Cleantech Angel Investment
What is Cleantech?
Clean technology “Cleantech” defines a segment of the market that offers solutions that are more efficient and less polluting than existing technologies, products, or services. This can include the recycling, repurposing, or reduction of natural resources used and aims to reduce the emissions, contaminants and refuse in the air, water, and land. There are many market sub-sectors that fall into the cleantech category, including: renewable energy (such as solar and wind energy), energy storage, emissions reduction technologies, building or transportation efficiency, water sanitation and delivery, advanced materials (i.e. bio plastics), and waste reduction technologies.
What is Angel Investing?
Angels invest in early-stage or start-up companies in exchange for equity or debt in those companies. Angel investors are motivated to help entrepreneurs commercialize good ideas, and typically are motivated by more than financial returns. While Angel investors take great risk by investing in early stage opportunities, they may be motivated to contribute their knowledge, operational expertise, and/or financial support to help companies grow and their portfolio companies succeed.
The capital commitment from an Angel investor varies, but usually bridges the “friends and family” round and the venture capital round.
What is Cleantech Angel Investing?
The clean technology space is one of the fastest growing areas for venture capital investment; however, this has not been met by the same participation in the angel investment community. Cleantech Angel investors provide early-stage capital and support to entrepreneurs with clean energy and clean technology business models. These may include young cleantech companies emerging from a university incubator or independent entrepreneurial teams that have been self-funded and are seeking their first round of formal investment. These early-stage companies will typically have taken their cleantech concept to proof and may be seeking funding to build a commercial pilot program, deploy their technology into the market, or scale up their commercial activities.
The CANN fills a critical financing gap, where today, the space is characterized by a need for: (1) more angel investors, (2) better information flow among angel investors, (3) better information flow among researchers/entrepreneurs and angel investors, and (4) better information flow among research institutions, institutional investors, and angel investors.
It is the intention of the CANN partners to address this need for greater collaboration and information exchange to fund more cleantech entrepreneurs and provide support to catalyze the clean technology industry.