AI Nexus NYC | C10 Labs
New York, NY | Flexible, Part-Time Mentor Engagement
About C10 Labs
C10 Labs is an AI-native venture fund and venture platform that partners with exceptional founders to build and scale category-defining AI companies.
Through AI Nexus NYC, C10 Labs brings together founders, investors, operators, researchers, corporate leaders, and industry experts to support the development and commercialization of high-potential AI startups.
We are expanding our mentor network and seeking experienced leaders across climate, sustainability, and environmental innovation who want to help founders solve meaningful industry challenges and build enduring companies.
The Opportunity
C10 Labs is seeking experienced founders, executives, investors, operators, researchers, and subject-matter experts to serve as Climate & Sustainability Mentors for AI Nexus NYC.
Mentors will work directly with early-stage founders developing AI-enabled solutions across climate technology, sustainability, decarbonization, resource efficiency, and environmental resilience.
This is an opportunity to provide practical guidance, challenge assumptions, make meaningful introductions, and help startups navigate complex markets, customer relationships, regulations, financing requirements, and commercialization pathways.
We are especially interested in mentors who can help founders move beyond product development and toward customer adoption, strategic partnerships, measurable impact, and institutional funding.
Founder Mentorship and Company Building
- Advise founders on product strategy, business models, market positioning, and commercialization.
- Help startups identify their highest-value customer segments and use cases.
- Provide practical feedback on go-to-market strategy, pricing, partnerships, and customer acquisition.
- Challenge assumptions and help founders prioritize the opportunities that create the greatest commercial and environmental value.
- Share lessons learned from building, operating, investing in, or scaling companies within climate and sustainability markets.
Customer and Market Development
- Help founders understand how sustainability and climate-related purchasing decisions are made within large organizations.
- Introduce startups to potential customers, pilot partners, corporate sustainability teams, investors, and industry experts when appropriate.
- Advise founders on navigating long enterprise sales cycles and complex stakeholder environments.
- Help companies design credible pilots and convert successful engagements into longer-term commercial relationships.
- Provide insight into procurement, implementation, and adoption within regulated or operationally complex industries.
Climate and Sustainability Expertise
- Help founders understand evolving industry trends, policies, regulations, reporting requirements, and market dynamics.
- Provide feedback on environmental impact claims, sustainability metrics, and customer value propositions.
- Support companies working through regulatory, technical, financial, or commercialization barriers.
- Help founders distinguish between compelling climate impact and a scalable venture-backed business model.
- Advise companies on how AI and data can create durable technical, operational, or commercial advantages.
Fundraising and Strategic Growth
- Help founders refine their fundraising strategy and investor positioning.
- Review pitch materials and provide feedback on how companies communicate their market opportunity, impact, traction, and differentiation.
- Introduce founders to relevant climate investors, strategic partners, family offices, corporate venture groups, or grant and non-dilutive funding resources when appropriate.
- Help startups understand the milestones required to become institutionally investable.
- Support founders preparing for investor meetings, strategic partnership discussions, and diligence.
AI Nexus NYC Community
- Participate in mentor office hours, workshops, panels, founder meetings, and community events.
- Collaborate with other mentors, investors, operators, and C10 Labs team members.
- Contribute insights that strengthen AI Nexus NYC programming and founder support.
- Participate in Demo Day or investor-readiness activities when appropriate.
- We welcome mentors with experience across areas such as: - Climate Technology
- Corporate Sustainability
- Decarbonization
- Carbon Accounting and Carbon Management
- Carbon Markets
- Climate Finance
- Circular Economy
- Waste Reduction and Resource Recovery
- Sustainable Supply Chains
- Environmental Data and Analytics
- Climate Risk and Resilience
- Water and Natural Resource Management
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
- Green Buildings and Infrastructure
- Environmental Services
- ESG and Sustainability Reporting
- Clean Technology
- Nature-Based Solutions
- Climate Policy and Regulation
Who You Are
- You enjoy helping founders work through difficult and ambiguous problems.
- You bring practical operating, investing, technical, or market experience.
- You are candid, thoughtful, and constructive in your feedback.
- You understand that strong mentorship involves challenging founders, not simply encouraging them.
- You are curious about how AI can create new solutions across climate and sustainability markets.
- You want to help startups create measurable impact while building scalable and financially sustainable businesses.
Commitment
This is a flexible, part-time mentor engagement. Participation may include:- Founder mentoring sessions
- Office hours
- Workshops or panel discussions
- Customer, partner, or investor introductions
- Pitch and fundraising preparation
- Demo Day participation
- Periodic program and portfolio-company support
Mentor involvement will be coordinated based on availability, expertise, and the needs of participating companies.As a Climate & Sustainability Mentor, you will have the opportunity to work alongside ambitious founders developing AI-enabled solutions to important environmental and economic challenges.
You will become part of a growing community of investors, operators, researchers, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs working to advance New York’s AI and innovation ecosystem while helping startups build stronger products, partnerships, and companies.
To Apply
Please submit your résumé or professional profile and a short description of the climate and sustainability areas in which you can provide the greatest value to founders.
C10 Labs welcomes mentors from diverse professional, academic, and industry backgrounds.
