Strategic Positioning for Climate Solutions

I work where business development, marketing, and nonprofit development meet — helping climate tech founders and nonprofit leaders figure out who to reach and how to reach them. That means validating sales strategies, identifying target funders, translating technical work into investor-ready narratives, and positioning complex solutions for the specific rooms where decisions get made. You've built something the world needs. I help you get it in front of the people who can fund it, buy it, and scale it.

Climate Tech Founders

You've built something. You have traction. But deals aren't closing because you're stuck in technical language, targeting the wrong buyers, or both.

I help you:

You've built something valuable. I make sure the right people understand it.

Clients include:

One Concern
Exodigo
Flypower
PowerGEM
Breathe Zero

Nonprofit Leaders

You're doing climate work that sits at the intersection of social impact and science. You need funding, but most development consultants don't understand what you're building well enough to position it effectively for funders.

I help you:

I bring development expertise with a science and climate tech background — I understand what you're building and know how to make funders see its value.

Clients include:

Creative Climate Lab
Act Now Bay Area
Sierra Club
Rethink the Runway

About

Casey O'Brien

I'm a strategic positioning consultant for climate tech startups and nonprofits, based in San Francisco. I've spent nearly a decade working in climate — starting as a reporter covering climate stories while still in university, then leading marketing at climate tech companies like Exodigo (through their $105M Series A) and One Concern, and now consulting independently and with Iron Core Marketing.

I'm a ClimateBase Cohort 7 Fellow and have worked across climate risk analytics, subsurface infrastructure mapping, renewable energy, and climate advocacy. I studied sociology and anthropology at University of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest — living in Washington cemented for me that there was nothing else I wanted to do than save the earth with words. I'm obsessed with science communication: how to make complex climate work legible and compelling to the people who need to understand it.

As a lifelong traveler, I'm passionate about working globally and have led country launches and expansions into the UK, Europe, the U.S., and LATAM. When I'm not working, I'm usually hiking with my dog, camping somewhere in California, or reading my way through yet another stack of books. Born and raised in CA, deeply rooted in the Bay Area climate ecosystem, and always looking for the next road trip.

FAQ

Do you work on retainer or hourly?

Both. For retainer clients, we structure ongoing partnerships around your needs. For hourly work, I bill fixed hours per month so you have predictable costs and consistent access.

What do people actually hire you to do?

Founders hire me to validate their sales strategy, identify target customers, develop positioning and messaging, or prepare for investor conversations. Nonprofits hire me to develop grant strategy, write proposals, or build narratives for specific funding opportunities. Sometimes it's a one-time project (pitch deck, grant application). Sometimes it's ongoing strategic partnership.

Do you work remotely?

Yes — I work with founders and organizations across every timezone. But I'm deeply rooted in the Bay Area climate ecosystem, and that local network is key to how I do my work. You get both: global reach and Bay Area climate tech fluency.

Can't founders just do this themselves?

Sure — if you have time to learn funder landscapes, study how different industries evaluate climate solutions, and build positioning frameworks from scratch while also running your company. Most founders I work with are brilliant at what they do. They hire me because I've spent a decade learning how to translate climate innovation for the specific audiences they need to reach, and it's faster to bring me in than to figure it out themselves.

How did you get into this work?

I started as a reporter covering climate tech startups. After watching too many of them fail — not because the technology didn't work, but because they couldn't communicate what they were building — I got sick of just writing about it and moved into communications and marketing inside the industry. From there, the path wound through in-house startup roles, consulting, and nonprofit development work that often happened on the side. But the through-line is simple: I've wanted to work in climate since I could read, and I've always found a way to do it. That breadth — journalism, startups, nonprofits — is what lets me operate across contexts most consultants can't. I've seen how each world works and how to translate between them.

Get in Touch

Ready to position your climate solution for success?

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