Last week I traveled to San Jose, CA, for the finals of the CleanTech Open, for which Smart Office Energy Solutions had been selected as a finalist from the South Central region. I and 20 other finalists from the seven regions arrived in San Jose on Monday to begin two exhausting days of competition. EachContinue reading “CleanTech Open Finals”
Category Archives: Energy & Climate
CleanTech Open National Academy
I’ve just returned from the National Academy of the Cleantech Open, for which Smart Office Energy Solutions was selected as a Regional Semifinalist, in San Jose, CA. The Academy was a four-day affair of workshops and networking for Cleantech entrepreneurs who had made it into the semi-finals. The jury is still out on whether competingContinue reading “CleanTech Open National Academy”
The Most Pressing Question: How To Price Food, Energy, and Health?
I was recently invited to throw my hat in for participation in the conference on “Ecosystem Services” hosted by the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative. It is a “think tank” style event at which people from all disciplines, sectors, and backgrounds come together to address weighty topics. One question on the application was, “Which oneContinue reading “The Most Pressing Question: How To Price Food, Energy, and Health?”
Green Job Creation Is the Wrong Argument
A friend of mine asked for my response to an article titled “The False Promise of Green Jobs.” The article contends that “green” governmental policies will not result in net creation of jobs because: A. these new green jobs will be offset by job losses in the “conventional” energy sector and B. green energy isContinue reading “Green Job Creation Is the Wrong Argument”
US Cleantech Energy Policy => #fail
A recent post by Battery Ventures VP Mike Dauber on the Obama administration’s challenge to cleantech entrepreneurs generated some discussion among my friends and colleagues. One point of focus was whether or not this really is our “Sputnik moment” and, if so, whether the race to the Moon was really worthwhile anyway. Responding to thisContinue reading “US Cleantech Energy Policy => #fail”
Happy Birthday, Smart Office Energy Solutions!
Wow. One year ago today we incorporated Smart Office Energy Solutions. As impatient as I am, it is never moving along quite quickly enough for me, but it is still important to look back at all we have already accomplished in a relatively brief time. When we incorporated last December, we had completed tremendous analysisContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Smart Office Energy Solutions!”
Starting a Company Is Hard
Today isn’t quite the one-year anniversary of me beginning my full-time focus on Smart Office Energy Solutions but it is about the one-year anniversary of my departure from Poken, and that gives me pause to think about what has–and hasn’t–been accomplished since then. When I look back at it, the clear conclusion is that startingContinue reading “Starting a Company Is Hard”
Why I Give Watts
As some of you may know, I recently joined the Board of Directors of GIVEWATTS, a global nonprofit providing clean, free light to schools and clinics in the developing world. Following is a guest blog post I wrote on the GIVEWATTS website: This is a truly worthy cause and I hope that you will joinContinue reading “Why I Give Watts”
Fundraising
I’ve been meaning to write this blog entry since the end of March, when Smart Office Energy Solutions closed our seed fundraising round. However, due to the intricacies of international wire transfers, it wasn’t until the end of May that we fully received all of the funds that had been committed. Now, with that checkedContinue reading “Fundraising”
Austin
What a week! On Tuesday I drove to Austin for the Clean Energy Venture Summit.This was my first road trip in the Smart car and it left me with several impressions. First, it is very comfortable to be and drive in. Second, because it is a city car, it has no cruise control, which makesContinue reading “Austin”