Meet the Builders behind Buoyant.
Bringing decades of entrepreneurial and finance experience to founders building impactful solutions.
Built to back founders at the earliest, most critical stage.
As early-stage investors, we align with you from the very start.
Our drive is not to simply keep you afloat, but to help you best navigate the full depths of your potential.
Amy Francetic is the co-founder and Managing General Partner of Buoyant Ventures, where she leads the firm's strategy investing in the intelligence layer for the physical world.
Her career spans over 20 years of high technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Amy previously founded and led Energize Ventures, a $165M venture fund that invests in digital energy technologies.
She also co-founded and served as CEO of technology accelerator Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly Clean Energy Trust,) which has invested in over 40 early-stage clean energy companies across the Midwestern US. She now serves as Chair of its Board of Directors. Amy also held roles at private equity firm MVC Capital, and at Stanford Research Institute where she worked on an early version of the voice recognition technology that became Siri. Earlier in her career, she was co-founder and CEO of a consumer technology company that was funded by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, and that she sold to the Danish toy company, Lego Systems. Amy also helped fundraise for mobile gaming company, GluMobile, on whose board she served until it went public on the NASDAQ.
In addition to the Evergreen Climate board, Amy serves on the boards of Buoyant Ventures portfolio companies HData, Hammerhead, ReelData, and Ocient. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the WISER Institute at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 2020 Crain's recognized her for the third time as one of Chicago's Top 50 Technology Leaders. In 2019 she was honored by Streetwise as one of the "20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans." In 2015 she was an Emerging Leader at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs. In 2014 she was awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award from the Executives' Club of Chicago, and Leading Woman in Technology from the Illinois Technology Association. Amy is a regular lecturer in energy and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago's Law School. She has a BA from Stanford University.
Amy lives in Lake Forest, IL with her husband and two dogs.
Alex Behar
Partner
Alex Behar is a Partner at Buoyant Ventures, where he invests in early-stage companies, drawing on over 15 years of experience spanning investing and corporate strategy.
Since joining Buoyant in 2024, Alex has been deeply involved in all aspects of venture investing, including leading deals and supporting the growth of the Buoyant portfolio. He led the firm's investments in Sunairio, and also serves on the boards of ElectroTempo, HData, ReelData.
Alex's investing perspective is grounded in both venture and corporate innovation experience. Prior to Buoyant, he spent four years as Vice President at Cultivian Sandbox, an early-stage fund focused on food and agriculture, where he diligenced and led deals across food, agriculture, and sustainability (including Debut Biotech), and served on the boards of Nuritas and Copper Cow Coffee.
Earlier in his career, Alex was a Manager at Deloitte, where he focused on corporate innovation engagements across agriculture, energy, and water, including establishing an innovation unit for a client to invest in those sectors. There, he developed investment theses and led diligence on early-stage investments. Prior to Deloitte, he was an economist at RBB Economics, a leading antitrust consulting firm, where he worked on multiple industrial and tech engagements.
Alex holds an MA in Economics from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from INSEAD, where he was the recipient of the Syngenta Scholarship for Emerging Country Leadership. He lives in Lakeview, Chicago with his wife and two young kids.
Laura Katzman
Partner
Laura Katzman is a Partner at Buoyant Ventures, where she invests in early-stage companies, bringing over a decade of experience at the intersection of climate and finance.
Since joining Buoyant in 2021, Laura has played an active role in the firm's portfolio construction and diligence efforts, and following her promotion to Partner in 2025, she has led the firm's investments in Hammerhead, Gravity, and SkyFi. She currently serves on five portfolio company boards, partnering closely with founders on growth, strategy, and execution.
Laura's investing perspective is grounded in both operating and institutional finance experience. Prior to Buoyant, she helped launch Michigan Climate Venture, the first student-run fund focused on rapid decarbonization. She oversaw the fund's initial investment, built its diligence framework, and co-developed the fund's core training curriculum. Outside the fund, she supported an early-stage food startup.
Earlier in her career, Laura was a Certified Public Accountant at Deloitte, where she specialized in investment valuation for hedge funds, mutual funds, and private equity clients. She later joined Ares Management's corporate revenue team, further deepening her experience across public and private market dynamics.
Laura holds an MBA and MS in Sustainability from the University of Michigan and a BA in Economics and Accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Accelerate a climate-resilient world
Invest in scalable digital solutions for climate change while delivering exceptional outcomes for our stakeholders
IMPACT
IMPACT
We invest in seed and series A companies with AI, software, and simple hardware.
intelligence
We're seeking companies that drive resource efficiency, resiliency, and decarbonization.
We invest primarily in the U.S. and Canada, and internationally when a company is ready to expand into the U.S.
We are hands-on partners.
We bring more than capital. Our network of LPs, advisors, and experts includes executives from energy and industrial enterprises, giving founders direct access to buyers, partners, and talent.
Our entrepreneurs are working to digitally transform the world's largest industries.
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Amy Francetic is the co-founder and Managing General Partner of Buoyant Ventures, where she leads the firm's strategy investing in the intelligence layer for the physical world. Her career spans over 20 years of high technology entrepreneurship, private equity, and research. Amy previously founded and led Energize Ventures, a $165M venture fund that invests in digital energy technologies. She also co-founded and served as CEO of technology accelerator Evergreen Climate Innovations (formerly Clean Energy Trust,) which has invested in over 40 early-stage clean energy companies across the Midwestern US. She now serves as Chair of its Board of Directors. Amy also held roles at private equity firm MVC Capital, and at Stanford Research Institute where she worked on an early version of the voice recognition technology that became Siri. Earlier in her career, she was co-founder and CEO of a consumer technology company that was funded by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, and that she sold to the Danish toy company, Lego Systems. Amy also helped fundraise for mobile gaming company, GluMobile, on whose board she served until it went public on the NASDAQ. In addition to the Evergreen Climate board, Amy serves on the boards of Buoyant Ventures portfolio companies HData, Hammerhead, ReelData, and Ocient. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the WISER Institute at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 2020 Crain's recognized her for the third time as one of Chicago's Top 50 Technology Leaders. In 2019 she was honored by Streetwise as one of the "20 Most Inspiring Chicagoans." In 2015 she was an Emerging Leader at the Chicago Council for Global Affairs. In 2014 she was awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award from the Executives' Club of Chicago, and Leading Woman in Technology from the Illinois Technology Association. Amy is a regular lecturer in energy and entrepreneurship at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago's Law School. She has a BA from Stanford University. Amy lives in Lake Forest, IL with her husband and two dogs.