The America Invents Act (AIA), which brings the most significant changes to the U.S. patent laws in over 50 years (some argue in over 150 years), was signed into law on September 16, 2011. While many of the changes in the AIA were phased in over an 18-month period, the final phase, which has the… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Entrepreneurs
Subscribe to Entrepreneurs RSS FeedTransportation is About to be Transformed in the Northwest – Part One
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology, UncategorizedOn September 7, 2012, Steve Marshall, executive director of CATES (Center of Advanced Transportation and Energy Solutions), Next 50, and Washington Clean Cities hosted the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation in Century 21 conference at the Seattle Center. Amory Lovins, chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM (North… Continue Reading
Don’t Miss It: Only 10 More Days Left—Register Now for the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation Conference on September 7, 2012!
Posted in Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, TechnologyA Conference About Transforming Transportation in Century 21 This full day conference and summit on September 7, 2012 is part of Seattle’s Next Fifty celebration that will look to the future of transportation with a conference focusing on the market and technological transformations that will move us beyond oil. Speakers and exhibits will discuss how… Continue Reading
Rio and SRI- A Time That Has Come
Posted in Capital and Funding, Entrepreneurs, Regulatory, Sustainable BusinessMost of the planet has been engaged in discussions on how to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG). The 1992 UN Rio conference, also known as “Earth Summit” focused on GHG, which ultimately led to the Kyoto Protocol. Twenty years later, the 2012 UN Rio conference was held again (June 20-22, 2012). In addition to determining where… Continue Reading
Liaoning Province, Washington State, and UniEnergy Technologies
Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, TechnologyA high-level delegation from Liaoning Province, a major industrial center in Northeast China, and officials from Washington and the City of Bellevue recently conducted two days of meetings in Seattle, Bellevue, and Mukilteo, Washington, to foster collaboration between the two economic areas on the development and commercialization of clean technology including advanced energy storage. The… Continue Reading
The “Slow Food” Movement and Legal Trends
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Legislation, RegulatoryIt seems like everywhere I turn these days, the topic relates to “slow food.” Maybe it’s just because I live in Seattle, where farmers’ markets and restaurants claiming fresh, locally sourced products are ubiquitous. Or maybe it’s because I’m a mom, and I see parents on the playground giving their kids only whole grain, organic,… Continue Reading
What Does Data Show About the Economics of Regional Cap-and-Trade?
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Climate Change, Entrepreneurs, Legislation, Natural Resources and Environment, Renewable Energy, Sustainable BusinessBack before the recession, there was a major push in Washington State to adopt a state carbon cap-and-trade program as part of Washington’s membership in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). The argument was heated, and like most things these days tended to split on party lines with a gulf between the two. Democrats generally argued… Continue Reading
Clean Tech Incubators Nurture Start-Ups, Foster Legal Considerations
Posted in EntrepreneursClean Tech Incubators Nurture Start-Ups, Foster Legal Considerations McKinstry, a construction and facility-services company, recently announced it has secured two clean tech tenants for its “Innovation Center” in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. The 24,000 square foot facility is designed to house about ten alternative energy start-up companies, and it is one of many clean tech incubators… Continue Reading
Valuing Your Greentech Business
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursAs an attorney to entrepreneurs and investors of greentech startups, I am often asked the seemingly simple question of “what’s the value of my shares?” This is a simple question with, of course, no simple answer. There are a number of reasons why someone may want to know the value of their startup—in order to… Continue Reading
The Top Five Cleantech Stories of 2011, Part II
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Climate Change, Entrepreneurs, LegislationContinuing with our countdown of the Top Five Cleantech Stories from 2011, here are entries number 3 and 2: Number 3: The Resurgence of Bio Fuels in the Pacific Northwest Several years ago, the city of Portland, Oregon mandated that all diesel fuel sold within the city limits contain at least 5% biodiesel (also known… Continue Reading
The Top Five Cleantech Stories of 2011, Part I
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursThe end-of-year holidays are all about family gatherings, religious celebration, retail mania, and of course, lots and lots of calories! But they are also a time to pause and take stock of the year gone by—to reflect upon our successes and failures, and then “resolve” to improve ourselves in the year to come. As our… Continue Reading
Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission Tackles the Conundrum of Distributed Energy, Part 2
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Legislation, Regulatory, Renewable EnergyAs I tried to describe in Part 1 of this article, Washington has some structural challenges that impair its ability to develop distributed energy as a significant alternative to fossil fuel-powered electrical power generation. The regulatory system that has been built up over the last 100 years has powerful constituencies that it must protect. Those are… Continue Reading
Washington’s Utilities and Transportation Commission Tackles the Conundrum of Distributed Energy, Part 1
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Renewable EnergyIn a two-part post, I’ll look first on what makes encouraging distributed energy such a conundrum, and then at the steps the WUTC is proposing to take. The Early 20th Century Bargain With Investor-Owned Utilities Electrical companies are natural monopolies within their service areas. It would make no sense at all for competing companies to… Continue Reading
GridMobility Is Swinging for the Fences
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Events, Sustainable BusinessIn a prior post, Washington Start-ups Should “Swing for the Fences” in the Efficient Energy Sector, I sought to highlight the opportunities (including financing and acquisitions) in the efficient energy sector. For example, according to one sustainable industry analysis, cleantech M&A activity in Q2 2011 rotated away from the capital-intensive biomaterials/biofuels and solar sectors and… Continue Reading
U.S. Patent Reform Finally Happened!
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Intellectual Property, Job Creation, LegislationAfter six long years of trying to reform the U.S. Patent laws, the stars aligned and miraculously everyone in congress and in the White House came together to enact new patent legislation on September 16, 2011. This new law is officially named the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (or AIA). For those in the Green Tech… Continue Reading
A Fundraising Idea
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursHow can a startup legitimately incentivize someone to raise money is a frequent question for start-ups, including cleantech companies. The someone can be a founder, board member, advisor, employee, or other person. To put the question more specifically, what legal tools are available to implement a strategy of incenting startup fundraising which: (A) does not undeservedly… Continue Reading
Washington Start-ups Should “Swing for the Fences” in the Efficient Energy Sector
Posted in Capital and Funding, Entrepreneurs, TechnologyI was struck at a recent meeting with a “player” in the Cleantech financing space that all of the deals on which that firm is working involve companies located elsewhere than the State of Washington. Why should that be when Washington continues to rank as the #2 sustainable state in the U.S.? Part of the… Continue Reading
New Domain Name Extensions and the GreenTech Business
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Intellectual Property, TechnologyGet ready for another cyber land rush! New generic and branded domain names will soon be available– but this time there will be new challenges and significant costs associated with the process. All businesses, GreenTech or not, now know that having a Web presence and often directly offering goods/services through the business Web site is… Continue Reading
The Constellation, the Entrepreneur, and the Angel
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursAmong the themes here at the GreenTech blog is, green entrepreneurs, know your financing options! Here is a quick map of those options, and a description of one approach to angel financing– “straight” debt in conjunction with an outright grant of equity– that results in a high degree of alignment between the entrepreneur and the angel…. Continue Reading
Financing Your Greentech Startup: Typical Terms in the “Seed” Round
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursIn my last post, I discussed basic guidelines to keep in mind before embarking in your first, “seed” round of financing. This is typically the first round of financing sourced from family and friends, and is often the first place you’ll look when starting your new greentech company. There are typically two ways of seed… Continue Reading
EVs and the “Electriconomy”
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Events, Renewable Energy, TechnologyYesterday I attended the Washington Clean Tech Alliance presentation on electric vehicles (EVs). One of the presenters was James Billmaier, author of JOLT! The Impending Dominance of the Electric Car, as well as entrepreneur, businessman, lecturer, and EV enthusiast. While there were all sorts of interesting parts of his presentation, I want to focus on… Continue Reading
Financing Your Greentech Startup: Tips for Raising Capital in the “Seed” Round
Posted in Capital and Funding, Entrepreneurs, Sustainable BusinessAfter you’ve formed a company and poured your meager life savings into your new Greentech startup, you probably will have a need to raise capital. Oftentimes, the first place startups look for initial capital outside of their own piggy banks is from their friends and family. This “friends and family” round of financing is often… Continue Reading
Growth Board Decision A Good Reminder That Sustainable Development Is About Location, Not Just Design
Posted in Entrepreneurs, Green Building, RegulatoryThis past Monday, April 25th, the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board issued a decision invalidating Snohomish County’s designation of Point Wells as an “Urban Center.” Point Wells is a 60+ acre tract of waterfront property in the very southwest corner of Snohomish County, adjacent to the Town of Woodway and the City of… Continue Reading
The Bank Test
Posted in Capital and Funding, EntrepreneursWhether your greentech business is a pre-revenue start-up or a middle market-sized company, regardless of segment from smart grid to alternative fuels to clean technology generally, do you have at least monthly discussions with two or more business or commercial bankers? If you are not, you may well be missing conversations you should be having,… Continue Reading