From CIO to Climate Tech Pioneer: Kentaro Kawamori on Building Persefoni and Raising $175M
In this episode of the Phoenix Founders Podcast, we sat down with Kentaro Kawamori, CEO of Persefoni to discuss his entrepreneurial journey and the impressive development of his company. Persefoni is an enterprise SaaS company focused on climate management and accounting, helping companies calculate and manage their carbon footprints.
Kentaro shares his background, including his experience as CIO at Chesapeake Energy, where he discovered the need for better carbon accounting solutions. He discusses raising $175 million in funding, including a $100 million Series B round, and emphasizes the company's focus on R&D, investing 50-60% of resources into product development. Kentaro also highlights Persefoni's unique position in the market, serving almost 900 companies globally, with 60% of customers new to carbon accounting.
Learn the various aspects of building a successful SaaS company, including the importance of maintaining founder control over product development and avoiding traditional corporate management practices.
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