Leading VC offers tips for cleantech businesses

Dr Rob Wylie of WHEB Ventures provides ten tips for cleantech businesses in the latest issue of Cleantech magazine.

Rob's Dos and Don'ts for the cleantech entrepreneur include:

1. Be realistic about cash requirements
2. Find ways to generate profitable revenue early
3. Look carefully at sales lead times
4. Avoid capital-intensive projects unless it is clear how they can be financed
5. Find an investor syndicate that will add value and has business experience
6. Be realistic about your skills
7. Hire a useful board of independent non-execs
8. Be careful of markets requiring government certification or approval
9. When it comes to distribution partners, big is not always beautiful
10. Be realistic about valuation

Read the full feature here: Ten Tips for Cleantech businesses

Fuel cells and venture investment

We've just published a special issue of Cleantech magazine on fuel cells. The entire issue is available as a virtual magazine

There are several features on venture investors including profiles of two funds, Conduit Ventures and the PGM Development Fund.

We've also included a feature entitled Fuel Cells: the role of Venture Investors.

With Bloom Energy looking like an IPO candidate, this could be the time for the VC community to start focusing on fuel cells again!

Cleantech Survey

Results of the Cleantech Investment and Private Equity survey conducted by Cleantech Investor and Norton Rose earlier this year have now been published. The survey was conducted amongst both cleantech companies and investors - predominantly from Europe and North America. Key findings included the following:

Energy efficiency is expected to be the cleantech sector attracting the most investment interest in the immediate short term

Wind will continue to be the main sub-sector in cleantech energy generation; notwithstanding this trend, solar has recently attracted more investment than any other sub-sector

Cleantech generated electricity cannot immediately satisfy the world’s ever increasing energy needs; it is felt that it will take some considerable time to displace fossil fuel based technology; in reality the expectation is that it will require a mixture of different technologies to satisfy consumer demand

The USA was identified as being the most likely beneficiary of private equity driven cleantech investment

Europe is perceived as offering the greatest incentives for cleantech investment

Political and regulatory support by governments, and the financial incentives they provide for cleantech innovation, are seen as crucial factors in the continuing growth of the cleantech sector

Banks are still cautious about lending to the sector, despite proposals to support the green economy, and debt remains tightly controlled

Cleantech investments are viewed with a greater degree of caution in comparison with other sectors; despite this, any fear of a cleantech ‘bubble’ does not appear founded.

A summary of the survey has been published in the latest issue of Cleantech magazine and is available on the Cleantech Investor website. The full survey is also available for download from the Cleantech Investor website.