R.E.preneur

The Cherokee Challenge - An Environmental Business Incubator

Caught this on Tom Darden's (CEO of Cherokee Investment Partners) LinkedIn newsfeed this morning.  Looks like a great opportunity for budding environmental entrepreneurs to get connected to a well-funded, eco-conscious company like Cherokee Investment Partners.  

The Cherokee Challenge

The Cherokee Challenge is an opportunity for a limited number of teams to develop a business plan and receive feedback, and possibly funding from Cherokee and their partners such as Bill McDonough of Cradle to Cradle fame.  

Like I always say, "Time to stop wishing, stop wanting, and start acting."

 

SolarCity makes electric cars an even smarter investment | Grist

“It’s our feeling that if we really want to make a difference, we have to start changing our infrastructure,” says Lyndon Rive, SolarCity’s chief executive. “Combine EV with PV, and we can really lead a clean lifestyle.”

via www.grist.org

I knew SolarCity was a great company that is growing very fast. And I knew that they had convinced smart people to invest in their company, such as Elon Musk and the executives at First Solar (and kudos to both companies for leading the charge of thin film glass on glass solar in residential applications).

But until I read this article, I had no idea just how visionary the Rive brothers, co-founders of SolarCity truly are.

Their vision of combining EVs and PV and growing their business through residential and commercial charging stations that are solar-powered, is a remarkable step forward in the progress of the EV industry.

EVs have historically been discredited for their limited range and fueling ability. But its not hard to see how adding a small fleet of well-placed electric charging stations (which isn't rocket-science unlike that hydrogen highway BS) could really open California up to be the market that launches EVs!

I look forward to the day I can drive my PV-powered EV!

Why The Downturn In The Economy Will NOT Kill Cars 2.0

If you haven't noticed lately, the blogs have all been clamoring with pessimistic talk about how scared they all are that the slide into recession will kill promising green transportation concepts. 

While this was a legitimate fear a decade ago (thanks C.A.R.B.) when oil was still $10-30 a barrel, the aberration of volatility that was 2008 has shaken the core of the auto industry. 

As the Big 3 fly into D.C. on their G5 and leave with their pockets full they know they must throw a hail-mary pass by going back to their days in the Ivy league MBA classrooms and whip up a promising new business plan for Cars 2.0. 

Detroit has resisted true innovation for... at least 50 years.  The fallout from this is unemployment in the metro area hovering just over 10%.

Thomas Friedman couldn't have said it better when he noted that if the Big 3 fail, the government auto bailout will be viewed as a massive government handout to the typewriter industry at the dawn of the computer. 

Whether the Big 3 succeed or fail, they will kill themselves trying (hopefully figuratively) and they will be well capitalized by the American taxpayer. 

The Detroit corner offices have taken notice of the throngs of start-up auto manufacturers with promising pre-production vehicles that are radically differentiated from the heap of turd, inefficient, stylistically-bland products that the Trifecta has been stamping out for the past two decades.

Project Better Place, Aptera, Tesla, Fisker, Th!nk (someone please give them some money), Smart, Mini E.  Each and every one of these companies has more swagger and a more promising business plan than any of the Detroit Trio. 

GM is the trio's lead singer with the 2010 Chevy Volt, a Plug-in Hybrid with a 40 mile EV range.  But if they don’t successfully mass market it and roll the technology out across all of their affiliates by 2015, they are up a creek without a paddle. 

Unfortunately, they've already blown through $1B+ wasting time on hydrogen fuel cells, a technology so completely over-hyped that we all smelled a rat.  Which is the same reason that corn-based ethanol will fall by the way side in 2009.

Ford has previously been leading with hybrids, but the brand is too closely tied to 15-mpg SUVs and trucks that made great sense when Bush was handing out $50,000 tax write-offs to small business owners to buy them.  Even with the return of $2 gallons of gas, the public perceives driving an urban assault vehicle as wasteful and moronic, not to mention removed from reality. 

The hope for Ford is that, although they are bleeding red ink just like the rest, their CEO had the presence of mind to pad the bank account upon his arrival by mortgaging the majority of their manufacturing facilities.  That bought him 18 months, still not much of a runway.

Chrysler is a distant third with out of touch brands like Dodge and Jeep.  The type of innovation it will take to save this company, without more federal handouts, has not been seen since the creation of the internal combustion engine. 

If the suspender-wearing management at Cerberus had two wits about them they would buy Project Better Place.  Seriously, they should buy PBP.  But they won't, because they can't wrap their head around the subscription service business model for personal transportation. 

I Hope Obama has the guts to rip the massive subsidies out of the corn ethanol farmers hands and then give it right back to them by placing an equally massive investment in green infrastructure.  But he must pick technologies that aren’t filled with fatal flaws, which was Bush’s giant green mistake.  Here’s my list in order of best bang for your buck: energy efficiency, solar, batteries, wind, smart grids, ocean, geothermal, and transmission period.  Make your voice heard Secretary Chu, and make your pocketbook green.

Electricity is the only answer to foreign oil independence.  The only rocket-science is in better batteries, which aren’t even a necessity for the industry to thrive, just an added bonus.  We can already see the light at the end of this tunnel.

When the capital markets return, 2009 will be the year that the massive cleantech investment sector shifts wildly to Cars 2.0 start-ups, each with a different way to change the world all over again.  The technology will leap frog with surprising speed.  Have you seen the crazy ideas the guys at EEStor are cooking up?  No one saw that coming, time will tell if it’s real. 

With 2010 already being evangelized as the year of the commercialized Plug-In Hybrid, 2009 will see green feeding the green beast, which equals a whole lot of green.  If you aren’t already dipping your toes in the automotive revolution, hop on board because this train is leaving the station. 

Need some inspiration?  Go watch the stirring documentary, “Who Killed The Electric Vehicle”.  It worked for me.

Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions; mine is to start/help a non-profit tasked with evangelizing the electric vehicle to the uneducated mass market.  Thesis statement: Check.  What's yours?  With any luck, we’ll be seeing green in no time at all.

Aquaduct: Transporting + Filtering Water for the BoP

I love people who try to solve the world's challenges instead of just reflecting on how to avoid personally falling into their own problems. 

Check out this short, informational video from the creators of the Aquaduct. 

So what will you do to solve the problems of the world?  What will your legacy be?

Renewabuilt Energy Shines At University of Arizona's Innovation Day

My team in the McGuire Entrepreneurship program participated in the University of Arizona's Innovation Day on Tuesday.  During the trade show portion of the day 19 venture teams presented their companies to angel investors who came from across the southwestern US, met with members of the Tucson community to promote our businesses, and many were interviewed by local and regional media about the event. 

At the end of the show, the angel investors picked six of the 19 teams to make full venture presentations that afternoon.  Our Renewabuilt team was thrilled to be picked as one of the six teams.  We did not "win" our room of three presentations, but we did get some great feedback from the angels on how to improve our pitch and find funding for our company to launch. 

Here's some press coverage including a link to a short video about the event.

Rebecca Batterman and Kyle Cherrick, both with Renewabuilt Energy, talk with John Hughes from the University of Arizona's Nanotechnology program at UA's Innovation Showcase Tuesday.

UA student innovators meet investors

Camera phone lens, rural solar fields among 6 ideas to get chance at financing

ALAN FISCHER

Published: 03.26.2008

 

Student exhibitors at Tuesday's University of Arizona Innovation Showcase hoped to pitch their business plans to angels - the financial type, not the heavenly host.

Angels - investors who seek startup ventures to fund - from Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California attended, scouring the aisles to find the next great breakout business ideas.

The student entrepreneurs were eager to connect with them for advice, guidance and - hopefully - funding.

The group selected six UA teams to present their plans in greater detail following the showcase.

"There were two or three investable companies in there today," said John Chavez, president of New Mexico Angels in Albuquerque.

But no checks would be written Tuesday, he said, since due diligence to validate the companies, people, technology and intellectual property would take from six weeks to three months.

The student entrepreneurs were on their toes.

"We have to assume that everyone is a prime customer," said Kerissa Kelly-Slatten, marketing manager for Cookie Fusion, a company that bakes in four to six minutes custom cookies from a wide variety of ingredients.

"We have to persuade them, convince them, that we have a strong plan and a strong team to open the business," she said. Her team is seeking $750,000 to open its first store.

The six companies selected to give formal presentations were: Cookie Fusion; LenSense, which offers flat liquid crystal diffractive lenses for zoom optics in camera phones; FireGuard Industries which offers an aerator that fits between a fire hose and nozzle that allows firefighters to put out fires 40 percent faster with 50 percent less water; uBike, an automated bicycle rental kiosk for short-term commutes; Renewabuilt Energy, which plans to build solar fields to meet the needs of rural communities; and SystemGreen, which recycles shipping containers into affordable, stylish and environmentally friendly housing.

Emre Toker of Tucson's Desert Angels said he was impressed with the entrepreneurship and thoroughness displayed by the students.

"Some of them piqued my interest to look at them in more detail," Toker said.

Having Trouble Raising Money For Your Business? Stop Trying: Bootstrap It

I talk with a lot of people who have business ideas.  By definition this means that I hear a lot of people say, "I would go do it but I just can't raise the money, its too hard." 

Bijoy Goswami says, "Shut Up and Bootstrap It".  What's Bootstrapping?  I'll let Bijoy explain.

The Case for the Electric Car: Project Better Place Video

If you haven't heard of Project Better Place, here is your chance.  In this video, Founder and CEO Shai Agassi presents his case for a new model for personal transportation based around the electric vehicle.  Through this combination video and slideshow, its easy to see how the world could quickly transition from internal combustion engines to clean, efficient electric vehicles in a single generation. 

Here's some info from their website that details the company's innovative adaptation of an existing, proven business model. 

What is Project Better Place’s business model?
The business model for the electric cars will be similar to that used by mobile phone operators.  In the same
way that wireless operators deploy a network of cell towers to provide an area of mobile phone coverage,
Project Better Place will establish a network of charging spots and battery exchange stations to provide
ubiquitous access to electricity to power electric vehicles. 

The company has raised $200 million from investors and has a goal of deploying 100,000 EV's in its subscription service in ten test markets by 2010.  I love people who dream big, and then act on it.

Go here for a full size video, and to check out the rest of the company's website.

COW - My Summer At First Solar Inc.

Ten weeks came and went very quickly.  Looking back to January when I cold emailed fifteen wind and solar companies seeking a position in “any sales, business development, or marketing internship position” its fairly remarkable that First Solar, the world’s largest thin film solar module manufacturer called me back and asked if they could interview me.  My cover letter has been called gutsy, and my resume has been called impressive for my age, but I caught some luck when my father told me about a solar company in Phoenix that IPO’d just one month earlier.  It is the type of luck that Ben Casnocha writes about.  Its role in success is strong, but it is given graciously to those who are prepared and well positioned. 

For anyone who doesn’t know the history or recent activities of First Solar, let me give you a brief update.  Formed in 1999, First Solar bought a company called Solar Cells in order to commercialize their thin film Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) technology. 

After a longer than expected ramp up of their first 25 MW production line they implemented a Copy Smart process in order to replicate the exact production line twice over at their initial manufacturing plant in Perrysburg, Ohio.  Fortunately, for First Solar they were able to ramp up their production of CdTe solar power right when the silicon shortage hit traditional solar manufacturers hard and drove a wedge between First Solar’s average selling price and the rest of the industry. 

Somewhat coincidentally it was about this time in 2003-04 that Germany began to hit critical mass and gain momentum with their EEG legislation, which is a Feed-In-Tariff that pays a premium for solar power generation and made solar an attractive investment within the country.  Two factors drove First Solar to be extremely selective about whom their initial batch of customers included.  The first was their significant and widening cost advantage over the majority of manufacturers.  The second involved the only caveat of their technology, that because thin films (TF) convert a smaller percentage of the sun’s rays into electricity, TF panels require more space to generate the same amount of power as polysilicon derived solar. 

With this in mind First Solar became focused on the market segment of utility-scale power generation primarily through fixed field solar power plants, but also engaging in large industrial rooftops.  With their expertise as a manufacturer they chose not to become a project developer (PD) but instead to become a long-term supplier to the most experienced PD’s in the European marketplace.  Shortly thereafter they signed multiple long-term supply agreements with PD’s such as Juwi, Blitzstrom, Conergy, R & P Sun Energy, and Gehrlicher.

These long-term (5-7) year supply agreements created the demand that enabled them to obtain low cost financing in order to expand their young company announcing the construction of a new four line (now 30 MW/line/yr thanks to efficiency improvements) manufacturing facility in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany.  Later, in 2006 they completed a successful IPO, raising $400 mm to fund their voracious appetite for growth and development. 

The investment industry has acknowledged the company’s outstanding performance since going public driving the stock price from an IPO introduction of $20 to a close on Monday of $120.28 (An astounding 601% in just 8 ½ months!). 

So here we are, it’s the start of August, my internship is over, how did it go, what did I do?  Read on in Part 2 coming soon!

Full Disclosure: I do own First Solar stock, which I purchased at retail price.  I am not a financial advisor and am not offering investment advice of any kind.  I am no longer an employee of First Solar and do not claim to speak for First Solar and their interests.

The 7 most important critical success factors when starting a new business venture

I love a challenge.  Recently my McGuire Entrepreneurship Program mentor, Jim Jindrick, challenged my corporate entrepreneurship classmates and I.  See the details of the challenge below:

    -- Send me what you believe are the seven most important critical success factors when starting a new business venture. For example, "passion" of the founder and management team is very often mentioned as critical for success. What seven factors do you think are the most important?

    For the maximum JimBuck$, also tell me which successful founders, innovators, and entrepreneurs agree with you! Perhaps you just read an article about Caterina Fake ... she says "passion" was most critical to her. --

So I present to you my response:

#1: A Bias Towards Action
    An idea most recently coined by Ben Casnocha.  Ben founded Comcate Inc., a leading e-government software provider when he was 14!  He also happens to be the author of My Start-up Life: What a (Very) Young CEO Learned on His Journey Through Silicon Valley which is a fabulous book that I have read and would recommend to any aspiring entrepreneur. 

    Remember the story of the young man who approached John D. Rockefeller and offered him a guaranteed recipe for success available to Mr. Rockefeller for only $25,000?  The young man handed a piece of paper to Mr. Rockefeller which read:

    #1: Everyday when you awake, make a list of things that must be done today.
    #2: Do them.

    Mr. Rockefeller smiled and then promptly pulled out $25,000 cash and gave it to the young man. 

    A Bias Towards Action – Some people have it, most people don’t.  Its not about doing things that you have to do, like show up for work, its about doing things you want to do, like finish your business plan.  I didn’t always have it, but I’ve gotten better at it, and I try to stay focused on it. 

#2:  Find A Few Soul Mates
    This is my first of many references to ideas by Guy Kawasaki, venture capitalist and author of The Art of the Start.  You can watch a video presentation of that book given by Guy, which I consider an ABSOLUTE MUST WATCH for any aspiring entrepreneur.  I’ve even blogged about it before here. 

    Going it alone is hard.  You probably don’t have the skills or time to build your business alone.  Don’t just hire friends or bozos.  Hire people who are as crazy as you are about your idea.  They should be loyal, passionate, and talented in ways you may not be. 

#3: Create Value
    Whatever your idea is, it needs to create value for someone.  Your service or product may be free to some, but there has to be value to many.  Whether its small value (a few bucks a month) to the masses, or great value (hundreds of millions of dollars) to a select group of market players.  I’m taking full credit for this one, you know why?  Because its common sense, everyone talks about it.  Still, there’s a difference between doing something that’s interesting, and creating great value. 

#4: Take advantage of the resources at your disposal
    Last year, the Entrepreneurship Club that I co-founded at The University of Arizona took a field trip to the Arizona Center for Innovation. 

I was shocked and appalled to find out that this local business incubator offered so many resources to active and horribly poor entrepreneurs.  Not only do they offer a myriad of resources to their clients, but  you don’t have to quit your job to chase your dream.  They recognize that the start-up phase of entrepreneurship, especially for technology intensive businesses can require years of hard work without any profits or income.  Therefore, they offer their services with the requirement that you work 20 hours/week on the business.  So you can keep your day job as a chemical engineer while you develop your company’s revolutionary product at nights and on weekends. 

#5: Practice and fix your pitch
    Most entrepreneurs start with an idea.  Hopefully, they develop it into a full-fledged business plan.  Unfortunately, most people don’t have the dynamic personality and speaking experience to spread the good news of their idea to the people who will give them the resources like friends, family, fools, banks, angel investors, or venture capitalists.  If you have a great idea, don’t expect to just blurt it out and have people hand over their checkbooks.  Put together a real sales pitch, whether its formal or informal, pick the most important points you are trying to convey. 

    Or maybe you don’t need great resources to launch your business, you just need to start selling to the public.  Well, have you ever sold anything before?  Do you have any concept of how to really put together a cohesive sales pitch including answers to anticipated objections?  Imagine that.  Imagine you are going to pitch your first big prospect and you have your whole presentation ready with answers to anticipated objections.  The only thing you have to worry about is execution.  There’s no reason to be nervous, plus once you’ve honed your pitch, there’s nothing left to do but GO SELL!  That’s the most exciting part, closing your first deals.

    There’s some great content regarding this point over on Marketing Profs Daily Fix, check it out. 

#6: Niche Thyself
    This is my second Guy Kawasaki reference.  In Guy’s priceless powerpoint presentation he illustrates this point using a graph with “Ability to provide unique product or service” along the Y-axis and “value to the customer” along the X-axis.  Don’t compete on price, leave that to Wal-mart and Costco.  Don’t charge a lot for something of little value to the customer, that’s just stupid.  Don’t give away something people don’t need, that was the height of the dotcom bubble.  On his infamous graph Guy states that you should be “like our President, high… and to the right”.  You should offer something of great value to the customer, and you should charge a healthy price for it.  Like I said, YOU GOTTA WATCH THE VIDEO!

#7: Start right now!
    I was reading through Jim Jindrick’s fabulous blog: Business Rules of Thumb and some nobody wrote: “Stop wishing and wanting… start acting!” – Kyle Cherrick.  This is different from having A Bias Towards Action.  Why?  Because I’m telling you right now to go do it, you have the ideas, you can see it come together, so go do it!

That’s it, that’s my list.  What’s your list?

My Dream Job* in Renewable Energy

Forgive the title, I know that it is an entrepreneurial sin to work for the man and be an employee.  However, you have to remember that REpreneur does not define whether the individual is an entrepreneur or intrapreneur. 

Having successfully completed my internship at First Solar Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona I have a much better idea of the exact jobs and positions that I would like to be hired on for when I graduate in the Spring. 

There are four basic pillars of activity that I am passionate about: Sales, Business Development, Evangelism, and Intrapreneurship.  With that in mind I have begun to write a position description to provide companies with in the coming year.  This exact position may not fully exist in many companies, but remember, you only get what you ask for.  This is part of my life rule: ADQ – Ask Direct Questions, such as “Will you hire me and create this specific position? 

Sales: I desire to work in a high-level sales role in which I would be meeting with current and prospective customers looking to implement renewable energy into their business or purchase my companies’ products so that they can facilitate the distribution of renewable energy.  I expect to grow an intimate knowledge of the company’s position within the value chain, its product offering, its unique selling proposition (USP), profile of a qualified prospect, and where we are going in the future.  While I may not currently have the expertise to single-handedly structure multi-million and billion dollar sales agreements, I expect to be deeply involved in this process. 

Business Development: I desire to cast vision amongst players in the industry that I sell in and build my company’s rapport in the marketplace.  I will respond to qualified inquiries, evaluate a customer’s prospects, conduct initial meetings with the prospect to decipher how our product offering solves a strategic goal of the prospect while still maintaining my company’s profitability and customer profile metrics. 

Evangelism: As a passionate REpreneur, and relatively experienced speaker who has spoken before crowds of hundreds and holds a deep understanding of my company and the larger renewable energy marketplace,  I am willing to “spread the good news” of renewable energy and the advantages of my company’s clean power solution to all the ends of the earth.  Conferences, webinars, interviews, tv, radio, podcast, vodcast, powerpoint, you name it and if it fits the profile of a good way to spread the news about my company to the right target market, I’m there.  Plus, I’m 6’6” tall so people literally look up to me. 

Intrapreneurship: Hopefully, if you’ve read my blog you know that I spend a great amount of time thinking about how companies can find new income streams, create new value, start new business units, and grow their business.  It is my goal that any position  that I attain would contain a strong element of intrapreneurship in the short-term outlook.  I will evaluate areas of the industry that my company could naturally expand into and whether or not there is good value with relatively low risk opportunity.  Corporations have great resources at their disposal and they should satisfy their shareholders by using those resources to avoid stagnation.  Focus is good, you should focus on what your core business is.  But opportunity comes in windows, and once that opportunity is gone, its gone. 

These four pillars will be the foundation of my job search and will be of great importance to me when interviewing any prospective employer.  Remember, in an interview, the candidate should be interviewing the company just as much as the company is interviewing the candidate.

The Art of the Start Video - Guy Kawasaki

Few people capture the essence of entrepreneurship like Guy Kawasaki.  I found this video a few years back and I have probably watched it a half dozen times.  Though it has nothing to do with being green, it has everything to do with being an entrepreneur, an undertaker.  There are a ton of applicable points in this video for anyone considering moving into the cleantech sector.

Based on Guy's book "The Art of the Start", this keynote highlights Guy's top ten tips for entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship.  I'll warn you ahead of time, the video is 40 minutes long, but I promise you won't be bored.  After watching the video, you can read my thoughts below on how Guy's points apply to an REpreneur. I recommend watching the video full screen in order to focus on the topic and think critically about how it applies to your life and business.

Why are you reading this?  I said watch the video... YES the whole thing.  Find some free time, come back and read my thoughts later.

I had planned a little spiel about all of my favorite points, but I practically started writing a book.  Then I thought: “my readers aren’t stupid, if they watched the video, then they got everything that I did from it.” 

    Make meaning, make mantra, get going (A Bias Towards Action), Hire infected people, niche yourself, use the 10/20/30 rule, lower barriers to adoption, seed the clouds, and don’t let the bozos grind you down.  It’s all great, and it is all applicable to your idea, to your business, to renewable energy and sustainable design.