Mentor | Energy

AI Nexus NYC | C10 Labs New York, NY | Flexible, Part-Time Mentor Engagement About C10 Labs C10 Labs is an AI-native venture fund and venture platform that partners with exceptional founders to build and scale category-defining AI companies. Through AI Nexus NYC, C10 Labs connects early-stage companies with experienced investors, operators, researchers, corporate leaders, and industry experts who can help accelerate product development, customer adoption, strategic partnerships, and fundraising. We are expanding our mentor network and seeking experienced energy leaders who want to help founders build commercially viable AI solutions for one of the world’s most important and complex industries.

The Opportunity C10 Labs is seeking experienced founders, executives, investors, operators, engineers, and subject-matter experts to serve as Energy Mentors for AI Nexus NYC. Mentors will support founders building AI-enabled products across utilities, power generation, grid infrastructure, renewable energy, energy storage, industrial operations, energy markets, and related sectors.

Requirements

, operational risks, integration challenges, and significant capital needs. The most effective mentors will help founders understand these realities while identifying practical paths to pilots, customer adoption, strategic partnerships, and investment. This is an opportunity to apply your industry experience and network to help entrepreneurs build solutions that are technically credible, commercially relevant, and capable of operating within critical energy environments.

Founder Mentorship and Company Building Advise founders on product strategy, commercialization, business models, and market positioning. Help startups identify high-value use cases and prioritize customer problems worth solving. Provide practical feedback on product-market fit, pricing, implementation, and go-to-market strategy.

of energy-sector customers. Share lessons learned from building, operating, purchasing, financing, or scaling energy technologies and companies. Customer and Commercial Development Help founders identify and engage utilities, power producers, energy developers, industrial customers, technology providers, and infrastructure operators.

Introduce companies to potential customers, pilot partners, investors, corporate partners, and technical experts when appropriate. Advise founders on navigating enterprise procurement, security reviews, technical validation, and long sales cycles. Help companies design pilots with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and credible pathways to commercial deployment.

Support founders in translating technical capabilities into business and operational value for energy customers. Energy Industry Guidance Provide insight into the structure, economics, and decision-making processes of energy markets.

, and operational constraints. Advise founders on interoperability with existing energy systems, infrastructure, data environments, and operational technologies. Help companies evaluate the risks and opportunities associated with deploying AI in mission-critical environments.

Provide guidance on reliability, cybersecurity, data quality, implementation, and customer trust. Help founders distinguish between an interesting technology and a commercially scalable energy solution.

Review pitch materials and help companies communicate their market opportunity, technical differentiation, customer value, and traction.