CleanTech 2011: ventures get Fig coaching

At the 2011 CleanTech conference in Amsterdam Fig co-founder Simon Myers took part in coaching sessions for entrepreneurs pitching to investors for further funding. With an allotted time of just seven minutes to get their pitch across the pressure is on entrepreneurs to get across a compelling case for millions more in investment. Alongside venture capitalists and corporate lawyers, Simon helped the chosen companies ensure that their next day encounter with serious investors was as successful as possible.

‘There were many inspirational products and services that will become part of everyday life as the planet moves towards a more sustainable economy’, says Simon ‘The challenge for the sixteen companies that we listened to and gave feedback to was to make clear why their solution was the one to back. This is very much about having a compelling narrative that is customer driven’

One of the main themes to emerge from the conference was in the increasing activity of large companies in this area. With venture capital for brilliant new sustainable businesses taking a hit over the last two years, this was a comforting sign. More importantly according to Richard Youngman CleanTech Managing Director for EMEA, it is a significant shift in the cleantech industry becoming increasingly mainstream.

As Richard Youngman said, ‘Corporations need startups to source innovation: startups need corporations to scale innovation’

For those interested in finding our more visit www.cleantech.com