Posts Tagged ‘cleantech’
Look out, Zipcar, and why we need partnerships between big guys and small fries.
GM’s getting into the car-sharing business with its new partnership with San-Francisco-based RelayRides.
(By the way, what is it with company’s names these days — if you’re not smushing two words together, each with the first letter capped, you are apparently not cool. We should probably become PomeranceAssociates. Kidding.)
Anyway, this move underscores a key strategy that can bring great success to both the mainstream heavyweights and the new ventures. It’s called partnership, and it works beautifully. The startups get much needed backing and credibility, while the big corporations get an injection of cutting-edge cool. You’re seeing this happening on a very big scale in the media industry as mainstream publications try to co-opt the viral fandom of independent and hypercool agents.
The importance of such partnerships was eloquently argued in a recent Forbes piece by Rachel Sheinbein, a partner at the San Francisco-based venture capital firm, CMEA Capital, and also a friend of mine from college. Her article is below as is the Automotive News story on the deal between GM and RelayRides.
So hooray for GM on undergirding a small player in the business. And please don’t change your name to GeneralMotors.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/09/26/why-big-companies-need-to-partner-with-cleantech-startups/
http://tinyurl.com/5w8puvk
WSJ’s top 10 in Clean-Tech
Congratulations!!!
Here’s a quick look at the top 10, and check out the link below to read the story in the Journal.
1. Recycle Rewards Inc. – New York
2. Suniva Inc. – Norcross, Ga.
3. eSolar Inc. – Burbank, Calif.
4. MiaSole -Santa Clara, Calif.
5. Opower Inc. – Arlington, Va.
6. GreatPoint Energy Inc. – Cambridge, Mass.
7. SeaMicro Inc. – Santa Clara, Calif.
8. Boston-Power Inc. – Westborough, Mass.
9. Luxim Corp. – Sunnyvale, Calif.
10. Sapphire Energy Inc. – San Diego, Calif.
http://tinyurl.com/5r93tvc
Good News for the U.S. Energy Revolution
If the The Wall Street Journal has it right, the DOE’s loan-guarantee program is moving toward the less-conventional innovations. That is cool on its own, but it also means that the more conventional ones are already getting some solid backing. And that means we are moving the proverbial needle in corporate speak.
Here’s my New Year’s wish. Let’s keep pushing forward on this one, America. Clean energy is what will help keep this country secure and prosperous.
Check out the article here. And if you’re one of those biofuel companies hankering for DOE money, it’s not too late to get in front of key policy makers next month at the Washington Auto Show!
GreenBusiness Works EXPO to highlight Clean Tech and Social Responsibility
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more info: Rachel Pomerance, Pomerance & Associates rachel@pomeranceassociates.com
GreenBusiness Works EXPO to tackle investment trends in added day
Leading investment gurus to unpack “Clean Tech” and “Social Responsibility”
“Clean tech” and “corporate responsibility” are the biggest buzz words in current investment trends.
Which investments are worth banking on, and how do these initiatives pay off – in dollars and sense?
The answers to these questions are so important that they deserve their own day. And the GreenBusiness Works EXPO 2010 has added a third day to address these issues at its conference, entitled “Poised for Prosperity,” Oct. 26 to Oct. 28 at the Cobb Galleria.
“The business game is changing, and so are the rules,” explains Stephanie Armistead, General Manager of GreenBusiness Works, which produces the EXPO. “Companies must champion the values of environmental stewardship and moral governance as well as economic prosperity to warrant success, and they can discover how to best execute all three principles at the GreenBusiness Works EXPO.”
Among the key speakers to address the EXPO on October 28 are:
- Edward Kerschner, CFA, Chief Investment Officer for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, who will outline “the rising risk of water bankruptcy” in a keynote address that anyone working in water issues won’t want to miss! A leading Wall Street strategist, Kerschner will explain how declining supply and growing demand may render water the biggest commodity story of the 21st century. Kerschner will also discuss such technologies as desalination, “virtual water,” rainwater harvesting and “toilet-to-tap” recycling.
- John M. Segrich, CFA, head of the Green Research Team for Gabelli & Company, Inc., a renowned institutional broker and dealer. The portfolio manager of The Gabelli SRI Green Fund, Segrich formerly helmed JPMorgan’s sell side European technology research team and also headed the European Software research team for Goldman Sachs in London.
- Shawn Lesser, founder and president of Sustainable World Capital. With more than 15 years of experience in institutional equity sales, Lesser, who is based in Atlanta, identifies and supports “hidden gems” within the “green” sector through longstanding relationships with sustainability portfolio managers throughout the world.
Attendees can expect a primer on the key elements in the world of doing good while doing well and how to successfully navigate today’s challenges and opportunities, whether that means supporting women in lesser developed countries through microfinance or employing fair trade and sustainable practices.
The day concludes with an inspiring luncheon keynote on The Calvert Women Principles, the practice of investing in women to nurture gender equality as well as economic prosperity.
Underscoring its commitment to help broker business relationships for a cleaner, greener Southeast region, GreenBusiness Works EXPO and its partners will introduce the Clean Tech Forum on the final day of the show to provide opportunities for education and networking. A special entrepreneur showcase will feature presentations by exemplary startup companies in the space.
Registration for the EXPO as an attendee or exhibitor includes this day at no additional charge.
Special Rates: One-day registration for a rate of just $10 is available for those interested in attending the Clean Tech Forum only. Those who wish to attend only the luncheon may do so for a special rate of $45. Register for both the Clean Tech Forum and the luncheon for a total of $55.
Learn how you can become “Poised for Prosperity!” www.GreenBusinessWorksEXPO.net.
WSJ Q&A with Vinod Khosla
The VC guru of Silicon Valley on the cleantech sector:
http://tinyurl.com/239ptko
