$125,000 Ignite Clean Energy Business Presentation Competition under Way; Invention To Venture Workshop to Train Entrepreneurs February 24.CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Some of the most creative minds in Massachusetts are developing ways to meet the country's need for reliable, affordable, and environmentally-sensitive energy. Even as electricity, gasoline and home-heating prices are causing sticker shock Sticker shock is a United States term for the feeling of surprise experienced by consumers upon finding unexpectedly high prices on the price tags (stickers) of products they are considering purchasing. , the MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology Enterprise Forum of Cambridge is hosting a competition to speed the development and commercialization of clean and renewable energy Renewable energy utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. Renewable energy technologies range from solar power, wind power, and hydroelectricity to biomass and biofuels for transportation. technology solutions. The 2nd annual Ignite Clean Energy Competition, hosted by the Energy Special Interest Group (ESIG ESIG European Solvents Industry Group ESIG Environmental and Societal Impacts Group (US National Center for Atmospheric Research) ESIG Electronic Signature ESIG Ecole Supérieure d'Informatique de Gestion ) of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, is considering academic and professional teams that are developing the next generation of clean, renewable, or efficient energy technology. The competition aims to give Massachusetts entrepreneurs a competitive edge in the funding race by training contestants in the best practices for creating money-winning presentations and gaining recognition from the energy venture community. To be eligible for the awards totaling $125,000, entrants' businesses must be at an early stage, without venture capital funding at the time of the competition, and based in Massachusetts. Entrants with SBIR/STTR funding from a U.S. government agency or SEED funding Seed funding is investing capital to begin a new project, so that it has enough funds to sustain itself for a period of development until it reaches either a state where it is able to continue funding itself, or has created something in value so that it is worthy of future rounds from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative are allowed to enter the competition. Entrants with $50,000 or less funding from Angel investors An individual who invests his or her own money in a private company, which is typically a startup. An angel investor is not an employee or member of a bank, venture capital firm or other financial institution that normally makes such investments. or Friends/Family investors are also eligible to enter the competition. To help those with ideas develop them to the stage where they can be presented for funding and ultimately into businesses, Ignite Clean Energy offers a series of networking, team-building, training, and mentoring opportunities that culminate culminate, in astronomy, the maximum height in the sky reached by a celestial body on a given day. At the culminate the body is crossing the observer's celestial meridian and is said to be in upper transit. in the actual business-plan competition. "We anticipate that these new leaders will help make Massachusetts the center for clean energy economic development, creating new jobs and growth opportunities," said Dr. Linda Plano, competition Chair. "In many ways, the Ignite Clean Energy Competition is the farm team for the Massachusetts clean energy industry. We're doing the hard work as the 'pre-incubator accelerator,' helping innovators develop and eventually commercialize technologies so that venture capital and angel financing become viable funding options." The three goals of the competition are to: --Help new business leaders create a compelling story for raising funds from government, angel, and venture capital investors, --Teach entrepreneurs superior presentation skills, and --Encourage networking among participants and industry leaders. "Great business ideas will not get funded unless entrepreneurs present their ideas in a clear, compelling manner that is focused on the needs of investors as well as customers. A common complaint of venture capitalists Venture Capitalist An investor who provides capital to either start-up ventures or support small companies who wish to expand but do not have access to public funding. Notes: Venture capitalists usually expect higher returns for the additional risks taken. and other investors is that new business presentations are often disorganized dis·or·gan·ize tr.v. dis·or·gan·ized, dis·or·gan·iz·ing, dis·or·gan·iz·es To destroy the organization, systematic arrangement, or unity of. , jargon-filled, or lacking key elements," said Plano. "The Ignite Clean Energy program aims to give Massachusetts entrepreneurs a competitive edge in the funding race by training contestants in the best practices for creating money-winning investor pitches." The competition is not limited to new energy sources but also encourages development of technologies that will help reduce energy use, make existing energy systems perform better, or simply provide better solutions for existing technologies. Clean Energy technologies include: Renewable Energy: solar, wind, fuel cell, bio-energy, geothermal ge·o·ther·mal also ge·o·ther·mic adj. Of or relating to the internal heat of the earth. ge , hydro-technologies; Energy Efficiency and Demand Response: electricity end use, building use, management applications, grid management technologies; Enabling Technologies: power electronics, storage, cables and wires, sensors and instrumentation, control systems, materials and manufacturing technology; and High-Performance Buildings and Green Systems: sustainable design and integrated clean energy applications. A key component of the competition is the Invention to Venture Entrepreneur Bootcamp, a day-long program co-hosted with the National Collegiate Innovators and Inventors Alliance (NCIIA NCIIA National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance ), UMass Lowell's Commercial Ventures and Intellectual Property (CVIP CVIP Community Volunteers for International Programs ) Incubator incubator, apparatus for the maintenance of controlled conditions in which eggs can be hatched artificially. Incubator houses with double walls of mud, a fireroom, and several compartments each holding about 6,000 hens' eggs were developed in ancient times; the , and the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Energy SIG. The Entrepreneur Bootcamp features a series of panels of experts - venture capital/angel investors, industry analysts, and communication/speech trainers - who provide insights and examples into every aspect of developing a successful high tech startup, particularly with regard to clean energy technologies. Keynote speaker is Steven Strong, founder of Solar Design Associates, North America's leading authority on integration of renewable energy systems. Invention to Venture will be held Friday, February 24, from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm at UMass Lowell. Students and entrepreneurs based in Massachusetts are invited to participate in the Ignite Clean Energy Competition. The competition's schedule is as follows: --Entrepreneur "Bootcamp," February 24 --Registration Deadline, March 3 (Executive Summaries due) --Semi-Final Competition, April 11 --Finals & Awards, May 9 The Ignite Clean Energy Competition is sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Foley Hoag, Mintz Levin, The University of Massachusetts The system includes UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth (affiliated with Cape Cod Community College), UMass Lowell, and the UMass Medical School. It also has an online school called UMassOnline. Lowell's Commercial Venture Development, Cummings Properties, Rich May Law, Maniv Energy Capital, RockPort Capital Partners, Business Wire, and Constellation NewEnergy. "The opportunity to participate in a business plan competition that helps grow innovative companies that are so useful to society is fantastic," said MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Chairman Ross Trimby. The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, http://www.mitforumcambridge.org , is a volunteer, non-profit organization A non-profit organization (abbreviated "NPO", also "non-profit" or "not-for-profit") is a legally constituted organization whose primary objective is to support or to actively engage in activities of public or private interest without any commercial or monetary profit purposes. based at MIT whose mission is to promote and strengthen the process of starting and growing innovative and technology-oriented companies. For more information on the Ignite Clean Energy Competition and on the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, please visit www.IgniteCleanEnergy.com or call 508-698-6810. PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST |
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