Creating planet-positive solutions
September 06, 2023
Science grad Parmjot Gill co-founded Kite, a venture studio that helps work through problems to create world-class companies and a cleaner, more sustainable resource industry
Name: Parmjot Gill, co-founder and vice-president.
UVic degree: Bachelor of Science with a double major in biology (marine concentration) and environmental studies.
Other degrees: MBA in entrepreneurship and innovation from the University of British Columbia.
My business: Kite Company Creator Ltd. (“Kite”)
Where it’s located: Squamish, BC
What we do: Kite is a venture studio (before incubator/accelerator stage), driving scalable, sustainable solutions in the natural-resources industry. We aim to be a catalyst for cleaner, safer and less wasteful innovations to propel the energy transition forward.
Our team is: Kite is a ‘smelting pot’ of team members from across industry, technical and business backgrounds. Every person on our team has a tremendous passion for building something impactful beyond ourselves, and we’re privileged to have an exceptional advisory board supporting us as well.
Why we’re unique: Our vision is to create game-changing, scalable companies at the intersection of digital transformation and resource industries for environmental benefit.
Our approach is deeply rooted in problem-driven innovation by partnering with industry to understand their core problems. After that, we get to play in the venture design and technology development and finally scale the company to spin-off. By focusing on a venture-studio model, we aim to significantly reduce traditional start-up failure risks and hope to catalyze more impact.
Our ideal customer is: Large resource-industry corporations looking to innovate with digital technologies for environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact.
Our business mantra: We’re invested in each other’s success as much as we are in our ventures through collaboration and honesty. We embrace serious playfulness, love to tackle the big problems and want to leave things better.
I wasn't expecting… my journey from biology classes on campus to lead me to the world of venture capital and start-up building. The more I learned about the industry, the more profound the impact became for not only my own values, but also the trajectory of my career.
Right now, our biggest challenge lies in bridging the gap between profit-driven investments and prioritizing ESG factors. As the urgency to address global challenges such as climate change, social inequality and corporate responsibility intensifies, the investment landscape is evolving rapidly—critical mineral needs for clean-technology deployment are increasing, while supplies are decreasing. The challenge lies in convincing stakeholders that ESG considerations are not only crucial for the well-being of our planet and society but also for long-term financial success.
We'll know we're successful when ESG-investing becomes the new norm, and the integration of sustainable practices is ingrained in every investment decision. We build ventures that prioritize enabling the clean-energy transition.
Where to find us: Kite
Bottom line: ESG-investing is not merely a trend but a fundamental shift towards a more sustainable and responsible future; it’s a future that led me to building Kite, where I hope we’re part of that change.