Clean technology's big bottleneck
Clean technology's big bottleneck
I'm sure most of you feel reassured about the rise of clean technology. More venture capital than ever before has been thrown at the sector, identities as prominent as Al Gore have lent a hand to give the sector some credibility, and the private sector has recognised that there's value in working collaboratively to get green start-ups commercialised and off the ground.
But think about the reality. The industry has gone from rags to riches overnight. One day the CEO of a clean tech start-up was consumed with R & D and the dogfight of commercialisation, and the next day the CEO was seated at the table at one of Silicon Valley's biggest venture capital firms being told to go the market with guns blazing.
The skills required to lead a start-up through both of these stages are totally different. The CEO that's great at the science may not be the CEO that's great when it comes to going to market, navigating government regulations, managing the venture capital, and running projects.
In the US, this problem is coming home to roost. Venture capitalists are reporting that a lack of entrepreneurial talent is proving a big bottleneck to growth. The fact is that few of the executives being hired to run these clean tech firms have any experience in their new fields. And few of the old executives can be brought back because outsiders were hired for good reason - they tend to lack the commercial skills required to take on the established energy companies.
This talent shortage is a real worry for two reasons: a huge amount of money is riding on the sector and big hopes are being pinned on the technology. Last year alone global investment in renewable energy businesses rose by 60% to US$148.4 billion, according to US research firm New Energy Finance (written about in the Economist, here).
So how is the talent shortage being addressed?
Education.
The Economist reports that on May 1 applications closed for the first intake of a novel kind of executive-education program. Designed by a bunch of venture-capital firms and a few other US companies, and run by the New England Clean Energy Council, the three-month course aims to teach its "students" about renewable energy.
Not just anyone can apply. To qualify for admittance, applicants must be successful entrepreneurs from other industries, such as IT or health care, and in the words of the Economist, 'be zealous about profiting from greenery.'
I'm looking forward to seeing how this education program works out. If experience or knowledge is really the cause of the clean tech bottleneck, what a great initiative.
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