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Are you an Entrepreneur? Compete for national acclaim and over $1 million in training and startup services
North Central Newsletter, May 2011
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Thank You Sponsors!
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Featured Sponsor of the Month
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| Cleantech Open Success Stories make News Across the County |
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Hurry! Deadline for the 2011 Program is May 24!
For more info, join Today’s, May 12th, Applicant Webinar HERE
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Since it’s original 2006 launch in Silicon Valley, The Cleantech Open has supported over 460 cleantech companies and helped Alumni raise over $300 million in external capital.
In 2010, the organization launched its first program in Middle America and continued this success by helping all North Central finalist companies secure funding within 6 months of graduating from the program.
Now, with less than two weeks until the 2011 application deadline, Cleantech Open North Central is in the final push to find it’s next entrepreneur success stories.
If you are a cleantech innovator, please sign up today to enter the program and compete on this unique national platform for over $1 million in training, cash and start-up services. If you know someone you think might be interested in participating, please share this information with them today. Here are the general categories we are accepting applicants for:
· Air, Water and Waste
· Energy Efficiency
· Renewables
· Smart Power, Green Grid, Storage
· Transportation
· Green Building
If you would like more information or assistance in preparing your initial submission, please RSVP and join us today, May 12th for the Application webinar at:
http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/events/400/view
The 2011 Application deadline is May 24th, so get started today at:
http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/content/competition/business/index
Also, we are excited to announce a new benefit for 2011 Applicants, the potential access to Autodesk’s Design Suite Ultimate 2012! Here is the scoop:
**The Cleantech Open, in collaboration with Autodesk, is pleased to present an exclusive offer for Cleantech Open Semi-Finalists. The Autodesk Clean Tech Partner Program will provide a full commercial software license of the new Autodesk® Product Design Suite Ultimate 2012 at no cost (up to $10,000 value) to all semi-finalists who attend either the East or West Coast Academies. Autodesk staff will also be on-hand to provide free, onsite training during the Academies.
In terms of benefits for all participants, each company will receive written feedback from expert judges, exposure to investors, and complementary access to attend and exhibit at the year-end North Central Awards Gala and Trade Expo on October 6th.
For those that advance to the Semi-finals, there is a broader list of benefits including a personalized media plan, participation in Cleantech Open’s reknown bootcamp Academies in Silicon Valley and/or Boston, and complementary access to the Alumni program which includes a 3-part investor series that puts you in front of top VC, Angel and corporate investors from around the country. For more information, download this flier and glance at page 2: 2011 Applicant Recruitment Flyer.
We look forward to helping you crystallize your business strategies, drive innovation, acquire early stage investment, create jobs, and learn a more sustainable way of doing business. Join the Cleantech Revolution today!
Sincerely,
Justin Kaster
Regional Director, North Central Cleantech Open
Cleantech Investment Banking, Cherry Tree, LLC
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| Alumni Update – A Word from Xolve |
Following the 2010 National Cleantech Open Finals, Xolve closed a $2 million Series ‘A’ round just before Christmas. The funding included two strategic investors in the chemical and energy storage segments and three institutional funds.
Xolve’s technology is based on a discovery in the material sciences that allows the Company to make nano particles soluble for the first time. The insolubility and tendency to aggregate that has been characteristic of these particles has impeded their use in practical applications by destroying their potentially super properties, properties that derive from surface area. Clumping and insolubility also make these particles expensive to produce and difficult to apply. Xolve’s technology returns surface area to nanoparticles and with that surface area the super performance characteristics these materials have been expected to possess. Also, by being able to place these materials in true solutions for the first time, Xolve can apply them in liquid phase at standard temperatures and pressures (as opposed to plasma temperatures and high vacuum). Through these processes Xolve is hoping to reset the unfavorable price/performance equation that has retarded the wide adoption of nano materials.
With investor funding, the company is now hiring and performing proof-of-concept work in the areas of composites, coatings (especially transparent conductive coatings), and energy storage.
Just prior to the National Cleantech Open finals in November 2010, the Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to the discoverers of graphene, one of the nano materials that Xolve is working with. The company added to its Nobel connections by hiring Dan Colbert, Ph.D. to head business development. Dr. Colbert was one of the founders with Richard Smalley of the world’s first carbon nanotube company. Richard Smalley won the Nobel for the discovery of carbon nanotubes. The company has hired five other scientists since January.
In the composite area, Xolve is doing work to demonstrate the weight reduction and strength increase resulting from mixing the company’s graphene formulation into polypropylene composite. This work is being done in conjunction with one of the automotive manufacturers and is still in process.
In energy storage, Xolve’s lithium ion battery formulation has been shown to have a 40% increase in energy density over the standard formulation. In coatings, the company has been able to coat substrates with a wide range of metal oxides at standard temperature and pressure. Xolve is working on achieving coatings of these materials through low temperature, standard pressure applications of the materials while still maintaining excellent conductivity and other desired attributes. Success in attaining this goal will have significant implications in architectural glass, solar cells, solar panels and lighting.
By the end of 2011, Xolve hopes to have secured initial partnerships in its target market segments and to have determined with specificity how it will participate in the value chain of these industrial segments. The Xolve web site is currently being revamped, but feel free to contact John Biondi, President, CEO, at Biondi@xolve.com.
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| Sponsor Corner Features Padilla Speer Beardsley |
Every organization needs effective communications to achieve its business goals. This is especially true for new or complex products and services – such as emerging and clean technologies and sustainability. It’s important to understand what motivates people vital to your success, and then create conversations using the right messages and the right channels to compel your audiences to take action in your favor.
For many companies, clean technology solutions and initiatives have become core business drivers. With an increasing focus on the health of the planet, the future sources of energy, and the economic and social needs of local communities, consumers and business customers are looking at companies to deliver cutting-edge solutions that address these issues.
Padilla Speer Beardsley is an integrated communications firm that helps organizations build and protect brands and reputations. We’re grounded in the art and science of corporate communications, investor relations and marketing communications, and we’ve expanded to provide clients with a full suite of creative and interactive strategies for maximum impact.
We are proud to be a founding sponsor of the Cleantech Open North Central. Learn more about Padilla at: www.psbpr.com.
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Mark Your Calendars!
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The Cleantech Open North Central Region continues to add events and update our calendar. It includes our events plus relevant events from our valued partner organizations that may be of interest to our Cleantech Open members. Below is a list of key events for the next two months.
The past two months have been incredibly successful and would not have been possible without the support of our many partners and sponsor organizations. The long list of partners and sponsors that helped put on recent events includes: TiE MN, Great Plains Institute, UMN IREE, The Collaborative, South Dakota Office of Commercialization, South Dakota Governors Giant Vision Contest, IDED (Iowa), DMACC, Iowa Central Community College, MHTA, Mojo, Faegre & Benson, Enerjyn, Iowa State University Extension-Community & Economic Development, Entrepreneurial Development Center, Iowa Western Community College, Lee County Economic Development, UNI’s NABL, TechWorks, Hellman, Iowa Lakes Corridor and Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Innovate ND, BioBusiness Alliance of MN, NDSU Research Technology Park, UND Center for Innovation, Marketplace for Ideas, Minnesota Angel Network, Wisconsin Entrepreneur Network, WI Department of Commerce, WARF, University of Minnesota (School of Business, Technological Leadership Institute, Entrepreneur Center), MNSU, IRETI, SMIF, MN DEED, MN SBDC, Red River Valley Research Corridor, the Minnesota Cup, SBIR/STTR (WI, MN, SD), AMEC, Minnesota Chapter of USGBC, City of Minneapolis, and City of Saint Paul.
For reference, here is a sample set of presentations from one of these recent events put on with the support of UMN IREE: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ione/iree/2011/04/watch-north-central-clean-tech-open-briefing.html.
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North Central Cleantech Open Events
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Thursday May 12, 2011
TODAY! – Cleantech Open Application Webinar 3:50 PM to 5:30 PM CDT
Have your company, but not sure how to navigate the application process? The Cleantech Open will be conducting an application webinar for the 2011 program accessible anywhere nationwide. For more information and to register visit: http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/events/400/view
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Tuesday, May 24
DEADLINE – All 2011 Cleantech Open Program Applications Are Due!
Submit your applications on line until 11:59 p.m. For information, guidelines, resources, and help visit: http://www.cleantechopen.com/app.cgi/content/competition/business/how_to_enter
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Wednesday June 15, 2011
North Central 2011 Program Semifinalists Are Announced!
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North Central Partner Events
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Tuesday, May 18
Wisconsin Innovation Network Meeting, Appleton, WI
Learn how entrepreneurs and companies can work with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and access its portfolios of technologies available for licensing. For more information and to register visit: http://www.ocr.wisc.edu/calendar/?ID=39641
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Tuesday, May 24
“Energy for Defense: Business Opportunities in Energy Technology”, Minneapolis, MN
Learn more about numerous business opportunities surrounding energy technologies from the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, Prime Contractors and other successful companies. For more information and to register visit: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e3nm3swv7ad73b5a&llr=ixdu6ubab
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Wednesday, May 25
Wisconsin Cleantech Network Forum, Madison WI
This is an opportunity for Cleantech entrepreneurs and professionals to network with one another, discuss challenges and the resources they need to succeed. For more information and to register visit: http://www.ocr.wisc.edu/calendar/?ID=36578
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Wednesday, May 25
Green Roofs Workshop, St. Paul, MN
Attendees to this Minnesota Chapter of USGBC event will review the Design Strategy, Vegetation Selection, and the Installation implementation through an Integrated Design and Delivery process between three (3) different companies. For more information and to register visit: http://www.usgbcmn.org/event-detail/?id=342
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Thursday – Friday, June 2-3
Unmanned Aircraft Systems Action Summit, Grand Forks, ND
Leading experts, industry leaders, and federal policy makers speak on a range of topics including use of remotely piloted systems within the national airspace, FAA test sites and restricted airspace, and UAS training, simulation and intelligence. For more information and to register visit: http://economicdevelopmentnews.areavoices.com/2011/04/11/uas-action-summit-june-2-3-in-gf-registration-now-open/
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Tuesday – Wednesday, June 7-8
2011 Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, Milwaukee, WI
The Entrepreneurs’ Conference is one of the Midwest’s premier networking and hands-on events for entrepreneurs. Business leaders, investors and others make connections as they learn how to crack into today’s emerging markets. For more information and to register visit: http://www.wisconsintechnologycouncil.com/events/ent_conf/
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Sunday – Tuesday, June 19 – 21
Cleantech 2011 Workshop & Action Summit, Grand Forks, ND
The Red River Valley Research Corridor and the Sunrise Education and Research Program will sponsor a unique combination of events designed to foster and promote energy-related research and development centers. For more information and to register visit: http://www.theresearchcorridor.com/sunrise/program.html
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We Continue to Recruit Professional and Student Volunteers
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The lifeblood of the Cleantech Open is the fantastic, highly qualified professional and student volunteers that drive the program, train and advise our companies and bring a general passion to support cleantech entrepreneurs in the quest to succeed.
Volunteer benefits include an opportunity to meet and network with top companies, industry experts, representatives from top corporations, and other professionals in the clean technology and entrepreneurial industries. For anyone interested in learning more about these opportunities and to use your special skills to work for a great mission, there are a few basic ways to volunteer in the Cleantech Open, including:
- Program Committee Member: join one of our 15 different committees responsible for developing programs and strategies for the year-long regional and national program
- Mentors: work with participating companies to provide advice on improving their business plan investor pitch, sustainable business practices, and helping them establish the right connections.
We also actively develop sponsorship relationships and partnerships with corporate, public sector and NGO organizations throughout the year. To find out more about these opportunities, please email us at nc_partners@cleantechopen.com.
Click the links below for additional information:
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About Us
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Cleantech Open is a catalyst for cleantech innovation across 6 categories: Air, Water, Waste, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Renewable Energy, Smart Power and Storage, and Transportation. With presence in over 25 states in 2011, we are the world’s largest small business incubator and competition for clean and green startups and a network of networks in the world of clean tech.
Past successes include: Xolve (WI), Earth Clean (MN), Silicon Solar Solutions (AK), New Water (MN), Adura Technologies (CA), BioVantage Resources (CO), Cool Earth Solar (CA), EcoFactor (CA), Puralytic (OR), OnChip Power (MA) and GreenVolts (CA).
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The Red River Valley Research Corridor Coordinating Center
is run by Praxis Strategy Group – a Flint Group sister company www.praxissg.com |
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