to?
Wade :The are usually 3 main sections that I pay more attention to when I take an initial look into decks: The Problem statement, Solutions they’re building and the Competitors slides. Those slides should give me a relatively good idea about the startup and how prepared they are to have any follow up conversations with our team.
How did you get into this investment sector?
Wade : When I started my journey at Plug and Play in 2016, I was tasked to build a new industry vertical with a full-fledged focus on energy transition and sustainability. It was a time when many of the key corporate stakeholders from around the world had started to visit Silicon Valley asking for solutions that can help them address their business challenges. Since then we built a team, signed several corporate sponsors, expanded geographically and set up a fund to support and invest in startups in climate tech.
What is the most interesting aspect of your job?
Wade :The most interesting aspect of my job is to be able to meet with some of the most ambitious entrepreneurs that want to change the world and learn the latest trends of technologies from them on one hand. On the other hand, it’s the opportunity to meet with corporate executives and government leaders who look at these emerging markets from a completely different lense and try to coonect them with startups that can address those challenges for them.
What are the top 3 traits that startups should have to be more appealing to investors?
Wade :One of the most important traits in startup founders is their ability to build a worldclass team. At the earliest stage of the startup journey nothing is more important than team. One that can demonstrate outstanding technical skills, potential of operating and scaling a company and lastly show that they can close business deals with investors, strategic partners to bring in revenue.
Ηow can startups in the Pre-Seed stage increase their chances of attracting investors’ interest?
Wade :One of the more common ways for B2B startups to get investors’ attention is early traction with corporate customers. Often times that traction is built in the form of unpaid pilot projects or proof of concepts if the startups have not taken their minimum viabale product to the market yet. If they have entered the market, bringing corporate customers revenue even in a one-off project could pique investors interest.
Connect with Wade on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wadebitaraf/
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