Holiday Newsletter 2016
This time of year suitably reminds me to reflect on the meaningful relationships we have with our portfolio companies, project clients, investors, team members, and colleagues in the cleantech and downstream energy ecosystem. As our Saoradh name suggests, we liken our firm in Colorado to those rugged hills and enterprising people of Scotland coupled with the notion that freeing clean energy to do work for mankind is a valuable pursuit.
This year has been full of building companies and launching initiatives that pushed the boundaries of key energy sectors, namely alternative fuels & technologies and advanced energy materials. These activities have been in collaboration with old and new friends and bedrock institutions, which always begins with the University of Colorado and includes other research universities and national labs in the region.
I have seen data presented by iSelect Fund and others suggesting that the central US is rich in start-up and growth company talent as well as world-class technologies coming from our research institutions. And, I have seen it happen first hand. Good ideas and people no longer need to seek capital from the coasts and then relocate there. In what some of us have dubbed the “clean range,” this region can partner with Silicon Valley and Route 128 but we too are now a platform for economic success.
In 2017, I look forward to expanding into our third energy sector, distributed energy & micro-grids, and continuing our work to build successful companies and develop impactful projects at that magical intersection of business, science, and finance for a better planet.