R.E.preneur

Leverage Your Personality In Your RE Career

Kyle is an ENFP, The Inspirer.

The MyType Application for Facebook users, utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator labeled me as an ENFP, an Inspirer. I think that it is very accurate. It is probably why I love blogging, its an attempt to inspire.  I think it works, sometimes.



If you haven't taken an MBTI test recently, I would encourage everyone to do so.  Its a great way to learn much about yourself and others. Its only 72 True/False questions and doesn't take long at all.

Go to the MyType Application in order to add it to your Facebook account and see how you relate to your friends and coworkers. 

Want A Career In Solar? Start Here

So you say you want a career in the solar industry?  Makes sense. 

The entire industry is exploding, and its still tiny.  The roadmap to solar being the dominant energy source of the future is clear. 

But you can't just sit back and watch, you gotta join in. 

START HERE:     Solar America Cities First Annual Meeting Presentations

This link will take you to a page containing ALL of the powerpoint presentations given at the Solar America Cities First Annual Meeting in Tucson, Arizona held April 14-16, 2008.  These meetings were not open to the public, invitation only. 

However, the ideas, research, experiments, case studies etc. exchanged at this meeting may be the most comprehensive, up-to-date education in the business, legislative, and technology developments that are driving the rapid expansion of the solar industry here in the US. 

The successes and failures of the programs implemented by the movers & shakers of the solar industry at this conference are paving the way for the emergence of solar power as the mainstream, preferred energy source for power generation. 

So you want a job in Solar... Start Here!  Download all of the free presentations, and spend some time reading through them.

Not an engineer? Not necessary, I'm not, though it does help sometimes. 

If you want to work in the industry, you must speak the language.  It takes time, study, research, and lots of reading.  But the concepts are not incredibly complicated. 

Your ability to speak the language of solar will allow you to converse in a passionate discussion of the industry that nearly all solar professionals share. 

Recent reports have revealed that the industry is growing faster than the industry's ability to find and train experienced executives to handle projects of significant responsibility.  There is a growing shortage of talent in the industry.  Now is your time.

I'm so passionate about this industry that I will agree to provide a consulting and education dialog of the solar industry free of charge to the first three individuals who:

•    Download All of the Powerpoints
•    Research terms and abbreviations they are not familiar with
•    Email me or leave a comment on this post expressing an interest in working in the industry, would like insight, tips, advice, and clarification of the industry environment

So you say you want to work in solar?  What's stopping you now?

Pangea Day - See The World Through Another's Eyes

Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.



Can we change the world in 4 hours?

Comfortable with Failure?

In less than 48 hours, my undergraduate college career will be over.  I currently have no plans to go on to further formal education, although it is by no means out of the question. 

This year, I completed my school work, but often put it beneath pursuing personal passions on the priority list.  The entrepreneurship program allowed me to pursue passions along with school work.  Anytime you  blend personal passions with assigned learning, I believe great things can occur.  I have appreciated any latitude that my class projects have allowed me. 

Something interesting happened in my senior year.

I began pursuing nearly every decent idea that came to mind.  Off the top of my head, these included:

* Writing a business plan and attempting to launch a solar project development company

* Applying to many "dream" jobs I was somewhat under-qualified for

* Filming and releasing a documentary evaluating sustainability on a University campus

* Applying for a scholarship to a week-long seminar on Free-market Environmentalism

* Applying for the Eller College of Management Thinking Forward Marketing Scholarship

* Applied as student convocation speaker for the Eller College of Management 2008

When I look back and evaluate the list I can only conclude that by and large, I have failed. 

* While I believe the business plan was critical to my entrepreneurship education, we identified key skills and experience missing in the founding team and failed to attract enough gray hairs to fill in the gaps.

* Considering I am less than two weeks from graduation day and still have not accepted a job offer, no great successes here (more on this below)

* I worked hard to finish the documentary for an Earth Day showing, two hours before my deadline my computer had video data overload and I lost an entire interview that was completely edited and spliced into the film

* I was chosen as an "alternate" for the Enviropreneur Seminar and have not received notice that any space has opened up for me

* I was not selected to advance to the interview (second) round for the Thinking Forward Award

* I was not selected to advance to the final round of three potential student convocation speakers

Through all of this, I have internalized a few thoughts on failure:

Hall of Fame hitters only get a hit 3 out of 10 times at the plate

"Failure is the only opportunity to begin again more intelligently." - Henry Ford

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:2-4

To a degree, I have become comfortable with failure.

So what am I doing with all of this failure?

* The failed Renewabuilt Energy business plan provided an invaluable renewable energy project development and entrepreneurship education and I see it as the launching pad of my career in the RE industry. 

* Though I currently am still searching for a position in RE, I am confident that I will find a place with a company that is aligned with my passion for RE and also provides ample entrepreneurial opportunity. 

* The only deadline for my film was self-imposed, and though I feel that the timing is not perfect, I still plan on completing the project and releasing it to the University of Arizona community, as well as making it available through YouTube and here on REpreneur.

* Though I will not spend a free week in Bozeman, MT this summer, even being introduced to the concepts of free-market environmentalism has expanded my outlook in this area and I fully expect to study the field further at some point int he future.

* My posting of my Thinking Forward essay became one of the most viewed posts on my blog I believe in large part to the large number of Eller students who found the post in a note on my Facebook page.  If any lesson can be gleaned from this, it must be the importance of having a champion inside the organization you are selling yourself or your company to.  When listing a faculty member who sponsored my application, I chose my good friend and McGuire Entrepreneurship Mentor Jim Jindrick, as opposed to someone within the marketing department who may have been more involved in picking the finalists. 

* My convocation speech was a bit controversial.  I basically ignored all of the directions for writing the speech.  In my draft that I presented to the committee I did not congratulate the graduates (minor oversight).  Still, I think the speech is great.  I lay out a clear challenge to my fellow graduates that unifies us and keeps us looking forward.  I am considering publishing the text or more likely a video of my presentation of the speech here on the blog. 

In my study of entrepreneurs, it is clear that they do not accept failure well.  Although the failures that I have experienced recently have relatively low costs associated with them, I hope that these experience will help prepare me in future endeavors.  When faced with failure, I hope that one day I will be described as someone who does not surrender to failure with ease.

Follow up on An Inconvenient Truth

Al Gore's most recent TED talk has been posted online.  If you haven't watched the Inconvenient Truth, this is a shorter (20 minute) talk that will allow you to take a simple test. 

If you watch this talk, and feel absolutely no urgent need to take some sort of personal action to solve the Global Climate Crisis than you are officially a moron. 

I used to think a lot about being politically correct.  But now, with all of the evidence so strong, I can't stop thinking about ways to get people off their aces.  I feel like I need to shake my entire generation into waking up from their obsession with consumer electronics and celebrity gossip and somehow convey the message that there are causes worth fighting for out there. 

I know, there was a time in my life when I didn't really get environmentalism, but come on, we're in college now.  In six weeks I will have graduated.  I'm scared that my graduating class is more concerned about what new ring tone they just bought for their iPhone than how their working life will affect the planet.

Just so we're clear on how much I take this to heart, here is a list of my current projects around this concern (not meant to brag, more to the point of: if you're not doing anything get off your ace):

• Trying desperately to finish a documentary highlighting the work of students, staff, and faculty from across the U of A working on sustainability/green projects
• Applying to be the convocation speaker at The Eller College of Management's 2008 graduation ceremonies.  An attempt to inspire 500+ graduates to consider "doing well by doing good" in 3 minutes
• Submitted an application to Property & Environment Research Center's Summer Week-long camp on Free-Market Environmentalism.  After all I called it "the opportunity of a lifetime", how could I not apply?
• Still working on getting a job developing renewable energy in America (or anywhere for that matter), if you are in this field and looking to hire a passionate young people with an entrepreneurial education, email me.
• Tomorrow, I will begin a new project (right like I have time for this) to develop solar power in a new way in the US.  Its not 100% original, but I haven't seen it done anywhere else in solar, and I think there may be some key advantages to this new approach.  Vague enough for ya?

As you can see, I have many projects.  If you think that you can help me, or would like to sponsor any of these projects, I'd love to talk with you.

In fact, that gives me a great idea.  Why on Earth have I not sought out a sponsor in much the same way that the FABULOUS PBS series e2 (that's E squared or the economies of being environmentally conscious) has been sponsored by Autodesk.

I wonder what Tucson businesses would be interested in sponsoring my video. One more project to keep in the air. 

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.

The Abuse of Optimism & Hope: ZAP

A few weeks ago, my brother Kevin blogged about business card cartoons that depicted his closest friends and family.  This was mine:

At first I thought "that's really great, I want to sell things that people can believe in, and the market for these is infinite, so I am going to do quite well".  More on this later.

If you've read the REpreneur blog at all, you've no doubt read that I'm a big fan of electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles. 

So how could I not love the cars "soon to go into production concepts" from EV manufacturer ZAP!

It has happened before, and it will probably happen again.  I've been duped!

Sometimes my youthful optimism blinds me from doing as much due diligence as I should.  I read through their website and loved the concepts, the promises, and the hope of electric vehicles. 

Unfortunately, I was being duped, and I wasn't the first.  WIRED magazine released an in-depth article chronicling the FULL history behind Steve Schneider and Gary Starr who had been collectively running the company into the ground and ruining the lives of anyone they could convince to invest and/or open dealerships or join the company since the middle of 1994.

Everyone loves green vehicles.  We hate filling up at the pump, we hate knowing we are dependent on oil from the middle east, Venezuela, and the dirty tar sands of Canada. 

So its sad to read all the stories of people who have put their faith and fortunes in the promises made by ZAP executives. 

I applaud WIRED magazine for their thorough investigative reporting.  I would recommend anyone thinking about doing any business with ZAP to please read the WIRED article first.  I personally would not touch that company with a 10 foot extension cord.

On a brighter note, the EV industry is not all bad and I still believe in the long term prospects of companies who have worked hard to execute on their promises such as Tesla, Aptera, and Project Better Place. 

As for my brother's business card cartoon about me.  Teamed with this article, it is a strong reminder that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation, and only a few poor decisions to ruin it.  That if you make promises, you better be able to execute.  Excuses don't matter, execution is king.

Cartoon Photo Credit: www.ecadamy.streetcards.com

Hype Machine Photo Credit: Jason Lee and WIRED Magazine

Predicting The Future: Environmental Trendwatching

EnviroNerd Alert!!!

Ask me what the current generation needs in order to become active in the debate over global climate change and here's what I say: Start Paying Attention!

Stop watching TV.  Turn off your cable.  You can get all the entertainment you need from the internet.  But you need to start actively educating yourself on the effects and trends of global climate change and how you can participate as part of the solution instead of adding to the problem.  All of this can be done by videos and organizations currently on the internet. 

Read my blog, watch the videos I put up, they just might boggle your mind.  The global effects of climate change are incredible.  Tortilla riots due to rising corn prices affected by biofuels and oil.  Regional droughts increasing dramatically.  Global water resources being vastly depleted.  I could go on and on, but the World Resources Institute does it faster, more intelligently, and add another degree of credibility.

The video below from late December is an hour long, so make some time for it if you care at all about the macro trends that will play out in 2008.  This is important information for all citizens of the Earth to understand so that you can prepare your family, your profession, and your business for the effects global climate change.  That is, look both ways before using up all the world's natural resources. 

This video correlates very closely with an accompanying Download trends-to-watch-2008.ppt , so I would recommend downloading that and following along. 

There are a lot of trends that I am excited about such as the fact that Central (concentrated) Solar Power (CSP) is now considered to be cost-competitive with other forms of conventional power generation.  Additionally, companies in China, the U.S., and Europe are engaging in heated competition and making great strides towards reducing the cost of photovoltaics.

The stories about how rapid weather changes caused by climate change in Australia caused that country to focus on that issue more than any other in their most recent elections.  The newly elected prime minister signed the Kyoto protocol on his first day of office, no small promise considering Australia's per capita energy consumption.

For Americans, the big question is how will climate change affect this country's 2008 presidential elections.  As WRI notes, only Bill Richardson, John Edwards, and Barack Obama consistently speak favorably about the need for proactive legislation from the top down to address the issue (And the last man standing is...).

 

How will the world respond to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (right), boasting some of the poorest air quality standards on Earth.

An hour really is not too much of your time to hear from respected experts about what is happening around the world with climate change. 

I'd love to hear your feedback on the video as well as how you plan to take action in your own life.  Comments always welcome.

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.

This Is The 11th Hour: What Will You Do About It?

An amazing thing happened when I embarked (two days ago) upon my quest to produce a documentary entitled "Think Green, Live Green - The University of Arizona edition".  One amazing thing that happened is that I discovered that the entire green community is clamoring for individuals to join the rally cry and do their part to educate and motivate their communities in response to global climate change.  These are what I call An Action Campaign.

I'll be highlighting more Action Campaigns of organizations and productions that have recently sprouted up in response to "The fierce urgency of now" (MLK Jr. & Barack Obama) related to global climate change.  The first of which is this new full length documentary by Leonardo DiCaprio entitled "The 11th Hour". 



Details:

Leonardo DiCaprio's “The 11th Hour” is a feature length documentary
concerning the environmental crises caused by human actions and their
impact on the planet. "The 11th Hour" documents the cumulative impact of
these actions upon the planet's life systems and calls for restorative action
through a reshaping of human activity. With the help of over fifty of the
world's most prominent thinkers and activists, including reformer Mikhail
Gorbachev, physicist Stephen Hawking, and Nobel Prize winner Wangari
Maathai, “The 11thHour" documents the grave problems facing the
planet's life systems. Global warming, deforestation, mass species
extinction, and depletion of the oceans' habitats are all addressed, and
their causes rooted in human activity. The combination of these crises call
into question the very future not of the planet, but of humanity.

However, the most powerful element of “The 11th Hour” is not a portrait of
a planet in crisis, but the offering of hope and solutions. Scientists and
environmental advocates such as David Orr and Gloria Flora (note: these
names can be interchanged for any of the experts) paint a portrait for a
radically new and exciting future in which humanity seeks not to dominate
the earth's life systems, but to mimic them and coexist. “The 11th Hour"
calls for a future now within our grasp that is both sustainable and
healthier.

The 11th Hour Trailer:

Please take a minute to watch the trailer, I'll be featuring more Action Campaigns such as this in the future.  An Action Campaign is one of the best ways to both educate yourself and curb your environmental footprint, so I encourage you to get involved in one. 

Educate Yourself: EfficienCity

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the wealth of information about renewable energy technologies that you don't understand yet?

GreenPeace has just released a fabulous depiction of what the ideal renewable energy and climate-friendly city should look like. Its called EfficienCity, and there is a ton of info packed into edible bites for the REpreneur novice. I read a lot and this illustration was very informative even for me. Plus, I love the macro-city approach it takes to dreaming about what our future cities will look like.





Notice something about this city? The citizens live in harmony with the renewable energy systems. Today's NIMBY attitudes about renewables need to get kicked to the curb. Wind farms in low density areas. Fields of solar only in unused desert, Off-shore wind and ocean renewables so far away you cannot even see them.

Yes, I know the real estate costs are less in these areas but America needs generation near its consumption point. People should appreciate the beauty and high social and environmental value that renewables offer and integrate them into their lives.

You Gotta Go Check Out EfficienCity!

(Hat tip to EcoGeek Hank Green)

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.

Want Renewable Energy in America? Contact your state and federal legislators!

One of my favorite classes in high school was my senior democracy and civics class.  For many maturing teenagers, this class represents the first time that they will intelligently debate issues that affect our society. 

Although I enjoyed the way I was challenged to uncover my beliefs on various social and economic issues, there was a sense in which our debate had minimal impact on the reality of our democracy.  Many Americans move onto college or start jobs and only get involved in their democracy every four years when they vote for their preferred parties selected candidate.

Many Americans don't realize that our democracy works, and with the advent of the internet age it has become much easier to participate.  At least that has been my experience concerning the role that legislators play in determining America's energy future. 

Of course, in order to be active in a democracy you have to be passionate about a particular cause.  For me, this is clearly renewable energy.  As an entrepreneur, I believe in the mantra that I have learned from Jim Jindrick over at Businessrulesofthumb.com, also my McGuire program mentor. 

    "Earn a profit solving customer problems better than the competition!"

Notice this doesn't say anything about competing on price.  It focuses on solving problems better.  That's why I love renewable energy.  Renewable energy is a superior solution to conventional fossil-fueled power generation.  It may not be cheaper, but it is a superior solution.

Just a few of the benefits of renewable energy include:
    - clean air

    - low/zero greenhouse gas emissions

    - greatly reduced water usage compared to conventional power generation

    - Higher number of technical jobs per MW

    - distributed generation which can improve quality of service

Compare this with the stats from a typical coal plant:

A Typical Coal Plant

A typical 500-megawatt coal plant produces 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year -- enough to power a city of about 140,000 people.

It burns 1.4 million tons of coal (the equivalent of 40 train cars of coal each day) and uses 2.2 billion gallons of water each year. In an average year, this one plant also generates the following:

• 10,000 tons of sulfur dioxide
• 10,200 tons of nitrogen oxide, equivalent to half a million late-model cars
• 3.7 million tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to cutting down 100 million trees
• 500 tons of small particles
• 220 tons of hydrocarbons
• 720 tons of carbon monoxide
• 125,000 tons of ash and 193,000 tons of sludge from the smokestack scrubber
• 170 pounds of mercury, 225 pounds of arsenic, 114 pounds of lead, 4 pounds of cadmium, and other toxic heavy metals
• Trace amounts of uranium

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists

There are many more reasons that I am passionate about renewable energy, but my point is this.  Due to the advent of the internet age and some great advocacy organizations it has been simple to keep track of the progress that Congress has been making on new renewable energy provisions in the current energy bill.  I catch most of the details on this from reading the blogroll over at Renewable Energy Access. 

RE Access teamed up with SolarNation in order to enable their readers to contact their legislators during key decision points for Congress and weigh-in on why our public officials should support renewable energy. 

At least three times this year I have used SolarNation's online tools to write emails to my local legislators.  Plus, since I'm in college I can contact legislators from my home state of WA, my college address in Tucson, and my summer internship in Phoenix.  I have been able to call their offices, speak with energy staffers, and often they will have a staffer reply to my emails with a standard letter on how they plan to support these bills. 

Multiple stories have stated that legislators changed their actions, or placed more urgency on the matter due to the groundswell of support that they received from their constituents.  Of course, this could just be fodder to make the actions of a few look more effective, but I doubt it. 

Plus, I've been able to send invitations to my politically active and passionate friends to do the same.  As a follow up to the article by Thomas Friedman about the greenest thing you can do is elect new leaders.  I would add to that, you can demand that your legislators act in a way that reflects the desires of their constituents.  America wants more renewable energy.  But we need to make our voices heard in Washington D.C. 

Right now, the Senate is trying to water down a version of the Energy bill that the House passed last week containing $21 billion for renewable energy, a 15% national RES, long-term extensions of both the investment and production tax credits and various energy efficiency incentives.  These are all measures that would help to build a sustainable clean energy economy in America and establish the US as a world leader in Cleantech. 

You don't have to sit by and let this happen as our air and water quality continue to decline.  Contact your senators today and tell them that you want them to support the House version of the Energy bill. 

Video: John Doerr on Global Warming

This is a great speech by venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers.  John  has directed venture capital funding to some of the most successful technology companies in the world including Compaq, Netscape, Symantec, Sun Microsystems, Amazon.com, and Google, as well as Friendster, Go.com and myCFO.

His speech at TED defines how attitudes and behaviors are changing in response to global warming, but as he says, "it may not be enough". 

Enjoy

Save the Planet: Vote Smart

The Sierra Club posted this on Tuesday:

Nice piece in The New York Times by Thomas Friedman, about yellow cabs turning green. We can do our share as individuals to curb carbon emissions and hold off the consequences of global warming, but what we also need to do--beyond changing light bulbs--is to change leaders. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg put it simply:

When it comes to health and safety and environmental issues, government should be setting standards. What you need are leaders who are willing to push for standards that are in society’s long-term interest.

Below is the transcript of the piece because I don't think the link is working correctly.

October 21, 2007

Op-Ed Columnist

Save the Planet: Vote Smart

 

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

   

People often ask: I want to get greener, what should I do? New light bulbs? A hybrid? A solar roof? Well, all of those things are helpful. But actually, the greenest thing you can do is this: Choose the right leaders. It is so much more important to change your leaders than change your light bulbs.

Why? Because leaders write the rules, set the standards and offer the tax incentives that drive market behavior across a whole city, state or country. Whatever any of us does individually matters a tiny bit. But when leaders change the rules, you get scale change across the whole marketplace. And the energy-climate challenge we face today is a huge scale problem. Without scale, all you have is a green hobby.

Have no illusions, everything George Bush wouldn’t do on energy after 9/11 — his resisting improved mileage for cars and actually trying to weaken air-conditioner standards — swamped any good works you did. Fortunately, the vacuum in the White House is being filled by leaders from below.

Take the New York City taxi story. Two years ago, David Yassky, a City Council member, sat down with one of his backers, Jack Hidary, a technology entrepreneur, to brainstorm about how to make New York City greener — at scale. For starters, they checked with the Taxi and Limousine Commission to see what it would take to replace the old gas-guzzling Crown Victoria yellow cabs, which get around 10 miles a gallon, with better-mileage, low-emission hybrids. Great idea, only it turned out to be illegal, thanks to some old size regulations designed to favor Crown Vics.

Recalled Mr. Hidary: “When they first told me, I said, ‘Are you serious? Illegal?’” So he formed a nonprofit called SmartTransportation.org to help Mr. Yassky lobby the City Council to change the laws to permit hybrid taxis. They also reframed it as a health issue, with the help of Louise Vetter, president of the American Lung Association of the City of New York.

“New York City has among the dirtiest air in the U.S.,” Ms. Vetter said. “When it comes to ozone and particulate matter, New Yorkers are breathing very unhealthy air. Most of it is tailpipe emissions. And in New York City, where asthma rates are among the highest in the nation, the high ozone levels create very serious threats, especially for kids who spend a lot of time outdoors. Converting cabs from yellow to green would be a great gift to the city’s children.”

Matt Daus, who heads the taxi commission, which is independent of the mayor, was initially reluctant, but once he learned of the health and other benefits, he joined forces with Messrs. Yassky and Hidary, and the measure passed the City Council by 50 to 0 on June 30, 2005. Since then, more than 500 taxi drivers have converted to hybrids — mostly Ford Escapes, but also Toyota Highlanders and Priuses, and others.

On May 22, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of the greenest mayors in America, decided to push even further, insisting on a new rule, which the taxi commission has to approve, that will not just permit but require all cabs — 13,000 in all — to be hybrids or other low-emission vehicles that get at least 30 miles a gallon, within five years.

“When it comes to health and safety and environmental issues, government should be setting standards,” the mayor said. “What you need are leaders who are willing to push for standards that are in society’s long-term interest.” When the citizens see the progress, Mr. Bloomberg added, “then they start to lead.” And this encourages leaders to seek even higher standards.

I asked Evgeny Freidman, a top New York City fleet operator, how he liked the hybrids: “Absolutely fabulous! We started out with 18, and now we have over 200, mostly Ford Escapes. Now we only put hybrids out there. The drivers are demanding them and the public is demanding them. It has been great economically. With gas prices as they are, the drivers are saving $30 dollars a shift.” He said drivers who were getting 7 to 10 miles a gallon from their Crown Vics were getting 25 to 30 from their hybrids. The cost of shifting to these hybrids, he added, has not been onerous.

Now Mr. Hidary is trying to get law firms and investment banks, which use gas-guzzling Town Cars — 12,000 in the city — to demand hybrid sedans only.

This is how scale change happens. When the Big Apple becomes the Green Apple, and 40 million tourists come through every year and take at least one hybrid cab ride, they’ll go back home and ask their leaders, “Why don’t we have hybrid cabs?”

So if you want to be a green college kid or a green adult, don’t fool yourself: You can change lights. You can change cars. But if you don’t change leaders, your actions are nothing more than an expression of, as Dick Cheney would say, “personal virtue.”

Solar Power 2007 Conference

Myself and two members from my entrepreneurship team just got back from Long Beach this week where we attended Solar Power 2007.  The conference was awesome and is essential for anyone trying to learn more about the industry. 

For me it was all about conversations.  Some of the sessions were informative and a great place to hear from experts in their field.  But the most intensive learning came from talking with industry insiders in different parts of the value chain.

Below is a link that contains a lot of coverage from the event.  There are a lot of webcast videos.  I highly recommend watching some that you are interested in.  For me, I am just finishing watching the Wal-Mart VP speak about their new format's and their effort's in sustainability. 

Ted Turner was hilarious so if you need a laugh today, watch him.  Otherwise, enjoy your weekend. 

Solar Power Conference Webcasts

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.

RE Links

Here are a list of great links on Renewable Energy.  Industry organizations, innovative companies, news outlets, etc

RenewableEnergyAccess.com descriptions of technologies:
    Green power
    Wind
    Solar
    Ocean
    Hydrogen

Podcasts:
    Inside Renewable Energy
    America The Green

    National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
    Sandia National Laboratories

Solar:
    Industry Orgs
        Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
        SolarBuzz.com
        SolarPlaza.com

    Manufacturers
        BP Solar
        First Solar
       United Solar Ovonics
        Sharp
        Kyocera
        SunTech

    Project Developers
        Acciona
        Conergy
        Juwi
       Phoenix Solar
        SunEdison
        EI Solutions
        Suntechnics

Wind:
        American Wind Energy Association (AWEA)
       Clipper Wind
        enXco
        Gamesa Energia
        Garrard Hassan
        3 Phases Energy
        SouthWest Windpower


Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV) & Zero Emissions Vehicles (ZEV)
        Tesla Motors
        Phoenix Motorcars
        ZAP! Cars
        California Cars Initiative
        Plug In America
        Honda Fuel Cell Vehicle

Introduction to REpreneur

Hello and welcome to a new blog by a member of the new generation that is building the bond between environmentalism and business.  My name is Kyle Cherrick (email me).   Click Here to get to know my story.   

Let's start with the basics, I'm addicted to renewable energy (RE).  I think its the coolest thing since sliced bread.  I read about it all the time... for fun.  Sometimes books, but mostly blogs, podcasts, industry websites, online video content, etc.

Why Blog?  For one, it’s a great way to educate.  Most people I meet can't even pronounce photovoltaic.  Much less understand the difference between PV and Solar thermal.  I'm walking evidence that any regular Joe can become versed in the language, technologies, marketplace, and future of renewable energy.  I spent about six months reading everything I could find about RE before I was able to land a (well) paid summer internship at a leading solar manufacturer.

Plus: I'm writing a business plan and hope to be starting a business in the Spring.  As a student in the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship (#1 Entrepreneurship Undergrad Degree as ranked by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine) I purposefully chose my team of fellow entrepreneurs with full intent of starting a business focused on RE and/or sustainability.  This summer represents the beginning of a long year of hard work to build a business worthy of a launch investment. 

Who should read my blog? 
•    Anyone new to renewable energy, the green building movement, sustainability, etc
•    People who want a unique news feed and viewpoint on the RE industry
•    Those interested in how entrepreneurship is the driving force behind the RE revolution

Professor, student, experienced professional, retiree, observer, consumer, or citizen, renewable energy has something for everyone.  It tends to be a much more fascinating industry as a whole than say refrigeration, consumer foods, or corporate accounting.  That’s why RE has such great appeal.  Because unlike those industries, RE has the power to positively impact the entire world, provide more professional level and manufacturing jobs, and redirect our future on this planet.   

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m really not a bleeding heart environmentalist.  Though I do have some eco-friendly tendencies, most of my daily consumerist decisions give little weight to environmental impact.   That’s why I’m just like you.  Still, pictures like this of plastic trash piles do make me rethink my actions. 

So look around, I hope to be adding a lot of valuable information and updates in the next month. 

As for now, Arrivederci.