The Israel Conference had a ‘green tech’ discussion in LA this past week. Isaac Applebaum who is a partner at at clean-tech VC fund Westly Group was on the panel with Ron Hadar of Tigo Energy, who raised a $10 million round. Think efficiencies in solar installation.
Also on the panel was Assaf Barnea, the CEO of Kinrut Ventures which is an incubator for projects of all aspects of water technologies, and David Nahai, CEO & GM of LA Department of water and power. Isabel Maxwell moderated.
Isaac thinks where technology was roughly ten years ago is where clean tech is now. They discussed alternatives, such as geothermal, solar, aggressive water recycling, which is now at 1%. Compare to coal at 46%, gas at 30%, and hydro, renewable and nuclear which are all at 8%.
On direct comparisons, David reminds us that we need to take into account future “taxes” on carbon fuels and the cost of ‘not doing business.’
Takeaways for the audience:
Ron: “do better for the community and make good personal choices.”
David: “crisis and opportunity are two sides of one coin.”
Assaf: “don’t try to duplicate whatever you got used to in the high-tech industries. This is a totally different market and with different models.”
Isaac: “find exciting companies run by passionate people and make money.”
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
