Investors are not just looking for companies that are taking advantage of the surge in green technology and environmental awareness. They’re looking for companies that can truly become green elephants; the Fortune 500 leaders of tomorrow.

At a gathering of Vancouver’s clean-tech community organized by VEF Momentum and Chrysalix Energy on Friday, Chrysalix President and CEO and New Ventures Society Director Wal van Lierop gave some direction and inspiration to those future leaders:

“If you are a young entrepreneur and you want to know key elements, the first is the wow factor,” he says. “We want to see it and say ‘this will change everything.’ You need a patent. It needs to be capital-efficient. We want a huge market! And we need to see a clear path to that market. How are you going to reach your customers?”

It’s all about people, van Lierop says. “Create a top team. Not just your executives, but board members, advisors, mentors. Have that team focused razor-sharp on the operations. Revenues are becoming important. Last, but not least, have a realistic exit plan. What are you going to do when you grow up? Greed is good in that respect, but don’t be too greedy. Most of the exits in this sector will be exits to big elephants. It’s very important early on to learn how to dance with the elephants.”

You have to be willing to push some boundaries. “For new entrepreneurs, understand your role: seeing things others don’t see and making them happen. And that means taking risks.”

What do you do after you’ve built your prototype? “Sell your story to investors in the best way possible. Have a very good business plan and a very good power point presentation. Sell it to investors and sell it to customers.”

As your company grows, keep your eye on the big picture. “Then of course, building that team. Focus on execution and creating wealth for all stockholders. Share your ownership of the company with co-founders, with crucial members. If by giving part of your company away you can get a bigger pie, everyone will win.”

And possibly the most important advice that night? “Never stop believing.”

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 11:41 am and is filed under Mentors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.