After a five year pause, the Clean Tech Showcase came back with a bang on October 9.  We had a great turnout with over 150 showing up and 18 up-and-coming companies from the area had exhibits and made pitches.  We had companies not only from our usual ten-county region, but from Merced and all the way down to Fresno. There are still many more companies and we will be having those exhibit next year as we are already making plans.  

There have already been some great successes in attracting investment to cleantech this year, with over $50 million of new investment coming in.  We talked about that and the renewed momentum behind company formation which is making the future bright.

After a welcome we had presentations from the Chair of the CEC, David Hochschild, Congressman Ami Bera, Meghan Stiles of Rep. Doris Matsui’s office, Tim Taylor of the Clean Cities Coalition, and Erik Stokes of the CEC.  Then we went into fast Pitches from each of the 18 companies. There were some really good innovations. NeoCharge showed a very simple plug-in adapter for Level 2 charging of EVs that did not require any special wiring and in fact could be easily moved by renters to a new home.  Hank put on a very compelling case for its AI virtual engineering for optimizing building energy equipment. BoxPower showed that it was getting a lot more customer traction with $2.6 million in sales so far. Glide Cruisers showed off their new suite of stand-up scooters and a wide range of new customers, including big warehouses where supervisors were walking 6-8 miles per day. They also have a fleet in operation in Napa Valley used for winery tours.  (Gotta go try that!) RAF Electronics had a very clever, high-efficiency luminaire with dramatic reductions in energy use. JumpWatts showed a very simple rental e-scooter. Scarlet Solar indicated it is now overwhelmed with potential orders for its sun-tracking PV carport. It was just one great presentation after another.  

There about another 100 companies throughout the Central Valley we would like to hear from at future events.  

The highlight of the show was having all the attendees act like venture capitalists.  Everyone was given a “fund” to invest in the form of coins ($1 million each!) they could drop in the jars at the exhibits of the companies they liked best.  In all over $500 million in coins was invested. The four with the most money collected at the end of the day were RePurpose Energy, NeoCharge, BoxPower, with Sierra Energy the Grand Prize winner.  All of these got over 45 coins each, with Sierra Energy getting 67!

We are very grateful to Blue Tech Valley and the CEC for backing this showcase and to all our sponsors.  The full program for the showcase can be found here

The Central Valley Clean Tech Showcase 2019 was organized by:

CleanStart just had a great class aptly titled: “Keeping it Clean: Legal & Financial Essentials for Tech Startups”.  With speakers from Weintraub Tobin and EY. It was a great opportunity that companies were able to take advantage of to get some of their questions answered.  They presented issues newer and growing tech companies encounter; how to avoid common pitfalls; establishing a solid legal and financial foundation for your venture; why tax planning needs to be done now; and the benefit of running your company like you are prepping to sell. Check out their slides.

Here are some reasons companies took away:

1. If Intellectual property is part of your business, you need to plan a strategy around it.  Is it a trade secret or do you need a patent. 
2. Choose your business entity based on where you are and where you want to be in the Company’s life cycle.
3. Tax planning needs to be future thinking not an afterthought.  
4. Small companies can qualify for tax goodies incentives that can significantly support growth. 
5. Tax Planning mean finding ways to pull forward losses and push out revenue to lower your tax liability. 
6. Keep financials in a professional manner. Companies have lost 8 digits (MORE THAN 10 MILLION) in valuation because they didn’t keep good financial. 

All of this can be summed up in one sentence: “Engage with professionals now to keep your business Clean!”  Doing so can help your business grow sustainably and avoid critical mistakes. 

Please, if you want to know more, contact CleanStart or get to know the speakers better:

	Jon E. Ancona Associate, Weintraub Tobin Jon is a member of the firm’s Corporate group. He helps clients with their legal needs at every stage of business, including entity formation, financing, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, reorganization, privacy, and securities matters.
	Andrew D. McCarthy Associate, Weintraub Tobin Andy is a member of the firm’s Corporate group. His broad practice focuses on securities, mergers and acquisitions, commercial agreements, and other business transactions. Andy’s representations have included clients in an array of industries, such as technology, energy, consumer products, gaming, and multi-family housing, among others.
	Raymond A. Loyd Assurance Partner, Ernst & Young Ray has over 25 years of experience serving growth-oriented public and private audit clients in diverse industries/sectors, including manufacturing, technology, hospitality and real estate. He routinely assists with complex accounting consultations related to revenue recognition, stock-based compensation, debt and equity transactions and business combinations.
	Jason Peterson Partner, Ernst & Young Jason is a Partner in E&Y’s Northern California Tax Practice. He has served clients in many industries including consumer products, technology, agriculture, cleantech, biotechnology, manufacturing, and real estate.