More CleanTech…

Today we received the first result of our networking efforts at the CleanTech conference: a 54-page business plan for a new technique used for charging electric cars.

I feel it will be difficult to create a good partnership with entrepreneurs who have already gone far with their ideas and who presumably wish to run their projects on their own. They want our help, but they most likely do not want to share a sufficient amount of ownership and decision-making authority. One of our principles for the projects we take on is that they must be "Rainmaking projects". By this we mean that we manage the project, that it must become a part of our business factory, our best practices and our infrastructure. We see this as the most effective means of creating value. On the other hand, we are always open to making an exception to the general rule if it makes sense in a given situation, so one of these days we’ll have to take a look at the electric car business plan.

Today we also met with one of the big VCs here at the main office. They manage three billion Danish kroner and still have 2 billion kroner in "free" capital, so they are quite open to making new investments. We discussed the possibilities of a win-win partnership between them and Rainmaking. They receive countless business plans that can be divided into three categories: a) the great ones that they want to invest in right away; b) those which are immediately rejected; and c) those which have potential but which are not yet mature. From now on they will send projects from the last group to Rainmaking so that we can assess whether or not we can play a role in "upgrading" them to the level needed for the VC to invest in them. Now we’ll see what becomes of this partnership. I think it’s having these VCs in our network is a huge asset, as they have great insight when they evaluate their sea of business ideas and meet a great number of entrepreneurs.

We also met with a CleanTech entrepreneur who has a number of exciting inventions and new concepts for bedding. He has plenty of wind in his sails, though it will most likely be difficult to form a partnership with him because he is a "self-made man" type of guy who prefers being in control of the entire project. No matter what, it was interesting meeting with him, and one can’t help but have great respect for the results he has achieved (several hundred employees throughout 6-7 different businesses).