September 3rd, 2010
6 Chacateristics of a Perfect B2C Energy Efficiency Company
TOPICS: BOSTON, Entrepreneurship, Resource Efficiency
4 weeks ago, Green Light Distrikt Boston had an event, ‘Energy Efficiency: Why is the Low Hanging Fruit so High?” The speakers discussed what they’re working on and why, if energy efficiency (EE) has such high returns, the adoption of these behaviors and technologies seems to be happening at a snails pace.
Based on the presentations there were 6 things that I learned why EE adoption is not happening quickly enough. If you need a refresher on the those 6 items see the previous link.
Using these 6 points, I’ll outline the 6 characteristics of what a BLOCKBUSTER company addressing homeowner and small business energy efficiency would and/should look like. If you’re a VC and reading this, your welcome, you can pay me later.
Here’s the 6 characteristics of the perfect EE company I would invest in, start, or work with.
1) The technology is simple, works, and is cheap. You need the technology to be ‘in the game’ but the technology itself won’t solve the problem. The winning combination will be a mix of technology + service. This is why, as Rob Day points out, angels will be the heros of EE technology space because the technology is so cheap to build. It is the selling, servicing, monitoring, and changing of behaviors that will make or break a great EE company.
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September 2nd, 2010
New England Positioned to Lead Cleantech Revolution
TOPICS: BOSTON, Government Policy
Over the past several months, businesses, environmentalists and policy experts alike have been pressing the U.S. Senate to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation that places a price on carbon. The New England Clean Energy Council, where I work, has been among those actively pushing for such a bill. One of the points we’ve tried to drive home with our region’s legislators is that New England is ideally positioned to lead in the global clean energy sector and stands to disproportionately benefit from climate and energy legislation.
Just look around. We’ve got the entrepreneurs and the venture capital. We’ve got one of the most educated workforces in the world. And we’re already home to a growing number of clean energy companies. As the world embarks on what New York Times blogger Andy Revkin calls an “energy quest”, there is an obvious need for energy innovation. And despite claims that the world is flat, geography is central to that process. “Innovation clusters” – geographically concentrated companies within a field – are central to the development of new technologies, businesses and ideas. Silicon Valley and our own Route 128 are two obvious examples.
September 1st, 2010
Cleantech Jobs: No Background, No Experience, No Problem
TOPICS: BOSTON, Business Insights, CleanTech Guide
As someone just getting into the cleantech industry and still feeling it out, like an adolescent boy getting his first girlfriend, I have found out something quite hopeful and exciting. That is that just about anyone, no matter your education, background, or goals can find the right job or position within the industry.
August 30th, 2010
Top 5 Reasons Why @RelayRides is Better Than @ZipCar
TOPICS: BOSTON, Interviews, Transportation
If you think ZipCar is cool, they have nothing on RelayRides. Some businesses just make sense, and when you hear about them you think ‘DUHHH’ obviously, ’Why doesn’t this already exist?’ or ’Why hasn’t anyone done this before?’ RelayRides is this concept.
(Note: Video will work once you click on the full article)
RelayRides is hot, there’s no question about that, and for this they’ve been getting a lot of good press around Boston and the country from BostInnovation, Cambridge Day, Xconomy, and Mother Nature Network.
I enjoyed Scott Kirsner’s review of his experience using RelayRides for the first time, Driving Thy Neighbors Car: My Experience with RelayRides. However, I absolutely, completely, 100% disagree with his conclusion about RelayRides and ZipCar. First, let me state that I’m not trying to start an argument, I just don’t want potential ‘RelayRiders’ to be scared away from the service due to his review. Mr. Kirsner stated he prefers ZipCar for two reasons: convenience and confidence. Here’s the thing: RelayRides is in beta release. Thus, they are still working out the kinks, only have a small number of cars on the road, etc. However, with their business model, there is no question they will be much more convenient then ZipCar, because the cars can be everywhere and anywhere. In terms of confidence, as more RelayRide users start renting their cars, competition will increase between renters. Thus, renters will be heavily incentivized (being able to make up to 7k per year!) to make sure that their cars are in tip top shape.
August 27th, 2010
From Software to Cleantech: Interview with Paul Berberian CEO of ZettaSun
TOPICS: BOULDER, Entrepreneurship, Interviews, Renewable Energy
This week’s post is an interview with Paul Berberian, a successful investor in Boulder, Colorado. He is the President and CEO of ZetaSun, Inc., a concentrating solar business. How many tech/software people do you meet who are also changing the world with clean tech businesses as well? Well, maybe more than you think. Paul is cross-applying his industry expertise in exciting ways into the Clean Tech space. You can follow Paul’s business ventures and high altitude aviation adventures at his blog: http://www.berberian.com/
Tell us a bit about your business:
*Zettasun, Inc. is building a new kind of solar panel designed for commercial rooftops. We use our unique optical and mechanical designs to build a high-concentrating photovoltaic panel that can track and concentrate the sun over 500 times without external devices.
August 25th, 2010
6 Reasons the High ROI of Energy Efficiency Doesn’t Matter
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Kingpins, Resource Efficiency
All I can say is “Energy Efficiency: Why is the Low Hanging Fruit so High?” the second event hosted by Green Light Distrikt Boston in our Cleantech Kingpins series was a HUGE success. It was completely packed, it was fun, and we learned a ton. Boston insider Aaron Lindenbaum wrote a great follow up about his take on how to make energy efficiency (EE) sexy and Brian Hayden wrote an awesome piece about how the event inspired him to take action in his home and what he learned.
A huge thank you to all the speakers, everyone did an amazing job, and Alex from Wattzy who helped me find everyone. Another shout out to NEXUS for hosting us. The NEXUS Green Building Resource Center is the Mecca of green building in Boston and probably the country, in short, they’re awesome. A third thank you to everyone who came, watched, asked questions and joined in on the conversation at the end. I had a great time meeting you and can’t wait to see guys more in the future.
Here’s the little agenda for post
1) Presentations: Below are both the presentation videos and slides. Note, I’m couldn’t upload Lilah Glick’s presentation from the Cambridge Energy Alliance and I didn’t get Alex’s presentation on video.
Here are the speakers:
- Alex Patriquin – Founder, CEO at Wattzy
- Martin Flusberg – Founder, CEO at Powerhouse Dynamics
- Lilah Glick – Director, Community Outreach at Cambridge Energy Alliance
- Brenden Endicott – Senior Manager, Energy Markets at EnerNOC
- Geoff Chapin – Founder, CEO at Next Step Living
2) Problem with Energy Efficiency Adoption: The speakers addressed 6 main issues that I’ll summarize that explain why energy efficiency adoption is NOT happening.
August 24th, 2010
Unemployment has some looking to a Greener Economy
TOPICS: BOSTON, Government Policy
Three months after graduation from college and my friends and I could not be more removed from the college scene and our tight knit community at Boston University. Almost immediately, it seemed, after we took the cliché photos and said our goodbyes, reality sunk in. Our diploma was merely a piece of paper and it did not ensure that we would land a stellar job and get rich quick; it was not our ticket to freedom. The present American economy was not the standard economics lecture- easily mastered with the proper study guide- it was a whole new ball game. In order to succeed, you had to play the game; the problem was, there wasn’t much game left to play.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, youth unemployment currently sits at 19.1% nationally, while according a 2010 report by the College Board, 17% percent of graduates will have more than $30,000 in debt upon graduation. With these factors combined, many college graduates are unable to land their first job before their first loan payments are due.
August 23rd, 2010
“Solar, Inc.” and the Erosion of Values
TOPICS: WASHINGTON DC
On May 24th, 2010, I got the axe. To be honest, it wasn’t even that bad. I had a lot of confidence that I wouldn’t have trouble finding work because I had emerged with a rare and valuable set of experiences that, in such a young industry, was almost non-existent. If you read my bio, I managed the workflow for scores of solar projects for Alteris over the past year and a half. Here are some observations and realizations I’ve had since May 24th:
- Working in the solar industry doesn’t create higher job security. This observation may seem obvious, but from a young professional standpoint (aka the GLD blog), I think it’s worth pointing out.
- Since the industry is so new, the risk of companies making big mistakes or miscalculations is high, because factors and/or trends are simply unknown.
- It’s still pretty easy to find solar jobs – there are a ton of openings and opportunities. The first day after being let go, I found 12 jobs in about an hour of searching, all of which I was qualified for.
- Being let go from the solar industry and the ease of moving horizontally to a similar job doesn’t erase your cynicism. It may remove it from your conscious mind, but not your unconscious mind. This for me unfortunately developed into a lingering disenchantment with the industry.
I realized there must be something more to this “disenchantment” feeling – I was at odds with myself about what I actually cared about – if I was truly an environmentalist, shouldn’t I just grab the next solar job that’s out there and dive right back in?
August 12th, 2010
Home Energy Efficiency: The Bitter Taste of Low Hanging Fruit
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Kingpins, Green Building
I love running a business for contractors and building practitioners because I’m awed by what they do. It’s like magic to me. Have you ever tried to do a home improvement project for yourself? Unless you have the training and experience, it takes forever – you’ve got to be really motivated. It turns out the ‘low hanging fruit’ of energy efficiency is much the same story.
Inspired by the eloquent presenters at the GLD Cleantech Kingpins event on July 22nd, I decided to implement some much-needed energy efficiency measures on my own house. First I invited my neighbor, a BPI certified auditor, to come over with his blower door and duct blaster to find the issues. We discovered my house has a decent envelope but leaky ducts. So air sealing and insulating the ductwork was job #1. Seemed simple enough. Continue Reading >
August 10th, 2010
UPDATE: Top 10 US Cleantech Cities, Is Your City Falling Behind?
TOPICS: BOSTON, CleanTech Guide, Resources
I created the ‘TOP 10 US Cities for Cleantech Report” about a month ago. The goal is simple: crowdsource the research on cleantech resources across the US, then rank the information from 1 to 10, then provide it free to the community for people to use.
Story and Purpose of the Report
At first, the goal was selfish and for my own purposes. I know what’s happening in Boston very well because I’ve lived here for 2 years. But I wanted to be able to go to NYC, Boulder, San Fran, or (insert any US city here) and get plugged into the cleantech scene in a week, instead of the 3 months it would normally take. Continue Reading >
August 5th, 2010
Green Marketing or Green Washing? (Part Deux – Enforcement!)
TOPICS: BOSTON, What is 'green'?
We left off last month at Enforcement in part 1 of ‘Green Marketing or Green Washing?’. The best part! So if the green guides when applied can be pretty stringent and since we can probably agree that most companies, whether or not unwittingly, violate the standards, then why don’t we have FTC actions coming out our ears?!
The Green Guides were implemented in 1992, but only 45 complaints have been brought under the guides since their inception. During the Bush Administration, not a single environmental marketing complaint was brought. Since Obama took office, seven complaints as of February 2010 had been brought and FTC Director, David Vladeck has said that tougher enforcement and guidelines are a major part of the Commission’s agenda. Continue Reading >
August 4th, 2010
Connecting the Oil Dots: Spill, Idling and Asthma
TOPICS: BOSTON, Resource Efficiency
With the on-going news of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico and the Kalamazoo River, many people and businesses feel confused and overwhelmed about what they can do to help. Send hair clippings to make oil-absorbing booms? Boycott BP stations? The best and most effective way to help, according to experts is to decrease our use of oil – reducing overall demand for fossil fuels. The disconnect between oil and its impact on health and the environment is widening, even during the biggest oil disaster in US history. Many don’t realize that Massachusetts has an anti-idling law: MGL, Chapter 90, 16A and 310 CMR, 7.11, which defines limitations and imposes fines. Continue Reading >
August 3rd, 2010
5 Marketing Lessons from the #greenENT Summit in NYC
TOPICS: Local Events, NEW YORK
Last week, I went down to NYC to get my feet wet and explore the green scene in the big, hopefully green, apple. So, I figured the Green Entrepreneurship Summit would be a good place to start. A huge shout out to Erica Grigg who told me about the event and invited me to come down.
There were two awesome panels, one on marketing and the other on financing. My buddy Kosta Stavreas did an awesome compilation of thoughts from the finance panel and I’m going to share what I learned from the marketing panel. Continue Reading >
July 30th, 2010
Energy Efficiency is Sexy if You’re Wearing Carbon Goggles
TOPICS: BOSTON
I was lucky enough to have a seat at the packed GLD Cleantech Kingpins event last week at the Nexus Green Building Center. It turned out to be a nice back-and-forth discussion about why energy efficiency isn’t catching on in the mainstream. This discussion was appropriately timed on the day that the Senate killed the climate bill. Although it was already on life support, its termination was still surprising for this optimist, since I am convinced a cap on carbon is the best, most straightforward, way to incentivize individuals and companies to turn around our economy. Continue Reading >
July 28th, 2010
Hot Tips for Raising Money from the Green Entrepreneur Summit
TOPICS: Entrepreneurship, NEW YORK
Yesterday, Chris and I attended the Green Entrepreneur Summit in New York. It was a completely sold out event, and rightfully so. The panelists and audience were high-quality business leaders who are the lifeblood of the cleantech scene in New York.
I went back through my notes and there was some great insight shared by the Funding Strategies Panel on how to raise capital for a cleantech or sustainability venture. The panelists were heavy-hitters with long track records of successfully raising substantial amounts of capital (in the 10’s and 100’s of millions) and commercializing technologies in the ‘green’ space. Continue Reading >
July 27th, 2010
Green Marketing or Green Washing?
TOPICS: BOSTON, Marketing, What is 'green'?
So last month I spouted off about labels on food and the enforcement behind them. The topic is a confusing once since there is very little regulation, which leads to consumer confusion. There are however, guidelines with the FTC that prevent green washing in marketing under the banner of Truth in Advertising. Unfortunately most businesses have very little knowledge of these guidelines, due to their lack of enforcement, and therefore even the most sustainably-minded companies are often guilty of green washing. But the Obama administration has stated that enforcement of these guidelines is a priority going forward, so consumers are about to get some clarity!
To check out the green guides for yourself you can read them at the FTC website. Or you can keep reading for a snarky summary. 
Continue Reading >
July 22nd, 2010
LIVE from the Green Entrepreneurship Summit NYC
TOPICS: Local Events, NEW YORK
Right now, I’m sitting in a room at the Hope Lodge at 132 W 32nd Street in NYC waiting for the Green Entrepreneurship Summit to start.
If you’re interested in learning about the green scene in NYC, here’s your chance.
If you want to see what’s happening, follow the #greenENT tag on twitter
The event is sold out, but if you want to watch it we’ll be streaming live via ustream. Here is the agenda to event, there are going to be some great speakers. Finally, here is the Green Entrepreneurship Summit Ustream
I have my video camera so I’m planning on getting some more in depth videos that I’ll follow up with.
July 21st, 2010
Getting Social in the Boulder Sustainability Scene
BOULDER -
I moved to Boulder, Colorado a little over a month ago from Madison, Wisconsin. All I had to my name was a few hundred bucks, a Toyota Yaris packed with everything I (decided) to own and a drive to make a fresh start on my career and overall life in a beautiful, thriving place.
Luckily I had some resources already in the area where I was moving to: my girlfriend, a cousin and some friends from the Boulder Startup Week that I had met when visiting in May. I’ve become somewhat of a proficient social networker with my past experiences in social media, so I figured that the strong base I had established when visiting Boulder Startup Week would help me get into a renewable energy or cleantech company easily. Continue Reading >
July 20th, 2010
Book Report: ‘The Company We Keep’ by John Abrams
TOPICS: BOSTON, Business Insights, Entrepreneurship
South Mountain Company is a thirty-year-old, employee-owned design and building company on Martha’s Vineyard. One of the company founders, John Abrams, published a book in 2005 that changed the way I define success – and he represents an important demographic for GLD readers.
‘The Company We Keep’ is part business book, part manifesto, part love story. John sent me the book a couple weeks before I was to drive out to Martha’s Vineyard for an interview with South Mountain Company. I was graduating from the MBA program at Babson College, knew I wanted to be part of the sustainability movement, and sensed there was some magic in this small building company. I didn’t put the book down for the next week. John is a talented writer, and in the book he challenges the ‘gospel of growth’, outlines the benefits of employee ownership, celebrates craftsmanship, and articulates the importance of place. He made me want to be a better person and a more thoughtful professional.
Ultimately I decided to start a business rather than take a job so I didn’t go to work for South Mountain Company, but that brief interaction with the company changed the course of my professional life. Have you ever had a brief experience like that, or an influential teacher, or an internship during a formative time that you’ll never forget? I’d love to hear comments with those stories.
I’m also writing this post because John is part of a group of established professionals that have 30 years of experience from which to teach the younger, Green Light Distrikt crowd. These are active guys in the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) with an unbelievable wealth of knowledge and perspective that might be helpful to some of us starting out. Here’s John’s blog, which might be another useful source of information as we all triangulate toward the truth.
July 16th, 2010
Choosing Your Path in Sustainability
TOPICS: BOSTON, Industry Insiders
As a recent college graduate interested in sustainability, I have found it a daunting task trying to determine my path down the road of sustainability. Similar to many graduates, I have experienced feelings of uncertainty and doubt when trying to choose a career or find a job in the clean tech industry. I identified key questions that helped me alleviate the prevalent chaos of this predicament; these key questions are important in helping me determine my optimal career path, yet I constantly revisit them as my answers constantly change.
- What am I interested in and passionate about?
- Where can I have the greatest Impact?
- What skills/knowledge do I have to thrive in that industry?
“Doing well by doing good” has been an easy adage to adopt, but determining how to do good are the most difficult questions to answer.
The scope of Sustainability is vast—many businesses are riding the sustainability trend. From niche start-ups in clean tech to large companies rolling out corporate sustainability divisions, one can choose to go in many different directions. So how does someone who has no experience in the field decide what to focus on and where to go?
Learning from a combination of past experiences, advice given to me and constant personal deliberation, I have found it is always best to be open-minded—and as probing as possible. I have built a solid foundation of knowledge in sustainable business as well as the clean tech industry because I have been proactive and open to learning everything I can (in any way) about sustainability-related fields and ventures. This helps on a number of levels.
The quest for knowledge—whether it includes researching online, reading publications, or attending events—provides exposure and insight into the different areas of the clean tech industry and shows what is currently happening. This insight is extremely valuable to have, as the landscape of the industry is constantly evolving and advancing. Information exploration is not only valuable to recognize what is happening in the industry, but it also allows you to connect and converse with established industry figures. In my experience, one of the most helpful ways to learn more about and establish myself in the industry is to reach out to people who know more than I do—those who are willing to help.
Many people seeking a more sustainable future are very supportive to others working towards similar goals. These people will help others looking to “do good” through their work.
The questions I have posed are not easily answered, and the answers don’t necessarily stay the same. That is why I encourage everyone interested in sustainability and clean tech to keep exploring all that is out there. Continuously strive to learn more and you will be well positioned when opportunities arise.
If you’re reading this, you are already on the right path of information exploration, and I’d like to hear what else has been effective for you in choosing your path in sustainability.
