Terra Talent VC

What Terra Talent VC does

Terra Talent is an advisory and talent services firm that delivers executive search, leadership hiring, and talent advisory engagements exclusively to climate tech startups at the seed and Series A stages. Founded by Dolly Singh following the California wildfires, the firm positions itself as a strategic partner helping founders scale core capabilities and enterprise value, with a stated mission of catalyzing the climate tech industry toward global-scale planetary restoration. The 4-person team is led by Singh (20+ years of growth leadership across SpaceX, Oculus VR, Citadel, and Servicetitan) and Lead Recruiter Jesse Gurney (a decade placing engineering and leadership hires into hard-tech climate companies).

The firm's core product is retained executive search and talent advisory, augmented by a public content library of five Founder Playbooks (PB1-PB5 covering first-recruiter hiring, interview design, recruiting tooling, DEI, and founder mythbusters) and a downloadable template suite (Startup Equity 101, Reference Check Guide, Candidate Info Packet, Talent Tracker, Competencies and Scorecard). Distribution is hybrid: a sales-led direct-engagement motion with founders is paired with a community-led motion via the Green Tea resource hub and the Jobs in Our Network job board (hosted on Getro). The proprietary technology is essentially a codified recruitment methodology, including frameworks for candidate assessment, structured interview design, and talent process tracking, rather than software.

Terra Talent generates revenue through professional services fees on executive search engagements; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based per engagement. The customer base spans 26+ climate tech companies across at least eight sub-sectors, including Heirloom (DAC), SPAN (electrification), Antora Energy (industrial heat/power), Electric Hydrogen, Fervo Energy (geothermal), Fuse, Fourth Power, Xcimer (fusion/physics), Kairos Power (nuclear), Brimstone (cement), Terraform Industries, Seurat (3D metal printing), Heart Aerospace, and others. Geographic reach is described as global, with no disclosed office locations.

Name

Terra Talent VC

Legal name

Terra Talent

Website

https://terratalent.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Terra Talent is a climate tech executive search and talent advisory firm serving seed to Series A founders. Led by Dolly Singh, it serves 26+ climate tech companies spanning hydrogen, carbon capture, geothermal, fusion, and other hard-tech sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

akta.pro primary industry

Learning Management (LMS) & Talent Development (BPACAPAG)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Climate tech recruiting
• Talent advisory
• Leadership hiring
• Retained search

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Executive/Leadership Recruitment Services: Retained search and talent advisory services for climate tech companies. The firm works with seed and Series A founders to make key engineering and leadership hires. Revenue likely derives from success fees or retained contracts for executive search engagements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Terra Talent is a climate tech-focused advisory and talent services firm that provides retained executive search and talent advisory engagements for seed and Series A founders. The firm makes key engineering and leadership hires for hard-tech climate startups and publishes proprietary playbooks, document templates, and a public job board (Jobs in Our Network) to support the broader climate tech ecosystem.

Product overview

Terra Talent VC is an advisory and talent services firm focused exclusively on the climate tech sector. The core offering is executive search and advisory services helping founders build high-impact climate technology companies. The product portfolio includes five Founder Playbooks (PB1-PB5) covering hiring strategy, interview design, recruiting tools, DEI, and founder myths; document templates (Startup Equity 101, Reference Check Guide, Candidate Info Packet, Talent Tracker, Competencies Scorecard); a Green Tea resource hub; and a Jobs in Our Network board. These resources support both job seekers finding climate positions and founders building climate teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Terra Talent Advisory and Talent Services Retained executive search, leadership hiring, and talent advisory services for climate tech founders at seed and Series A stages, helping them make key engineering and leadership hires and scale core capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Has made key engineering and leadership hires for 15+ prominent climate tech companies including Heirloom Carbon, SPAN, Antora Energy, Seurat Technologies, Fourth Power, and others

Named customers25 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Aether BiocoreOthersRecruitment services relationship. Terra Talent has made key hires for Aether Bio, a company rapidly engineering enzymes to manufacture complex products at fractional cost.
• Heirloom CarboncoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Heirloom Carbon, a company capturing carbon using the natural power of limestone.
• SPANcoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for SPAN, a company building smart panels to enable electrification.
• Antora EnergycoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Antora Energy, delivering zero-carbon industrial heat and power.
• Seurat TechnologiescoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Seurat Technologies, specializing in 3D metal printing for sustainable reshoring.
• Fourth PowercoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Fourth Power, building thermal batteries to store excess renewable energy.
• NudgeminorOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Nudge, a climate tech company.
• Terraform IndustriescoreOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Terraform Industries, producing cheap natural gas with sunlight and air.
• Pascal TechnologiesminorOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Pascal Technologies, a climate tech company.
• GeoshipminorOthersExecutive and leadership recruitment partner. Terra Talent has made key engineering and leadership hires for Geoship, building natural and affordable bioceramic domes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Climatebase: Climate career platform with a job board, talent directory, and community for climate professionals. Comparable as a public-facing climate talent funnel that complements executive search in the same ecosystem.
• Work on Climate: Climate talent community and job-matching platform connecting job seekers with climate-focused employers. Comparable as a community-led GTM motion in the climate talent space, though lighter on retained executive search.
• Sustainability Talent: Boutique recruiting firm focused on sustainability and clean energy roles. Comparable in vertical specialization, though its focus spans more broadly across ESG and corporate sustainability rather than exclusively hard-tech climate founders.

Broad incumbents

• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with deep experience in energy, industrials, and clean tech. Comparable for senior-level climate mandates, but lacks Terra Talent's exclusive focus on early-stage climate founders.
• Caldwell Partners: Executive search and leadership advisory firm with a dedicated Clean Tech & Energy practice. Comparable as an incumbent channel for climate tech leadership hiring at scale.
• Korn Ferry: Major organizational consulting firm with retained executive search and a dedicated Sustainability & ESG practice. Competes for leadership placements at climate companies but at much larger enterprise scale.
• Heidrick & Struggles: One of the largest global retained executive search firms with established ESG and climate practices serving senior leadership mandates. Comparable as a competing channel for climate tech leadership hiring, though it operates broadly rather than focusing exclusively on seed/Series A climate founders.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with clean tech and sustainability expertise across energy, industrials, and consumer. Competes for senior climate leadership mandates, particularly at growth-stage companies.

Direct peers

• Riviera Partners: Tech-focused executive search firm placing engineering and product leaders at venture-backed startups and growth-stage tech companies. Closely comparable in target customer (founders/Series A+) and delivery model (retained search).
• Climate Draft: Climate-focused talent firm recruiting engineers, scientists, and operators for climate startups and funds. Directly comparable in vertical specialization on climate tech and focus on early-stage operators.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/terratalentvc23
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/terra-talent-vc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Terra Talent VC