# Emily Kirsch

> Emily Kirsch is the Oakland-based founder and CEO of Powerhouse Innovation and founder and managing partner of Powerhouse Ventures. Her career connects clean energy community organizing, corporate innovation and seed-stage software investing. She also founded and hosts Watt It Takes, a podcast about the personal journeys of energy, mobility and industry founders.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Powerhouse Innovation; Founder and Managing Partner at Powerhouse Ventures
- **Organizations:** Powerhouse Innovation, Powerhouse Ventures, Watt It Takes, ThinkLabs AI, Sesame Sustainability, Activate
- **Education:** Studied Sustainable Urban Development; degree credential not specified in the cited biography, San Francisco State University
- **Known for:** 2017 C3E Entrepreneurship Award, 2019 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, 2020 San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business recognition

## Career timeline

- **Before 2013** — Worked at the organization founded by Van Jones on clean energy workforce development, local climate policy and state ballot initiatives; helped Mosaic launch its Oakland pilot.
- **2013** — Co-founded Powerhouse with Danny Kennedy as an incubator and accelerator.
- **2017** — Received the C3E Entrepreneurship Award; Watt It Takes began airing through The Energy Gang.
- **2018** — Founded Powerhouse Ventures.
- **2019** — Selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.
- **2020** — Named among the San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.
- **2021** — Watt It Takes launched independently in April; Ensemble Energy acquisition in May was the venture fund’s first exit.
- **2022** — Powerhouse Ventures launched its second fund; the firm lists its size as $75 million.

## Achievements

- 2017 C3E Entrepreneurship Award
- 2019 World Economic Forum Young Global Leader
- 2020 San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business recognition
- Founded a venture firm whose second fund reached $75 million
- Founded and hosts Watt It Takes, which C3E reports has exceeded 1.5 million downloads

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — As checked in October 2026, official team pages list Kirsch as CEO of Powerhouse Innovation and managing partner of Powerhouse Ventures; New Dawn is scheduled for October 22, 2026 in Oakland.

## Links

- Website: https://powerhouse-innovation.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirschemily/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/emilykirsch
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerhouse2399

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/emily-kirsch
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-09