Pivotal on the hunt for clean-tech leaders
Ask any early-stage venture capitalist what they look for in an investment and it will ultimately come down to two things: a good idea and good people.
When it comes to that second ingredient, one Portland venture capital firm is taking some proactive steps to make sure the Northwest measures up.
“We’re developing an ecosystem around the clean-tech economy,” said Gregg Semler, managing director at Pivotal Investments. “Part of that is cultivating and celebrating the future leaders.”
To that end, Pivotal will launch next week its Pivotal Leaders program, designed to identify the rising stars in the clean-tech industry. The program will solicit nominations from business communities throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia and winnow the list down through a peer-review process, announcing a final group of leaders for recognition in mid-June.
Pivotal, an early-stage venture capital firm, made its first investment — in a Seattle solar power developer — last year. The firm was formed by Semler, Bradley Zenger and former Intel Capital executive John Miner and is focused on clean-tech startups in the Northwest region.
Pivotal’s aim is to find its future startup leaders and to work with the leadership program’s main sponsors — Perkins Coie, Ernst & Young and the Portland Development Commission — to nurture that talent with the end goal of more growing clean-technology companies in the region that will provide jobs.
Patrick Quinton, business and industry division manager, at the Portland Development Commission, said the program fits in with the economic development organization’s efforts to advance the region’s clean-tech strategy.
“This is exactly what’s needed in this region,” Quinton said. “We need to identify where the talent in the region exists to drive startup activity.”
“What’s magical about this process is that it really relies on the community,” Semler said. “We’re looking to them to identify the leaders in the clean-tech economy of the future.”
Learn more about the program and the nomination process at www.pivotal-leaders.com.
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