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Renewable startup not starting up
Posted May 9th, 2008 by tamckissick
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I posted this as a comment on Kat's Tanking Business thread, but that wasn't really appropriate so here's a seperate topic. I am very surprised by all the business owners in the group. With all the posts in this thread, I have to say that I'm impressed with the experience and solutions available here at DP, so here goes. "Hello everyone. My name is Todd and I have a problem too..." :)
I'm starting up a renewable energy business and having a very tough time getting startup capital. Can anyone offer advice on where to get help? I've been contacting people / orgs / depts / 'representatives' for 3 years with only tiny bites but we just recently reached the point that it became a 'real' need. I've even began a couple other projects to hopefully fund this one, but they're both taking too long.
We have myself, a head engineer, CFO, and high level machinist. Most of us have held high level positions to the point that we have most positions covered. We are only short on marketing and legal, IMHO. We acknowledge the legal needs to be addressed but our initial market seems to be covered without marketing. Our estimations are that we could get going for $500-700K if it 'fell out of the sky' but if we went SEC sanctioned public with all out investors, we'd need more than $5M. I'm so against professional investors holding companies hostage forever that I don't want to go that way. A friend of mine lost his company because they got pursuaded to vote him out and break it up. With the energy competition the way it is, I see that as a real threat. What does everyone think?
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Starting a Company
Hi tamckissick, I wish you well but don't forget that the aim is to have a government who would support enterprise, less tax and interference. If we get there then your venture may be even more viable from a cleaner energy viewpoint but also folk might have more cash to invest where they choose instead of it being stolen by government crooks.. Be patient.
'I always think of all you canvassors and precinct leaders and delegates at the front line and caucuses.
Good luck out there &Thank you. You're a gift.
Short on time
I totally agree but I don't really have that kind of time. We're ready to go commercial very soon and I don't have the funding. I've dumped all my IRAs, equity and savings and now have to support a kid in college as well.
BTW: I'm also a delegate (as is my fiance) and together, we made RP take the majority in our county! (5 out of 8)
duplicate
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Here are a few suggestions
Have you seen this video: www.alternatepowervideo.c...
or have you seen this new invention: http://www.youtube.com/wa...
My education came through robert kiyosaki's books "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series, there's a book called "OPM: Other people's money" that's what you need.
Your local chapter of SBDC might also be helpful. For the amount of loan you need though, I can't see any government organization giving to an unproven technology.
The whole nation needs renewable energy, and I've always thought every house should generate its own needs, just like Tesla wanted.
My suggestion for the startup costs: start it as a part time job and when profits are great enough to make it full time then quit your jobs and ask for the funds.
Thanks for the suggestions...
I'll check out the book right after I finishing reading RP's book. (I just received it yesterday!)
I've been through the SBDC, USDA, USRDA, NEA, NSF, etc. ad nasium. They all have grants for research with long time frames and others have grants for approved products, but no one assists working systems that aren't certified as commercial by 'the experts'. Even venture capitalists that I've met with want extreme returns with multiple paid board seats (hence the $5M cost for that way) and a full exit strategy. You'd think that it would be attractive if it beats solar PV at a lower cost, but they all listen to the energy experts in the utility companies that say it's too risky.
As far as starting part time, I've been doing that for 5+ years. We spent lots of home equity to get going but we can't make individual parts cheap enough to sell it. We have to cast them and that costs for the molds upfront.
What are you making?
Is it sellable to individuals? Like all the nice people on the dailypaul? Do you have a website? Can we see what you want to sell to people?
Or are you selling your expertise in converting people to renewable energy?
If its a product then put up a website and I'm sure everyone here would be interested.
It's a competing residential solar technology
PV cells are going to hit a brick wall and the energy companies know it. They want it to fail. Same with wind power and Ethanol. Both PV and wind rely on batteries which kill the economics and longevity of a project.
We are using solar concentration to collect heat, store it and then convert the appropriate amount into electricity on demand 24/7. This is being done (somewhat) on large scale solar plants (search CSP) but we've adapted it to residences. We hope to provide a system that would eliminate electric and natural gas bills and be paid off in a decade. It would mostly look like an array of skylights on your roof plus a storage tank in your basment. Another version would resemble a large satellite dish.
We don't have a site because we're not really in a position to show anything technical until we get our patents. However, we have used NDAs with many contacts.
Also, I'll give you one of my dreams
Hopefully you and your friends can make it happen.
Mark 20-50 mile circles across the nation. Create Coast to Coast Fuel up stations one by one that do not use gasoline. Or you can mark them up and down the eastern/western seaboard.
1) Buy a plot of land.
2) Have a store that uses Solar/wind to recharge batteries and a repair station that converts car to using electricity or biodiesel
3) Sell only organic foods in the store
My name for the store is simply enough "Fuel Up"
Self sustainable..
It'd be much better to just make most homes self sufficient. There's more sun hitting a roof each year than those residents use for their heat, electricity and transportation, even AFTER the losses of solar conversion. The trick is how to use the various parts of that energy where it does the best good. Oh, and a couple new technical innovations help.