CleanTech Academy and Travel Woes

The CleanTech Academy ended this past Sunday.  It is now Tuesday and I am still not back in Fayetteville yet.  That's the travel woes part of this post.  I'll get to that in a bit.

The CleanTech Academy and Investor Conference was ok.  The Investor Conference portion didn't have as many investors as I would have thought, but it was ok.  I went solo on this trip.  It was different doing everything by myself, but very manageable.  There was an exhibit fair, it was ok.  The Academy itself provided a good overview of what to do win the competition.  We've been through most of this already due to our great adviser, Dr. Carol Reeves.  We prepared an elevator pitch.  If you've followed us through the competition circuit you know that we did fairly well with our pitch.  There were some good speakers sprinkled throughout the weekend.  I think what made it just ok was that for being in the middle of Silicon Valley there were a lot of technical glitches.  Mics didn't always work, website was very slow, and internet was worst than 56k.  I understand there were a lot of people using up that bandwidth, but this is Silicon Valley.  There was also a lot of information crammed into the weekend and the days were long.  Many of the participants were exhausted by the flood of presentations, most of which were good and some were well... not so good.  I'm sure I could say that about most of the competitions and event we've been to, but part of the purpose of this event is to network.  They skimped on social activities and left little time to network individually.  Overall it was a decent event.  Some things that could make it better is more technical preparation, firmer schedule, and smaller sessions.  For some of the topics smaller groups would've definitely been beneficial, while for keynote speakers it was fine to have everyone in one room.

And now I'm sitting here in Little Rock waiting for a flight to Dallas then transferring to a flight to Tulsa, then driving back to Fayetteville.  I started in San Jose flew to Los Angeles then got delayed by the dust storm in Phoenix, missed my connection to Tulsa and so here I am.

As you can see it was a bit of a beast.  I guess it's been an adventure of sorts.  All part of the roller coaster ride of being an entrepreneur.

Negotiations and Challenges

cycleWood Solutions is in the final stages of negotiation for a patent license.  While this is definitely not a trivial step, it has taken longer than I thought it would.  We've been through several rounds of negotiation and we're getting close to an agreement that works for all involved.  It has been a learning experience.

We have other challenges as well as we move forward in the business.  Some of these challenges we foresaw, while others have sprung up.  We knew there would be things that would come up that we had not anticipated, so in some ways we were prepared for these challenges.  I can't go into to much detail on these as some of the information is proprietary.  One of the necessary skills for a successful entrepreneur is to be able to overcome the expected and unexpected hurdles that arise.  Being quick, nimble, and flexible allows entrepreneurs to navigate their way through the challenges of starting up.

We are somewhat limited in what we can do until the patent license is signed, but we haven't been sitting idle.  We have been talking to investors, mentors, and customers.  We've also talked to suppliers and manufacturers.  These are things that we need to do anyways so we're trying to get a jump on that so that as soon as the deal is signed we're ready to go.  Being proactive saves time and shows initiative.  It's easy to say we're waiting on this to get done or that to get done.  There are plenty of excuses, but in order to be successful you have to be resourceful and efficient.

Speaking of resources, Molly Cunningham with businessadministrationdegree.com recently wrote an article about some specialty search engines that could be helpful for any business student.  Her article is titled "30 Specialty Search Engines and Web Databases for Business Students."  Check it out, there's some good information there.

More Travels and Intellectual Property

I'll be headed to San Jose for a few days this month.  I'll be attending the CleanTech Investor Conference July 14th and the CleanTech Academy July 15th through 18th.  It'll be the first trip I take without any of my teammates.  The main purpose of the trip is to learn and network.  Participation is mandatory to compete in the CleanTech Open.  Silicon Solar participated last year and told us that they found it very beneficial.  One good thing about the CleanTech Open is that you can compete more than once.  So if we don't win this year we could come back next year.

Aside from preparing for the CleanTech Open, we have several other irons in the fire.  We are finalizing our patent license and engaging investors as we move along in the process.  We are also refining our intellectual property strategy.  Fresh from our trip to the LES conference in London, we were eager to put what we learned to good use.  Besides patents, there are several other forms of IP that we can develop and put to good use.  For example, we can develop trade secrets which may be more beneficial than patents.  Trade secrets, unlike patents, are not exposed to the public.  When a patent is filed the technology is open for review by the public.  Other IP that we plan on using our brands and trademarks.  As we learned in marketing, brands add value by forming a bond with consumers.  Consumers trust brands and are willing to pay extra for that sense of security.  These are just a few of the myriad of things that we have been busy working on the last few weeks.  Entrepreneurship is not all fun and games, it can be quite exhausting.

cycleWood Versus Silicon Solar

cycleWood has made it to the semifinals of the CleanTech Open.  One of last year's teams also made it, Silicon Solar Solutions.  We are going head-to-head in the semifinal round.  The top three from each region are selected to move forward.  We are both in the South Central Region along with eleven other teams.  Douglas Hutchings, CEO of Silicon Solar, has a hunch we might both get through to the finals in San Jose.  That would be great for the state and the University.

The entrepreneurship program at the University of Arkansas is developing a reputation of producing real start-ups.  With each coming year the enthusiasm generated by past year's teams creates a sense an expectation and sense of responsibility to carry on the tradition that's been building the past few years.  The meetings for next year's teams have already begun.  Every year Dr. Reeves gets previous team members to come back to share their experience.  The continuity of the program is one of its strengths.  So if you think you may be an entrepreneur, take a look at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business MBA program.

Competition Season Ends

We made it back stateside this past Friday.  I've gotten over the jetlag.  My sole focus is now on building cycleWood.  This should be great news for investors out there.  They've been ready for us to be off the "show circuit" for some time.  School is finished and now so are the competitions.  The only other one that we've applied to is the CleanTech Open which wouldn't be til this Fall.  That would be a different competition as we would compete as a post-graduate team.

So let me tell you about London, first off don't forget to bring your walking shoes.  If you want to see London the best way, in my opinion, is on foot.  You can venture into the old cobblestone alleyways and explore the rich history and character of the city.  Stop at a neighborhood pub and enjoy a nice draft at cellar temperature.  It's not so bad, but I do prefer an ice cold beer.  They do have those as well.  There are bridges, cathedrals, towers, and museums to see.  We explored as much as we could in the spare time we had.  We crossed the Millennium Bridge, Tower Bridge, and also London Bridge.  We stopped at Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral.  And we ventured into the Tate Modern, Science, and British Museums.

We had a great time in London, but now it's time to focus.  Good ideas are a dime a dozen.  If you have a good idea, chances are someone else has probably had that idea.  The odds of having a truly unique idea are not that great.  What makes a start-up successful is execution.  There are many talented people who can put together a great plan, but being able to execute that plan is a different story.  cycleWood has a great business plan, but there are unforeseeable hurdles that we must overcome.  It's how we face these challenges that separates us from the rest.  We recognize these hurdles and do what we can to get beyond them.  However, there are times when the hurdle is a wall that, despite our best efforts, is not ready to be broken through.  We try to be as clear as possible to any investor that we have a great team and we have a great plan, but there are still risks.  There is no such thing as guaranteed success, ask Lebron James.

Crossing the Pond to London

cycleWood is heading to London this afternoon for the LES competition.  We are one of six finalists.  The competition is this Saturday.  It's only Kevin and myself headed to this one.  We've never presented with just two before so this should be interesting.  One of us is also going to give the elevator pitch.  This should be interesting considering we've never done it.  It's always been Pree or Jack.  Luckily it's not for a prize, it's just to introduce our idea to the audience.

We'll be in London for a total of eight days.  The competition is only one day.  The rest of the time will be spent at the LES Conference which is supposed to be a great networking opportunity.  We'll be taking advantage of that for sure.  We were also invited to a black tie affair by a friend we met while in Canada at the Stu Clarke Investor Competition.  It'll be good to see him again.  We got tuxes and shiny shoes for the event.  Should be fantastic.

Aside from that we plan on seeing a good bit of London while we're there.  The hotel we are staying at is right by Westminster Abbey.   I bet the souvenirs from the royal wedding will be on sale.  We'll pick up a few to bring home. 

This should be a very fun trip.  Our adviser, Dr. Reeves, is also coming.   I'll make sure to take plenty of pics.  Look for them in the next few days.

GSB Summer Social

The GSB Summer Social is coming up Friday, June 10th from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Powerhouse.  If you are thinking of applying for the MBA, MMBA, or MAcc program at the Walton College of Business you should try to attend.  It's a great way to network and meet some people who will work with you and who have been there.  Some professors will be there, as well as staff and administrators.  So if you have any questions or wondered who was on the other end of the telephone or email here's your chance.  Talking with current and former students will give you a feel for what the program is about.  You can also get a first hand perspective of the pros and cons of the program.  Besides all that, there's plenty of food and drinks too.  It's a good time to be enjoyed by all.  If you do go out there, make sure to say hi to Rebel and tell her I sent you.