As a venture capitalist active in emerging technologies, I meet with countless entrepreneurs looking for seed capital. Many of the start-up founders I meet are scientists with PhD’s. These individuals are brilliant – indeed they are passionate about their ideas, inventions and products – but too often they lack the business and marketing acumen they need to turn ideas into successful companies.

With most of the world still reeling from the global financial crisis, China shows no signs of slowing down. And, despite charges of obstructionism at the Copenhagen climate summit, the People’s Republic is steadily taking the lead in cleantech and the green economy.

Solar energy, despite all of the effort to increase its usage, still only accounts for less than one percent of the energy we consume. The amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth’s surface every hour is greater than mankind’s total demand for energy in a whole year. The total energy stored in the world’s supply of fossil fuels is equal to just twenty days of solar energy. By any measure, the sun is a powerful and virtually limitless source of energy and it is imperative that we capitalize on this clean energy source by increasing our use of solar energy and reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

It would be hard to miss the impacts of urbanization, invasive species, environmental shortcomings, and resource scarcity on the cost of agriculture. One proposal is to use “vertical farming” where high rise buildings in urban settings are used to grow local produce using hydroponics.

I am pleased to share a blog posting in the New York Times featured Airdye, a technology developed by 21Ventures portfolio company Colorep for creating eco clothing, by dyeing fabric without the use of water [...]

When I was first asked to discuss the future of clean technologies for Israel Venture Capital Journal, I immediately thought about the challenges and, from the investor’s point of view [...]