Rising ICON #45: Nina Axelson
What name do you prefer to be called?
Nina Axelson (or Nina for informal use)
What are your pronouns?
She/her
Where did you grow up?
St. Anthony, Minnesota
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
I introduce myself as Nina, an energy nerd and extrovert, raising a tornado of a human, aka my 4th grader, with my husband in NE Minneapolis. When folks ask what I do, I often say that I’m an energy matchmaker, because I match startups with established partners who can help them rise and commercialize.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I used to be more guarded, but now I’m an open book about life, because I think it’s ok to let folks know you don’t always have every single thing figured out. And I think it connects us and helps us to go through the hard things together.
Who do you help?
Through Grid Catalyst, my focus is helping energy and cleantech startups. We focus on startups that need pilot projects to prove their technology and make it into the market faster and more effectively. But I also like to think that cultivating the innovation ecosystem here can help a much wider group of folks, including students, researchers, businesses, utilities, nonprofits, and even individuals who need or want better technology in their lives and who care about addressing climate change.
What are you building now?
We just launched a new program focused on increasing access and opportunities for more prospective founders and innovators in this sector - Cleantech Innovation Pathways. Most of us know the journey for a founder can be incredibly difficult, even more so if you are a woman or person of color. This intersects with some systemic issues of representation and power in the energy industry, placing even more challenges in front of diverse founders in that sector. We are working with partners across the state to find more ways to welcome more innovators to launch businesses in this sector, with a focus on the incoming energy workforce, youth, higher education, industry professionals, and entrepreneurs from other sectors. We hope to equip these individuals with the knowledge, relationships, skills, resources, partnerships, and pathways they need to make big things happen in energy and cleantech, as well as bring benefits back into their own communities. This is also a key strategy to how we grow a more equitable and innovative cleantech ecosystem in Minnesota. To get there, we need the intention and partnership.
What were you building ten years ago today?
Ten years ago today was a moment of major transition. I was 5 months pregnant and a few months away from being named a vice president in my previous company. I was rebuilding our team after some departures and we were working on some major growth projects, including setting more ambitious sustainability and modernization plans for transforming our utility operations. And we were preparing to launch the Saint Paul EcoDistrict, a public-private collaboration to educate people about renewable energy and climate.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
I love the timeline of these questions because 2034 will be another pivotal moment, personally and for our work. I hope to be handing over the reins of the business to our next leader, setting them up for the next stage of growth and impact. This will be in the midst of deadlines for major (and crucial) renewable energy and decarbonization goals for our state and country, so the need for innovation and the adoption of new technology is absolutely intended to thrive during this timeline. I hope that we will have realized the foundational work we are doing today to catalyze innovation in these sectors and also to bring more people to the table to lead, launch, and be part of the work. My daughter will (likely) be out of the nest and it will leave more flexibility to show up for other community needs. My “early--retirement” plan has always been to go back to my early love of coaching (mostly swimming). And with the V3 program ready to launch in North Minneapolis, I can’t wait to see how I can help that community from the pool deck. It’s funny, really, because what I do now is coaching, too. So definitely a common thread.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
I have seen a surge of women entering this workforce and taking on leadership positions, but they are still vastly underrepresented in this sector (making up about 16%). That can be daunting for women selecting careers, but I want to encourage women to consider pathways to the energy sector. And I want women to make sure they aren’t adding any limiting factors to their own ambition, success, or leadership potential. I speak to a lot of women leading startups in this space who are still toying with calling themselves a founder or entrepreneur, even if that’s exactly their role. Let’s not diminish our value or potential preemptively. I’m so glad the generation coming up will see so many more women in top leadership positions like Bethany Owen (Allete-MN Power), Brenda Casselius (Fresh Energy), Annie Levenson-Falk (Citizen Utility Board), Jodi Slick (Ecolibrium3), Zahra Iliff (Vessyll), Elizabeth Turner (Precipitate), Grace Arnold (Commissioner of the MN Department of Commerce), and Michelle Gransee (Deputy Commissioner of Energy Resources). And so many incredible women leading in energy and cleantech incubators across the country!
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
When I left my very stable and fulfilling job in 2021, I was asked by many folks why I would do something so foolish. My answer was simple - I knew that I could make a bigger difference someplace else. I know that I’m providing a resource and service to our state that no other organization was providing and that by building our collective work, we will make sure Minnesota has access to the best technologies and innovators to address climate change. It’s personal, but it’s the collective work and impact that matters.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
Scott Friesen and Shawntera Hardy are mentors and dear friends who have given me similar advice: don't set limits on the vision and potential of your work. There are enough limiting forces in the world, so we don’t need to do that to ourselves. We can make audacious plans and take big swings.
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
In 2012, I published a study for the Department of Energy, along with some incredible coworkers, about the potential of connecting Minneapolis and Saint Paul through a network of energy islands. It’s one of the more rigorous technical efforts I've been a part of in my career, and it stretched me in ways that still serve the work I do.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
My dream is to get a mention in Fast Company. But not a feature, as a side note to a feature about one of the startups we’ve helped. There are too many overlooked innovators and I would love to be part of helping someone reach that level of visibility and impact.
Who would you love to be interviewed by (podcast host, journalist, thought leader, political figure, television host)?
David Roberts and the Volts podcast. If it were local, hands down, it would be Sheletta Brundidge.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
Do more.
What award would mean the most to win?
I don’t think there’s an award on my radar that I would like to win. I certainly appreciate some validation that my work matters, but the awards tend to put me out of my comfort zone.
What makes zero sense to you?
Cooking as a hobby.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Net zero
What game are you changing?
I think I’m creating a lane for collaboration that wasn’t there before in Minnesota - making it easier for institutions to view risk and partnership differently to help startups and innovators.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
We will be hosting our Minnesota Cleantech Innovation Summit in September and I would love to see more folks jump into the event with curiosity about what we are building and the incredible tech are startups are developing.
Where can we follow you online?
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nina-axelson/
www.gridcatalyst.org
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Humility
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We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Nina, for sharing your story!
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