Networking or Nyet-Working?
As a venture capitalist, I end up attending my fair share of evening events and conferences. When my wife (who grew up in Russia) and I were dating, she asked me about what I do at these types of events. I told her that…
Topic
Venture Capital
14 recovered essays in this topic.
Now That the Cleantech Hype is Gone, the Real Venture Investment Opportunity Begins
The bubble has burst. The hype and euphoria of 2008 and 2009 is a distant memory. Fueled in part by the externality of the handouts from the stimulus package, and the (now fleeting) spike of natural gas and oil prices,…
Fingernails on a Chalkboard: “Pivot” and Other Lame Business Expression Fads
As a venture capitalist, I am exposed to all the latest fads in business expressions. When a word or phrase is hot, I ...
Top Questions to Ask a Venture Capitalist in the First Pitch
You landed your first pitch at a venture capitalist’s (VC) office. You’ve practiced the pitch and have your laptop fir...
Top Questions to Ask a Venture Capitalist in the First Five Minutes
So, you’re at a networking event and you get an opportunity to talk with a Venture Capitalist (VC) for just a few min...
A Cleantech VC Who is Unconvinced of Man-Made Climate Change
Go ahead -- call me a hypocrite. I claim to be a cleantech venture capitalist yet I tell you here and now that I am not convinced...
Feeling Blue About Green? Reasons for Cleantech Optimism...
There are so many easy reasons to be a pessimist today: the world financial crisis, the discord and dysfunction in Washington, and ...
Obama Cleantech Stimulus: Bad Policy, Bad Politics and Bad for Cleantech
The Solyndra debacle is no surprise to this cleantech venture capitalist. The inherent conflict between trying to get money out of the U.S. Treasury as quickly as possible to stimulate the economy and, at the same time,…
Top 5 Things Cleantech Entrepreneurs Fail to Understand About Raising Venture Capital
After decades of venture capital investment, growth and exit, the traditional focus areas of venture capit...
Will 2010 Be the Year of Cleantech Revenues, IPOs and, Maybe, Even Profits?
As a “gearhead” (engineer) I must admit I truly enjoy looking at all the cool technologies being developed by cleantech companies. The prom...
Cleantech Venture Capitalists are Human Too
Sectors like solar, biofuels and smart grid have received a significant overweighting of venture capital investment compared to other sectors. Is this because they are better investment opportunities or because venture…
Human Capital, Not Venture Capital, the Biggest Cleantech Challenge
Building great businesses typically requires three key ingredients: phenomenal people, compelling technology and investment capital. Cleantech companies are no exception. While cleantech venture capital investments have…
Cleantech Stimulus Not Very Stimulating
The way the Obama Administration used the economic crisis to drive a major policy and spending shift regarding clean technologies was very deft politics. The cleantech stimulus (which represented over $45 billion of the…
The Green Gold Blog Launch
After joining Access Venture Partners over two years ago and heading up our cleantech investments, I contemplated starting a blog. But the...