DECEMBER, 2018
Greetings from David Kenney
President & Executive Director
Looking Back: A Year of Good Changes
As I write this, I can hear the winter Oregon rain hitting the roof, a bit of normalcy at the end of another year that saw disturbing extreme weather events and historic wildfires - the reason we are redoubling out commitment to contributing to the worldwide effort to confront climate change.
During the first half of this year, we spent a significant amount of time planning and preparing for the launch of our new organization name and focus. During the second half, we have been implementing our new strategy, which includes continued support of the innovative women and men who are working to develop and bring to market new solutions that will reverse global warming, the cause of climate change.
As part of our new strategy, we've also been laying down the foundation to bring more capital to fund these innovators and their ventures at the earliest stages. The well-documented capital gap for entrepreneurs working on hard-to-commercialize, climate change-fighting technologies won’t be solved by traditional capital tools. That's why we will be launching the fundraising effort for a new impact fund early in the new year - a fund that will support climate innovators in developing and validating their technologies to get them over the funding gap. Stay tuned.
I wish you and yours a very happy Holiday season,
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THE CLIMATE IS RIGHT
FOR CHANGE, AT VERTUELAB
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Why We're Laser-Focused on Reversing the Climate Crisis
Advancing climate technologies is crucial, and requires funding
In a new article for the Portland Business Journal, Pete Danko writes about why VertueLab is now laser focused on advancing technologies that can reverse the climate crisis and create a low-carbon economy. These technologies include eWind Solutions' tethered energy drone system (
artistic rendering shown above). Key to speeding these technologies to market is attracting impact investors - women and men who want to see much more than just financial returns from their investments. This is why we will be launching our new Climate Impact Fund, described in the article.
Read the full story.
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TIPS AND TRIALS
FROM STARTUP FOUNDERS
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The Biggest Mistakes from Founders
Inspired advice from VIS2018
Last month, we featured a video shot during the
VertueLab Impact Summit (VIS2018) in September about the "Best Advice" from startup founders. This month, the video above highlights some of the "Mistakes" that founders, entrepreneurs, and others have made while launching a new venture. Take a look and see what you can learn.
View the video.
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VERTUELAB PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
IN THE NEWS
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ESS Expands its Energy Storage into Canada
Another VertueLab Portfolio Company,
ESS, Inc., manufacturer of nontoxic, long-duration batteries the size of shipping containers, has signed a partnership with a leading Canadian energy developer to deploy ESS' Energy Warehouse™ system across Canada’s industrial, rural community, mining, and utility sectors.
Full story.
eWind Solutions Lands Second Phase II SBIR Grant
eWind Solutions, one of the 40+
VertueLab Portfolio Companies, has won a $600,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to speed development of its tethered energy drone system. This is the fourth SBIR grant awarded to the startup, for a total of $1.4 million to develop its small wind energy system. Watch the video by clicking the image above, or
here.
TRW Teams Up with Mara Hoffman, Pangaia
The Renewal Workshop, the VertueLab Portfolio Company that's keeping TONS of returned or damaged clothing out of landfills by repairing and reselling, has launched new partnerships with
Mara Hoffman, a clothing designer and retailer, and
Pangaia, a global collective of people whose mission is to accelerate the world's transition to responsible production and consumption.
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STORIES, NEWS, & TIPS ABOUT
IMPACT INVESTING
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The Year Wall Street "Got" Sustainable Investing
Investing to achieve environmental impact is growing fast
On October 23, 2018 the Financial Times published an article stating that Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, had announced that “sustainable investing will be a core component for how everyone invests in the future.” He further explained that sustainable investing did not lead to lower returns and that in his own opinion such a strategy will lead to higher returns.
Read full story.
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EVENTS, OPPORTUNITIES,
AND FUNDING
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, EVENTS, & MORE
Submission Deadline: December 28
NASA iTech is a unique initiative to find innovative ideas that address critical problems here on Earth that also hold great potential to solve critical technology challenges in future space exploration.
Learn about resources. Feel inspired by shared stories. Be empowered by opportunities. Includes a panel discussion about securing follow-on funding, followed by a panel of rockstar women entrepreneurs fueling their startup ventures with fundraising, government grants, bootstrapping, and true grit. Also includes one-on-one meetings with VertueLab's SBIR/STTR grant expert, Leon Wolf. Co-hosted by VertueLab, OSU-Cascades CoLab, BendX, and BendTech. Bend, OR (Also in Portland in April, date TBA.)
Register here.
This global gathering of the cleantech innovation community offers unique opportunities to learn, network, and get deals done. Join corporate executives, startup and scale-up company CEOs, investors, government agencies, and other key innovation thinkers, supporters and enablers from all areas of resource innovation from around the globe. San Francisco
Western Canada’s largest annual innovation event, the #BCTECHSummit, showcases BC's vibrant technology industry, builds cross-sector and cross-border opportunities, and explores the latest ideas and innovations that are solving challenges and fueling the global economy.
Learn more. Vancouver, BC (NOTE:
VertueNEWS readers can use the code
BCTECH19-INDUSTRY
to get a $100 discount off registration price.)
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) expects to fund more than 100 new projects with $20 million as part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy's SBIR/STTR Funding Opportunity Announcement that just went out.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office seeks feedback from industry, academia, research labs, government agencies, and others to identify challenges and opportunities for the American solar industry appropriate for federal government funding.
An opportunity for entrepreneurs seeking investment capital to present their early stage businesses to Willamette Valley Capital for capital investment.
RocketSpace and BP have teamed up on this accelerator to shape the future movement of people, goods, and services. Up to 21 startups are selected to participate.
If your product or service is “Made in America,” your company could qualify for this matching grant funding from the Northwest Trade Adjustment Assistance Center.
A group of investors contributes time, expertise, capital, and connections to help founders gain access to the right people and resources to grow their business their way.
Ongoing grants from a wide range of federal agencies that support small business startups and research innovations.
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A Year-End Contribution, for the Climate?
Help us fund, support, and advance climate solutions
VertueLab helps the innovators and entrepreneurs developing critical climate solutions. Because climate disruption continues to accelerate, it's more critical than ever to ensure these solutions reach the marketplace and achieve scalable impact as soon as possible. Your donation makes a real difference in achieving a sustainable climate future, and we thank you for it. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
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Let's Collaborate and Make an Impact!
Resources and expertise for innovators and investors
At
VertueLab
, we support great ideas from entrepreneurs and help investors and philanthropists ensure that their dollars are making a positive impact on the planet by slowing the climate crisis. We collaborate to help transform ideas into successful enterprises and measure the impact all along the way.
Contact us
!
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