2GreenEnergy » business plan

November’s Webinar: Top Business Plans

Craig Shields — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:52:11 +0000

In November’s webinar, I discussed some of the best business plans I’ve encountered in renewable energy and electric transportation. This is part of an ongoing project in which I review an incoming stream of clean energy business concepts, apply five criteria to each, and present to investors the small fraction (2.7% thus far) that meet all the conditions that I impose.

In the webinar, I chose a smattering of these plans and presented them to a live audience. Many of those listening wrote in questions, which I fielded as they came across.

Represented here are investment opportunities in electric transportation, wind, biomass, solar thermal, synthetic fuels, hydrokinetics, and concepts in energy storage, both batteries and compressed air.

I hope you enjoy.

Electric Bicycle — Terrific Design Concept, Business Plan

Craig Shields — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:39:47 +0000

Here, I present a summary of a business plan that would implement a terrific design concept in electric bicycles. I met these folks when I was moderating a panel discussion at the Alt Car Expo in 2009, and I developed an instant attraction for both the people and their idea. In my estimation, the market for low-cost electric commuter transportation in urban environments is poised to go right through the roof in the coming decade or so, driven in large measure by the burgeoning middle-class populations in India and China.

Waste-tire to Energy Using Pyrolysis — Solid Business Plan

Craig Shields — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:12:33 +0000

Here’s a summary of a business plan that would create diesel fuel or high-octane gasoline, along with carbon black, from waste-tires — of which, obviously, there are tens of millions land-filled in the US alone each year. The technology is a special form of pyrolysis.

Skeptics may say that this has been tried hundreds of times by people who couldn’t make it work effectively, which is true. Personally, however, I think this is the real deal.

Paper Made from Sugarcane Waste — Terrific Business Plan

Craig Shields — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 18:03:02 +0000

Here, I offer a summary of a business plan in which the company seeks to raise working capital to grow their business, which is importing and selling paper made from sugarcane waste. Needless to say, this is a hot area in terms of corporate sustainability programs. Instead of whacking trees, we’re using a form of biomass that has no economic or ecologic value.

Electric Pick-up Trucks — Business Plan Summary

Craig Shields — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:51:35 +0000

I’m not an auto manufacturing guy, but I’m closely connected with some of the top people in this field. They’ve come together with a business plan that, when implemented, will build high-quality but inexpensive light-duty electric pick-up trucks.

And they’ve pre-sold quite a few. How’s 10,000? That do anything for ya?

Business Plan to Develop Synthetic Fuels

Craig Shields — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 17:06:25 +0000

Here, I summarize a business plan that contemplates the development of synthetic fuels from off-peak wind, water, and CO2. This is exciting stuff, as it uses entirely proven chemical processes, the thermodynamics make sense, and the demand to deal with issues like peak oil is considerable.

Clean Energy from Construction and Demolition Waste – Excellent Business Plan

Craig Shields — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:50:47 +0000

Here’s a short discussion of a business plan that contemplates the processing of enormous quantities of construction and demolition waste, and the generation of clean energy from the wood and other biomass it contains. I’ve spent some time getting to know the organization’s CEO over the last six months or so — quite an impressive gentleman, with a truly excellent cleantech business plan.

Renewable Energy Business Plans

Craig Shields — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:54:07 +0000

I come across a great number of business plans each week, each soliciting investment in some aspect of clean technology — usually electric transportation or some form of renewable energy. And in near every case, I find that a “second set of eyes” should review the text before it goes out to potential angel investors or venture capitalists. Almost without exception, I come across typos and grammatical errors that should be fixed — sometimes dozens of them. See my “25 Tips for Renewable Energy Businesses” for more on this.

I hope I can say this without offending anyone. At the base of it all, I’m really a professional writer by trade (direct mail copy-writing, blogging, research reports, etc.) and I know when I reread my own material I find outright errors — and, maybe more commonly, things that could be presented more clearly and professionally. (By the way, I don’t have these posts proofread, and I have no doubt that there are mistakes that get by; as a reader, I hope you won’t be shy about commenting when you come across errors.)

In addition, of course, business plan authors would be well-advised to request a second opinion on content: market trends analysis, sales and marketing plans, cash-flow analysis, etc. I can tell instantly that many of the plans I see will never receive funding (or at least should never) due to a core misunderstanding of the marketplace.

In any case, I’m happy to review any cleantech business plan with no cost or obligation, and provide high-level comment.

2GreenEnergy – Fulfilling its Promise to Investors and Entrepreneurs

Craig Shields — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:35:05 +0000

I’m flying to New York City tomorrow to meet with a new associate – a friend of a friend – who will be helping 2GreenEnergy fulfill its promise to investors and entrepreneurs. He runs a small but effective investment banking firm, and seems like a terrific human being. I’ve always loved The City, and I’m really looking forward to all aspects of this trip.

What I see developing at 2GreenEnergy is a community of many thousands of people who take the business of renewables seriously. I’ve spoken with numerous professional investors and scads of inventors with truly exciting business plans. In very short order, we hope to be bringing these two groups together, enabling the formation of dozens of new business ventures. Speaking for all of us here, I’m thrilled to be able to play such a role.

In my “past life” as a marketing consultant for IT, my company delivered services to scores of venture-capitalized start-ups, and I well remember the drill that my clients with new companies went through. Investors want clear paths to liquidity, and that comes from good ideas, but mainly from proven management teams, hungry for success. I’ll never forget what one my client’s investors told me 30 years ago, “If the CEO doesn’t have fire in his belly, I don’t want any part of it.” Here, I’m happy to say that I see a great deal of that “fire,” and this re-enforces my belief that we’re headed in the right direction.

If I have one thing to add to this, it’s the importance of a good marketing plan. When you think about it, a business plan IS a marketing plan. It’s an assertion of the existence of an unmet need, and a quantification of how the company proposes to fill that need.

I urge those with great ideas to follow their thinking through to the exact business model that will be implemented. For instance, I’m speaking with a gentleman with a radical idea for an alternative drive train, and I’m encouraging him to flesh out the business plan to include at least the broad strokes of marketing: Does he contemplate becoming an OEM in a particular niche that seems to be available? Cutting a deal with an auto OEM? With one or more motor/drivetrain suppliers? Entering the supply chain in some innovative new way? Offering a conversion kit? Developing an affiliation with a university known for its transportation engineering?

When I return from The City, I hope to be able to post a series of helpful tips about this entire process of preparing an effective business/marketing plan.

Electric Vehicle Investments

Craig Shields — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:47:41 +0000

Alex C. makes so many wonderful points in his comment on Brass Tack #1 that it’s hard to know where to start.

EV’s and related enabling technologies (batteries, charge stations, motors, inverters, converters, etc.) are great areas to invest in. Avoid investing in small OEMs who are only styling or assembling – instead invest in the suppliers and OEM’s who are leading in the enabling technologies.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is correct. I reviewed a business plan of a start-up whose model is essentially micro-assembly of subsystems into a finished EV. Their plan called for a gross margin of 33%, less 25% to the dealer. Yikes. If their own plan isn’t more optimistic, I’d hate to see what happens in the real world. They had trouble getting funding. It’s not hard to see why.