Stories from GreenTech Media
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What Is "Cleantech 2.0"?
GreenTech Media &bull Nov 14, 2011
Here's a not-atypical venture capital story: An early-revenue (or sometimes even pre-revenue) stage venture-backed startup with promising early results wants to make a big splash and run really quickly, so they look to raise a large-ish "growth round". To identify a significant new lead investor for the round, they turn to investment bankers with their deeper rolodexes. The i-bankers only take the assignment because the round will be big enough to provide large enough placement fees to justify their doing the work, versus some other larger transactions they could be working on instead. For this reason,… Full Story »
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How I've Failed
GreenTech Media &bull Oct 29, 2011
I've heard it said that venture capital is an apprenticeship business, that it takes about seven years for a VC to become a proficient investor. As I now get close to my eighth year investing in the cleantech sector, that aphorism resonates with me -- especially as I look back at the many ways I've failed so far as a cleantech venture investor. I've been taking the opportunity to take a retroactive personal look at my investment patterns, at what I think has worked, and at how I've failed. I'm not talking about failed investments per se. I've had my… Full Story »
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Why THESE companies are IPOing (revisited)
GreenTech Media &bull Jul 1, 2011
Almost a year ago I wrote about several cleantech IPOs that had been taking place at that time, in somewhat skeptical terms. And I wasn't alone. With the renewed, recent spate of cleantech IPOs and filings (Kior, Luca, et al), I looked back on that same column and thought it was worth bringing up and discussing again. How are those… Full Story »
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Top-tier entrepreneur talent and cleantech startups
GreenTech Media &bull Jun 13, 2011
I've heard some cleantech investors say things like "all I care about is the technology, I can replace the team." That may be a valid approach, but it's just not ours. In cleantech, it's as yet unproven that the technology is really the single biggest determining factor of investment success. The innovation may be special today, but with the innovation cycle outpacing the commercialization cycle in many cleantech sectors, quite often today's breakthrough innovation is next year's also-ran. There are a million ways to turn photons into kilowatt-hours, for example, and it's unclear there's one single best way. Furthermore, it… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Angel investor
- Cleantech
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When is a "venture investment" not a venture investment?
GreenTech Media &bull May 24, 2011
First, a quick note: I've differed with Vinod Khosla a couple of times on this site in the past. But let's give him his due as well. Read the story I've linked to here, and be inspired. Such drive and audaciousness is what venture capital is really all about -- and what makes great entrepreneurs. Especially in cleantech, where so many customers are change-resistant, all entrepreneurs and VCs should read this story and take it to heart... A definition seems obvious ("startup capital") but of course becomes devilish to put… Full Story »
