CleanStart Expands Board

CleanStart Expands Board

This month, CleanStart enhanced our board by adding 3 new members: Kiara Reed, Dan Keollen, and Brian Hoblit.  We are excited about the new possibilities their experience brings to our mission to grow the clean tech community and to support the acceleration of clean tech startups.

Kiara Reed is a digital media professional and community advocate based in Sacramento. In her current role with Comstock’s Magazine, a local award-winning business publication, Reed oversees marketing efforts, digital management and community engagement. In addition to serving on the CleanStart board, Kiara is also an executive board member of the Oak Park-based nonprofit, Green Tech Education and Employment. She volunteers her time with other Oak Park community organizations, including the Oak Park Neighborhood Association and Oak Park Promise Neighborhood.

Dan Koellen is a veteran of more than 25 years of  the high technology and semiconductor industries.  Dan has mentored and invested in several Sacramento area startup companies including two companies that have gone public.  He is a board member of several Sacramento nonprofits focused on a variety of areas, including technology, economic development community support,  and world class botanical gardens. In support of his commitment to excellence in STEM, Dan also volunteers his time to the University of Wisconsin as the development chair for the Astronomy Department Board of Visitors and as an adviser to the Applied Math, Engineering and Physics program.

Brian Hoblit is a Business Development Officer for U.S. Bank’s commercial lending division and is passionate about helping companies in Sacramento and the broader Central Valley region grow through debt financing and other financial services. Brian’s educational background includes advanced degrees in environmental engineering and business.  He has held a variety of positions in banking, finance, clean technology and water resources.

Gary Simon, Chairman

“For my entire adult life, I’ve been passionate that sustainable business and economic growth are not mutually exclusive but mutually beneficial. The CleanStart Board can have an impact in helping the Sacramento region become one of the hubs for sustainable businesses which will result in great jobs and helping the region become a national leader in an important and growing sector of our economy. I’m very excited to be part of the Board and looking forward to the journey.” 

-Brian Hoblit

Thomas Hall

“I am pleased to join CleanStart Sacramento to further support the development of clean technologies within our region and connect communities of color with recourse to participate and create environmentally forward initiatives.”

-Kiara Reed

Mark Henwood

“I joined CleanStart board because Clean Tech still matters and is an important part of the Sacramento region’s economy. ” 

-Dan Koellen

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas is the Executive Director of CleanStart. Thomas has a strong background in supporting small businesses, leadership, financial management and is proficient in working with nonprofits. He has a BS in Finance and a BA in Economics from California State University, Chico. Thomas has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to supporting non-profits in the region.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, Moss Adams, River City Bank, GreenbergTraurig

BlueTech Valley, PowerSoft.biz, Revrnt, Synbyo, Califronia Mobility Center

New Partner Chicostart!

New Partner Chicostart!

While attending Chico State, I was part of the first student team leading the Entrepreneurship Center in the College of Business. It was a life-changing experience.  Having followed the Northern California Startup Community, I was excited to see the creation of Chicostart, who I am now proud to welcome as a CleanStart partner.

Recently I talked with Wendy Porter, Managing Director of Chicostart. I learned they are the iHub of Northern California, so they support more than just Chico. To do this they have connected and partnered with regional Northern California groups and CSU Chico to provide incubation, mentorships, makers space, and coworking to startups. They even hold a 1 Million Cups at Idea Fab Lab, the local makerspace.

With Chicostart as a partner, CleanStart continues to add support to a network to develop the clean tech space and connect startups to the resources they need. We’re working together towards the goal of 10,000 clean tech careers and $5 billion in revenue.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas is the Executive Director of CleanStart. Thomas has a strong background in supporting small businesses, leadership, financial management and is proficient in working with nonprofits. He has a BS in Finance and a BA in Economics from California State University, Chico. Thomas has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to supporting non-profits in the region.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, Moss Adams, River City Bank, GreenbergTraurig

BlueTech Valley, PowerSoft.biz, Revrnt, Synbyo, Califronia Mobility Center

Welcome Renonedo Williams

Welcome Renonedo Williams

CleanStart has a new face supporting the region’s Entrepreneurs.  Renonedo Williams is a CSU Sacramento Mechanical Engineering Student who is the newest intern at CleanStart.   He is entering his final semester at Sac State and is looking forward to connecting with as many clean tech startups as possible and understanding each of their value propositions, to connect his enthusiasm of building things to his goal of being his own boss. Renonedo has a background in design and material selection along with motor efficiency.

Some of Renonedo’s first goals are confirming the information from companies on the CleanStart Clean Tech Map, meeting the Startup Community, visiting clean tech businesses, and immersing himself in the region’s entrepreneurship culture.

We are able to bring Renonedo on as part of our partnership with the College of Engineering and Computer Science and BlueTech Valley.

Profile: Sac Startup Improves Hotel Efficiency Drastically

Profile: Sac Startup Improves Hotel Efficiency Drastically

What Cleantech company in moving up?  GridRabbit. This year they expect to double their sales.

GridRabbit is real-time hardware and software Smart Room Building IoT System. The GridRabbit System is built with the ability to grow, adapt and integrate new technologies into the platform. The customer can begin experiencing the GridRabbit system just with one type of device, like a thermostat, a year later the same customer can add an in-wall smart switch, voice control device or an EV Charger. All integrated in the same IoT platform. The GridRabbit team is constantly monitoring and adding new features and devices to the GridRabbit system.

In 2010 Smart Grid Billing, Inc. started developing the GridRabbit system and since then installed multiple GridRabbit Smart Rooms all over the over the world. In 2015, Smart Grid Billing, Inc.  in partnership with SMUD installed the GridRabbit solution at two Sacramento Hotels, one of which is the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. Allowing for the hotel to control the energy use in rooms when guests leave. The end-to-end hardware and software solution gives facilities managers more control over a building energy uses. In 2017 Hyatt Regency also installed 26 Electric Vehicle chargers that are integrated with the GridRabbitsolution, allowing even more energy control for Hyatt Regency. These Electric Vehicle chargers can be automatically adjusted in 5 different levels by the GridRabbit solution, increasing the potential real-time energy control from 500 kW to 900kW.This year they are extending that control having installed a 120 kWh Lithium Titanate SCiB battery solution at the Sacramento Hyatt enabling them to flatten out the duck curve even further.  The Hyatt now buys energy from SMUD at night when it is less expensive, reduces energy use when guest leave, and is nearing a flat energy usage curve.

From a Utilities perspective, like that of SMUD, this is big. Smart Grid Billing, Inc. has proved GridRabbit can be used to reduce energy usage during peak times, flatten the duck curve, and integrate battery storage. This is key to incorporating renewable energy and battery storage into the grid.

GridRabbit platform manages power usage with automated rules that can manage blocks of rooms, individual rooms, and even individual light switches and outlets. This enables hotels to not only reduce usage but also help improve visitor satisfaction, because it is more than just turning off lights when people leave.  Often, after a hotel starts working with GridRabbit, problem areas, hurting customer satisfaction, can be identified. For example, problem AC Units or expired lighting all hurt the visitor experience and GridRabbit can identify these issues in real-time and before a hotel takes hit to its reputation. Some of the GridRabbit hotels have more than 5000 GridRabbit Smart devices installed.  Hotels and companies using GridRabbit are experiencing a 30% reduction in energy usage from the controlled loads.

GridRabbit is an official Trademark of SmartGrid Billing.

Thomas Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Thomas is the Executive Director of CleanStart. Thomas has a strong background in supporting small businesses, leadership, financial management and is proficient in working with nonprofits. He has a BS in Finance and a BA in Economics from California State University, Chico. Thomas has a passion for sustainability and a commitment to supporting non-profits in the region.

CleanStart Sponsors

Weintraub | Tobin, Moss Adams, River City Bank, GreenbergTraurig

BlueTech Valley, PowerSoft.biz, Revrnt, Synbyo, Califronia Mobility Center