John Jeffers is an accomplished energy industry executive who has dedicated his 32-year career to tackling some of the sector’s most critical emerging challenges. His journey spans global upstream oil and gas, technology, and strategic leadership roles with ExxonMobil, Schlumberger, and Southwestern Energy.
Since leaving his corporate role in 2020, John has focused on helping early-stage companies succeed by mentoring and advising entrepreneurs on customer discovery, product development strategy, strategic partnership opportunities, fundraising and building scalable businesses. His journey into investing in startups began first through venture capital, and for the past several years, he has been an active angel investor. His interests include all facets of energy transition, including improving efficiency, reducing the environmental impact of legacy energy sources, and development of economically viable, scalable alternatives.
He is a co-founder of Revolution Turbine Technologies, a waste energy recovery technology aimed at decarbonizing natural gas operations. He is a member of SWAN Impact Network, a Texas-based angel network. John is currently an XiR for the current cohort of the Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator. He holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Dartmouth, a masters from Rice, and has completed executive education coursework at SMU’s Cox School of Business.
During our conversation, he discusses:
His transition from working in oil and gas to angel investing
The role of subsidies and unit economics in clean energy
The potential of waste heat recovery technologies
The future of hydrogen as a fuel and potential methods of production
Strategies for evaluating investment opportunities in clean energy
The significance of understanding both customer needs and operational integration when evaluating a new technology
The necessity for adaptability and strategic pivots
Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
What We Cover:
00:00 Introduction
02:30 John's Journey into Angel Investing
03:26 The Mindset of Early Stage Investing
05:10 John's First Angel Investment
07:19 Focus on Clean Energy and Energy Transition
09:47 Revolution Turbine Technologies
12:02 Investment Trends in Alternative Energy Equipment
14:58 The Importance of Unit Economics
20:47 Efficiency Improvements in Industrial Settings
28:29 Business Models for Green Technology Adoption
37:59 Hydrogen as a Future Fuel
40:39 Challenges and Opportunities in Hydrogen Production
Connect with John
Website: https://www.revolutionturbines.com/
Connect with Andrew
Newsletter: https://thediligentobserver.substack.com
Website: https://pitchfact.com/
Stuff We Reference
ExxonMobil: https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/
Schlumberger: https://www.slb.com/
Southwestern Energy: https://www.swn.com/
SWAN Impact Network: https://swanimpact.org/
Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator: https://ricecleanenergy.org/
Dartmouth College: https://home.dartmouth.edu/
Rice University: https://www.rice.edu/
SMU Cox School of Business: https://www.smu.edu/cox
PitchBook: https://pitchbook.com/
Inflation Reduction Act: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Inflation-Reduction-Act-Guidebook.pdf
Imperium Technologies: https://imperiumzone.com/
Greentown Labs Houston: https://greentownlabs.com/houston/
Skyven Technologies: https://skyven.co/
Kanin Energy: https://kaninenergy.com/
Janice Tran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicetran/
Rice Energy Tech Venture Forum: https://alliance.rice.edu/etvf
Koloma: https://koloma.com/
Breakthrough Energy Ventures: https://www.breakthroughenergy.org/
All opinions expressed are personal and may not reflect the views of the individual’s organization or of The Diligent Observer. Not investment advice.
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