Hispanic-Net

Overlooked Rising Clean Tech Stars?

By definition, all contestants are either early-stage startups and/or mostly self-funded.In fact, many of them are outright moonlighting ventures. However, if history is any guide (past winners have now raised more than $115M), some of these companies should advance to secure venture backing, and generate revenue and profits. 

Naturally, the winners are already receiving wide exposure elsewhere.  However, the competition was very steep.  Whether or not other contestants were underrated is debatable, but can we all agree that many deserve more attention. So, I shall focus this post on runner-ups and finalists that lay low in the media radar screen, but that may have a good shot at earth and/or market game-changing, potentially disruptive or explosive growth.

These are the good old days

It's been awhile since I've posted to this blog, but it is a great time for us to share experiences. The doom and gloom backdrop of the overall financial markets could have the effect of driving entrepreneurship to the back of the bus. However, this is really an opportunistic time. If you think about it, companies large and small are facing the same playing field. So, no one gets too far ahead. If you've got a new idea, you'll have more time to get it right. If you want to think about a new idea, you'll get mindshare from everywhere as people have time to give you specific feedback on the viability of your idea.

Here's my advice, in these distressed times customers will buy if your product or service 1) makes money or 2) saves money. It's pretty simple. Choose a big market opportunity, make sure you've got differentiation, and hone your go to market strategy.

For me, I've been entirely engaged in launching a new company in the energy efficiency sector.  The company is called HID Labs and the product is targeted at commercial, industrial, and warehouse lighting. It turns out, the cost of lighting in warehouses is over two-thirds of their fixed expense. So, I'm after the 'saving people money' paradigm. The company is young, has big plans, and faces all the challenges start-ups have. But, we've got a shot if we execute.

Over the next few months, I'm going to write about launching this company and hopefully impart some nuggets of information that you can use.

All the best and start thinking of new businesses.   

Future of Renewables Symposium @ Google

I am reporting on the CTO symposium dubbed “Future of Renewables" at Google, which I attended this week. In it, a panel of PG&E, Google , VC clean tech, policy experts and entrepreneurs explained where both the action and the roadblocks are in the renewable energy space.  It was a sold-out event, with many other Hispanic entrepreneurs and volunteers also present.

On this post, I report on the 3000 feet view presented by the panel.  There were also a number of CCTO entrants presenting at boots in the hallway.  I will mention some of them in my next post covering the contest finalists.

Mitch Posada Launches QueVerde.com

Here's a shout-out to Mitch Posada, managing director of Grupo Entrada, on his latest venture, www.queverde.com.  QueVerde.com's mission is to be the leading media outlet dedicated to sustainability and green living among Latinos and Latino owned business in the U.S.

Why QueVerde?
There is no global news or media connection point between the Sustainability Movement and the Latino World >> Mass media is shrinking and media outlets are proliferating and segmenting the Latino into less coverage >> Sustainability Movement data is overwhelming and scientific oriented >> The Green Movement tone is negative and alarming >> Multi-dimensional topics are needed to address the interests of Latinos in the evolution of the Sustainability Movement

Queverde has launched two blogs:  TodoVerde and SoyVerde.  Check them out.

Download this podcast interview with Mitch Posada on Daniel Gutierrez' radio show. About the podcast:  Join Daniel as he dives into the question of the new social capital and social networking. How does this new way of reaching your audience change the way we see our world and how we communicate with each other. Guest Mitch Posada, Managing Director of Grupo Entrada, and Founder of LatinLounge.tv and QueVerde.com.

Attention Clean Tech Hispanic Entrepreneurs

Turn 3 Pages into $100k. Deadline to Enter: June 14th

Ready to take your clean tech business idea to the next level?

All it takes is a three-page Executive Summary and $250 per team ($150
for all-student teams), and you have the chance to win a
"Startup-in-a-Box" Prize Package worth $100,000 in cash and services.
Upload your Executive Summary by June 14.

To Enter and for details, click here. 

For a personal perspective on CTO '07, see Steve Montoya's post in this blog.

Renewables Lecture Recap: Opportunities, Companies to Follow

Last Saturday, I attended an interesting Clean Tech workshop sponsored by Bay Area chapters of NSHMBA and SHPE.  As with most of François Xavier Rongère lectures, this event was "sold-out".  By popular demand, I am posting some of his main talking points.

The current oil shock, as painful as it is, will trigger structural changes in the economy to address global warming.

Some see three-figure, and-rising oil prices as a way of limiting greenhouse emissions. No doubt conservation will increase. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that all that high prices can achieve can be done much better with sensible carbon taxes. As a result, governments ought to accelerate the required transformation - or at least stop delaying it.

The GoingGreen 100

I'm heading to the AlwaysOn GoingGreen conference at UC Davis tomorrow. This conference coincides with the first annual GoingGreen 100 list of hot private companies in the cleantech (a.k.a. 'greentech' according to AlwaysOn) space. The list is filled with some well known and some new entrants into the cleantech arena. On the often mentioned side, you'll find Tesla Motors, A123 Systems, Miasole, Nanosolar, SolFocus to name a few. These companies are clear leaders and well-funded in the space they are attacking.

Opportunities in Clean Energy

The major area of clean tech venture investment activity has been in renewable and alternative energy sources. In 2006 investments were $2.4B, up from 2005’s $917M. More interesting, clean energy investments make up close to 10% of the total venture dollars invested according to CleanEdge’s 2007 Clean Energy Trends report. The report also predicts that the markets associated with clean energy are predicated to quadruple to over $226B in 2016.

 

So, what are the implications of these trends to Hispanic entrepreneurs?

What is Clean Tech and Why Should I Care?

Clean Tech is one of the hottest growth areas attracting entrepreneurs, venture investment, and government attention. I’ve been looking at this area since 2005, mostly because I thought it was an industry that represented

Silicon Valley’s best chance of continued leadership. Today, you can’t avoid hearing or reading something about global warming, green house gasses, solar, wind, energy efficiency, hybrids, green buildings and now carbon credits. New companies are getting launched every day and venture investment in this space has increased in the U.S. and Canadato $2.9B for 2006.

So, what exactly is clean tech? The best definition I’ve seen is from the Cleantech Venture Network. Clean Tech covers a broad range of products, services, and processes across industries designed to:

· Provide superior performance at lower costs

· Improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources

· Greatly reduce or eliminate negative ecological impact