18 Comments
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Fabiola's avatar

Your message is music to my ears; I'm here for the same purpose :)

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Silas Mähner's avatar

Substack truly is a great place for debate

I’ve found my issue to be, a lack of time to serve My thoughtful response bc I’m usually slammed.

But there is so much good content on here

We need to get to a world where more leisure is possible to have such conversations.

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Dr. Chris Wedding's avatar

Yoann, I hear you, see your hard work, and appreciate all that you're doing to advance the climate startup investing ecosystem. Your innovative approach to storytelling, education, and optimism is just what the climate tech sector needs right now, especially as we face more headwinds in the US. Fortunately, this is both a global challenge and an opportunity. Let's talk again soon!

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Gretta Vosper's avatar

Hey there. Received your post on another email so switched to this one which is the one my Substack is connected to. Been here for a few years so welcome, y’all! I left every social media platform in disgust, losing lots of contacts. But, you’re right; it wasn’t worth staying. I stayed on LI, but not getting much traction there, either. Which is fine. I’m not about the traction.

Still! I wanted to say THANKS for the engagement. Hope you hope over and read something of mine one day and say hello!

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Glad it resonates Gretta. Looking forward to having more active and thoughtful conversations via Substack

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Jack Lenk's avatar

Thank you for that, Yoann. I was starting to wonder about LinkedIn myself... but really, the invitation to participate and the clarity of guidance here is actually helpful and motivating.

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Yes, LinkedIn will need to seriously incorporate anti-AI checks to prevent the entire feed from being entirely AI-generated and AI-commented. Basically, algos talking to each other

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Antonia Valero's avatar

Yoann, how do you balance staying real and vulnerable in your writing while also trying to build a serious, credible newsletter that investors and founders respect?

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Such a good question.

It’s been a dance.

Early on I thought I had to sound “buttoned up” to be taken seriously, but I felt totally disconnected from my own writing.

Over time, I realized the people I admire most are the ones who are honest and sharp. The ones who don’t hide their questions or flaws, they just bring clarity through them.

Now I’m just trying to be one of those people.

Turns out... the more vulnerable I get, the more trust this space builds.

Respect doesn’t come from looking perfect.

It comes from being real, thoughtful, and consistent.

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SEArcularity's avatar

Resonate wholeheartedly - the reason why we also never exclude or paywalling our content. We want the community to engage because we believe Substack has its own magic that lies in the community

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Huw Thomas's avatar

Amen to that, Yoann. If we can create a space for considered, reflective, meaningful conversation, I'm there. 👍

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Thanks Huw, looking forward to more authentic debates in here. Don't ever hesitate to drop thoughts & asks

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Sarah Heys's avatar

Love your call to action Yoann, you are spot on, bravo you!!

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Great call for authenticity resonates with you. TO more open debates, convos and exhanges in this channel

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Maja's avatar

What kinds of comments or conversation starters would actually be helpful here? Sometimes I read and want to add something, but don’t know what to say.

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Honestly? Anything that adds depth, disagreement, curiosity, or even just a story from your world.

You don’t have to write an essay, just share the thing that stuck with you, the part that made you nod, or even the bit you didn’t agree with.

The dream here isn’t just a comments section.

It’s real, public thinking-out-loud together, the kind you’d normally only get at late-night drinks after a good conference panel.

So yeah. Don’t overthink it.

Write like you’d text a friend who just shared something that cracked you open a bit.

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Clint Borle's avatar

I didn't realize that the feed here was an alternative to Twitter. I appreciate your thoughts on the comments about the “agreeable echo chamber.” However, I believe that too much of the climate conversation happens behind closed doors and paywalls. Additionally, there are too many workshops happening on the ground but not enough actual work.

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Yoann Berno's avatar

Yes, we will gain from opening up the dialogue and sharing intel, lessons, and challenges. I'm inviting us all to be more open to putting things out in the open, so we can share our learnings and accelerate the growth and maturing of this space.

Re: paywall, it's a way to monetize a service that takes hours and a ton of effort and creativity to run. Although a lot of the thoughts I share are free and not behind paywall.

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