Over at the Business Catapult Blog, we just published a piece highlighting the research-backed definition and 2009 predictions of the Cleantech sector by Lightspeed Ventures, one of the leading blue-chip-Silicon-Valley-VCs-with-a-new-cleantech-focus. Check it.
I wrote last week about transcending (and including) the current financial crisis. The inspiration for that piece was partially grounded in a column I had written for Colorado Biz magaine, which runs today. Assuming (as I did in the blog post) that the world continues to operate after the bailout and election, some US economic sectors will be stronger than others. 
And all signs indicate — and even the New York Times, in a relative comparison of city-by-city economies (pw req’d) corroborate — that a strong entrepreneurial trend is sweeping Colorado.
The trend is based on what many entreprenurial thought leaders — from investors to serial entrepreneurs to the lawyers and PR pros who live through the cycles — recognize as sectors that will thrive, even during a predictably rough national economic period. These sectors are technology (and in Colorado, especially IT and web 2.0), energy and other CleanTech / GreenTech / Sustainability companies.
In the CoBiz column, I propose a few potential results of the current Wall St. banking crisis:
Many investing “truths” have forever changed. The question is: which ones? We suspect — and a quick query of investors this week has quasi-confirmed — that core investing principles are intact, but the situational realities as to who will be an interesting funding candidate are likely to be quite different.
Intuition suggests that fewer wealthy people will be making investments, but with the investment banking sector suddenly and irreversibly (lets’ check that assumption in a few months) extinct, more money and talent could focus on growth sectors like green tech.
It’s also possible that money will re-localize. Investors will want their money to be a bit more tied to tangible nearby investments as a backlash to the ideological bankruptcy of radical derivatives. Further, as investors take a deep stock of their values, the evolution toward a more holistic investing approach will amplify.
But that’s all speculation. What’s real is that on November 21st, forty of the strongest Colorado start-up businesses will present to hundreds of venture capitalists and angel investors at the annual Angel Capital Summit. And at the end of that day, we will present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to “not only learn about but participate in the co-creation the future of our regional business ecology.”
With Anita Burke telling us all how to measure sustainable business practices at lunch, and the as-yet-uncomfirmed special appearance by one of Colorado’s favorite political leaders open the day, it promises to be an exciting “first day of the rest of your career” type of experience.
Hope to see you there.
Given current global energy economics and a weak dollar, it’s no surprise that Europeans are investing in US wind, solar and other alternative energy companies. In summary:
E.On, one of Europe’s biggest power companies, said Thursday it will invest the lion’s share of its renewable-energy budget in the U.S. Why is that, given that Germany is the home of fat subsidies for renewables and still the world leader in wind-power capacity? There’s no lebensraum there—wind resources are poor, and offshore wind is still more dream than reality…
And the Germans will have company. Energias de Portugal, Portugal’s biggest utility and the fourth-biggest wind-power operator in the world, told Reuters Friday that it will go ahead with the stock-market listing of its renewable-energy arm this summer despite dismal markets…
What’s telling is that the European interest hasn’t wavered even though U.S. federal subsidies for clean energy are slated to expire this year and have yet to be extended. Historically, the federal tax-credits have been make-or-break for the industry. Now, though, it appears other factors weigh more heavily.
What’s the nuance? This mirrors local activity, including: Continue reading