#202 – Laura Fox | Streetlife Ventures – Improving Urban Life and Mobility

Building Better with Brandon Bartneck

Laura Fox is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Streetlife Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund investing in B2B urban climate solutions to transform sectors including mobility, buildings, energy, waste, and water. She joins to discuss the challenges and opportunities in improving quality of life in cities and the urban climate space

Takeaways

• Street Life focuses on the climate transition in the mobility and logistics industry, seeking opportunities beyond traditional big players.
• The MORE framework (enablement, rebuild, mobility solutions, maintenance) guides Street Life's approach to addressing mobility challenges.
• Infrastructure rebuilding and reimagining are crucial, as a significant portion of urban infrastructure needed by 2050 does not exist yet.
• Balancing business goals and impact is a challenge, but partnerships with the public sector can be a major accelerant to growth.
• Policy plays a vital role in driving change, and resistance to change can be navigated through thoughtful implementation and clear benefits.

Chapters

• Introduction and Background
• Defining the Problem of Improving Life in Cities
• Choosing the Right Size Problem to Solve
• Adaptation and the Changing Environment
• Electrification and Closing the Gap
• Core Thesis of Street Life and Opportunities in Mobility and Logistics
• The MORE Framework for Mobility
• Infrastructure Rebuilding and Reimagining
• Mobility Solutions and Maintenance
• Balancing Business Goals and Impact
• The Role of Policy in Driving Change
• Navigating Resistance to Change
• Street Life's Role in Solving Mobility Problems
• Encouraging Different Approaches to Problem-Solving
• The Economic Opportunity in the Transition to Net Zero

Links:

• Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/laurafox
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraafox/
• Streetlife website
• Pre-seed or seed B2B startup in the Streetlife thesis space? Pitch Streetlife here

Bio

Laura Fox speaks on mobility, city, and climate topics globally, and is on ‘Transportation Power 100’ and ‘Top Women in Mobility’ lists. She is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Streetlife Ventures, a seed-stage venture fund investing in B2B urban climate solutions to transform sectors including mobility, buildings, energy, waste, and water.

Previously, Laura was the General Manager of Citi Bike at Lyft and built it into a $100M+ ARR business and one of the country’s largest transportation systems, led diligence on urban climate tech companies at Sidewalk Labs, launched new mobility products with Boston Consulting Group’s digital ventures team, and advised Bloomberg Philanthropies on their urban investment strategy.

Laura also teaches MBA strategy courses at NYU Stern, and is on the board of Governors Island, which will be the test bed for climate innovation in NYC. She is a Senior Fellow with MIT’s Mobility Initiative, and on the urban-focused Expert Taskforce for the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Fun fact: Laura’s friends call her ‘20 Questions’ since she loves getting to the heart of a good idea - and she’s given a TED Talk on the topic.

Streetlife Ventures description

Streetlife Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed B2B startups at the intersection of cities and climate, across the building, energy, mobility and logistics, waste and water, and adaptive tech sectors.

Future of Mobility:

The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, effective, and accessible mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields.

Edison Manufacturing and Engineering:

Edison is your low volume contract manufacturing partner, focused on assembly of complex mobility and energy products that don’t neatly fit within traditional high-volume production methods.

linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/

brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/