By Alison van Diggelen, host of Fresh Dialogues
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Andres Wydler is a clean tech executive based in San Francisco, formerly with BPL Global, a smart grid company. He cofounded the Constellation Investment Group of angel investors. In January, he delivered a sold out lecture series on clean tech entrepreneurship at Stanford University and will repeat the series this summer.
I sat down with Andres at a Sand Hill Road venture capital firm to discuss the reasons for the huge demand for his class; what outstanding startups he discovered at Stanford; his thoughts on the morale of venture capitalists today, and his future expectations for the green sector. We also covered:
How the Obama administration has changed the game for clean tech, especially with regulations and the stimulus package
Why he is so bullish about the future of clean tech, despite the challenging economy
The superstars of his January class include:
Adi Merschon launched a solar technology enhancement company Nav Semi that anticipates solar performance improvements of up to 20%. The startup received $500,000 from the Singaporean government and plans a June prototype.
Ed Chiao launched a Amber Kinetics, an energy storage company that is working with a national lab to commercialize its technology. It has already closed one licensing deal.
Elizabeth Samara Rubio is working on microstorage solutionsfor developing countries. A battery attached to a solar panel will ensure that remote African villages will have power at night.
Rashmi Menon of GreenResourceNetwork.com who launched her startup in March focusing on energy conservation that can save schools money for art and gym classes AND teach kids to be green.
The interview took place on May8, 2009
