By Leah Edwards •
March 31, 2008
If you are a scientist or researcher with a great idea for a green business, you should check out what universities have to offer you (even if you are not in school).
As an example of the types of programs available, consider UC Davis’s Green Technology Entrepreneurship Academy (GTEA), which provides a free week-long intensive for science and engineering researchers. Yes, I did say free, and it’s held at Lake Tahoe, Nevada in July—a very nice plus.
According to UC Davis Center for Entrepreneurship Assistant Director, Nicole Starsinic, the GTEA combines classroom learning with a team project, which pairs scientists with business school students and professionals. A number of venture capital firms, law firms, and other professionals, which are listed in the Academy’s schedule, devote time in the hope of discovering the cleantech Google.
By Leah Edwards •
March 17, 2008
At the Cleantech Forum XVI in San Francisco on February 27, 2008, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner announced the three venture capital firms chosen to partner with the Department of Energy to place an Entrepreneur in Residence in national research labs. Each venture capital firm will select an entrepreneur to work very closely with a particular lab to speed commercialization of research in renewable energy technology.
I spoke with Steve Vassallo, Principal at one of the chosen firms, Foundation Capital, who explained that the different labs that are part of the DOE own the intellectual capital for the research done in the labs. Although the labs can generate revenue to support further research by licensing the intellectual property to businesses, they are not always eager to do this. For one thing is it complicated. Negotiating a licensing deal can be time-consuming and it is not necessarily the key skill of a group led by top research scientists. Whereas, commercializing new ideas is the expertise of venture capital firms.
With the Entrepreneur In Residence program, the DOE is adopting a model that has worked well for venture capital firms in the past, that is to pay an entrepreneurial person to find a business opportunity instead of just waiting for proposals to come to them. Of the origin of this public-private partnership, Vassallo says, “Secretary Karser is a private-sector guy in a public position.”
Editor’s note: On Monday, Ecopreneurist’s lead writer Leah Edwards published this post on approaching venture capital firms with a cleantech business concept (with guidance from a member of one of the most influential VC firms in the world, Khosla Ventures). We figured a few of you out there are bouncing around business ideas, and might find this information useful, so we wanted to bring it to your attention.
First of all, don’t worry about the business plan.
I realize that sounds like crazy advice coming from a business consultant. However, I have seen too many entrepreneurs stalled or stressed when trying to write up a business plan when the plan really is not the critical issue. Many green business ventures that would be of interest to VC firms are in the cleantech, new materials, information technology, and life science spaces. If you are an ecopreneur with an idea in areas like these, your most important task is to explain the technology or science behind your idea and whether you have, or can get, the rights to the intellectual property.
Don’t spend your valuable time wordsmithing a long document. Just be able to say:
- why your idea works
- how it is different from an existing technology or product, or what is being developed by others
- how it will change the world, e.g., by dramatically changing a market or supply chain or by creating a new market or standards for how a market operates, etc.
This is not just my humble opinion. I spoke with Khosla Ventures’ newest operating partner Ford Tamer who explained that the firm is looking for leapfrog innovation—new technologies or new business models that can increase the size of a market by five-times or can drive costs down so significantly that entire new markets become available. He says, “We’re interested in ideas that can significantly affect the earth and can build big companies… We have no problem taking the risk if the risk is worth taking—for a huge benefit to society and the ability to be a major player.”
By Leah Edwards •
March 10, 2008
First of all, don’t worry about the business plan.
I realize that sounds like crazy advice coming from a business consultant. However, I have seen too many entrepreneurs stalled or stressed when trying to write up a business plan when the plan really is not the critical issue. Many green business ventures that would be of interest to VC firms are in the cleantech, new materials, information technology, and life science spaces. If you are an ecopreneur with an idea in areas like these, your most important task is to explain the technology or science behind your idea and whether you have, or can get, the rights to the intellectual property.
Don’t spend your valuable time wordsmithing a long document. Just be able to say:
- why your idea works
- how it is different from an existing technology or product, or what is being developed by others
- how it will change the world, e.g., by dramatically changing a market or supply chain or by creating a new market or standards for how a market operates, etc.
This is not just my humble opinion. I spoke with Khosla Ventures’ newest operating partner Ford Tamer who explained that the firm is looking for leapfrog innovation—new technologies or new business models that can increase the size of a market by five-times or can drive costs down so significantly that entire new markets become available. He says, “We’re interested in ideas that can significantly affect the earth and can build big companies… We have no problem taking the risk if the risk is worth taking—for a huge benefit to society and the ability to be a major player.”
