Cleantech Startup Investing Out of Favor? Not So for Corporate Investors

  by on April 9th, 2013
Paul Straub

April 8, 2013  source: This article was originally published on PEHub

Many VCs have pulled back from funding energy technologies and cleantech startups, and have been replaced by corporate venture capitalists. Entrepreneurs and traditional VCs alike are finding opportunities where corporate partners provide a critical ingredient that substantially increases their likelihood of success.

During the past three years, players such as General Motors, BMW, and Shell have been among the 182 companies . . .
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Claremont Creek Ventures’ portfolio company Sentilla announces version 4.0 with analytics and planning capabilities

  by on December 6th, 2011
Paul Straub

December 5, 2011  source: Greentech Media

Claremont Creek Ventures portfolio company  Sentilla, launched  a software suite today that promises to help customers plan their data center needs . We are excited with the traction Sentilla is getting in the market and this greentech article captures the essence of this announcement well.

Sentilla Targets Business Beyond Data Center Efficiency

Sentilla wants to move from data center efficiency to data center planning.

Sentilla, . . .
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Robert C. McFarlane, former United States National Security Advisor, joins Alphabet Energy’s Advisory Board

  by on October 19th, 2011
Paul Straub

It’s nearly impossible to succeed as an energy startup without a little help from some friends and partners. It’s always challenging to perfect a new technology, launch a product and secure early customers in any market. In energy sectors, these challenges are amplified given the enormous investment in existing assets and infrastructure, well-established incumbents, regulation, and processes that place a premium on high reliability and minimizing risk. One step founders can take . . .
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Turbo Talks: Hiring and Building Great Startup Teams

  by on April 28th, 2011

Last week we held our third Turbo Talks event for CEOs of the companies that we have funded. Claremont Creek hosts a couple of these events each year for our portfolio company CEOs to network with and learn from each other.

Typically we focus each event around a theme and we gathered for dinner at the Epic Roasthouse in San Francisco to discuss “Hiring and Building Great Startup Teams”. To kick off a conversation . . .
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Cleantech May Not Be As Sexy As Facebook — But It’s Hot

  by on October 31st, 2010

I’ve recently noticed a disconnect between news commentary on clean tech and my own experiences with the market sector.

Investing in cleantech is not easy nor is it “cool” either. Some lament “if only clean tech were more like facebook.” Certainly, Hollywood stars aren’t yet being cast to portray the go-go cleantech startup experience. And, try as he might, the President appearing on a Discovery Channel science program won’t likely captivate most young . . .
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