CleanStart August 2017 News -- $44 Million for Green City, PowerUp + Pizza

What would you do with $44M?

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From Our Chairman

Take a look at the new Pots of Gold identified below if you are looking for ways to boost your clean tech business! They are the result of some recent events which have created new sources of revenue for clean tech companies.

First, as a part of the $2B national investment VW agreed to make in penance for its cheating on emissions testing, California is getting a huge amount of money to be spent on building EV infrastructure. More to the point, the Sacramento region was singled out for a special $44 million "Green City" fund for some innovative initiatives to boost EVs. VW is looking for good ideas on how to spend that money. If your company has anything to do with charging stations, public transit, or EV education, be sure to stay on top of the process for submitting proposals. Study the approved plan here for the details and read our blog post on the possible benefits to the clean tech industry.

Second, with the extension of California's cap-and-trade law, increased funding is coming to the Air Resources Board to fund carbon-reduction projects. The increase is the result of the gradual lowering of the carbon emission limits, creating a growing demand for the offset allowances. How the money gets spent has become complicated over the years, but it is worth trying to see if you can come up with a project that fits in one of its categories. Find out more here.

And if you want to connect to the local network that is on top of all the greenhouse gas reduction activities in our region, take a look at the Sacramento 350 website. The name comes from the goal of trying to limit the carbon dioxide concentration in the air to 350 ppm. It is a worldwide movement.

All three of these are potential new Pots of Gold for clean tech entrepreneurs.

Join Us for Pizza & Beer!

Join us at Hot Italian on
Thursday, August 24, 5:30–8:30 pm
CleanStart PowerUp is back to update our clean tech community on the region's startups and clean tech progress. Pizza and beer will be provided and there will be ample time to mix and mingle. Use code "reader" and sign up at no charge!

Ramping Up Revenue Class

Wednesday, September 13, 5:30-8:30 pm
As your early-stage tech company progresses, sales is soon top-of-mind. You’ve made great strides in developing your product and now you need to crank up the sales engine to drive revenue. In this workshop, we’ll teach you methods to increase your sales traction. This is an interactive workshop -- bring your questions! Early bird tickets available at $45! Learn more/Register here. This workshop is designed for all technology companies, not just clean tech.

Featured Company
Athena Intelligence

Sacramento-based startup Athena Intelligence is creating AI software to identify the actual cost of resource usage on agricultural land. The idea formed nearly a decade ago when founder David Sypnieski started selling to farmers and realized data driven decisions didn’t seem to exist. For the past decade, David has worked to find out why agriculture didn’t adapt to new technologies to take advantage of data. He discovered that land, food, water, and energy is Earth’s essential data and the foundation to the global economy. Yet it is mostly unused in economic considerations. David set out to change that! Learn more about our featured company here.

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The Blog

Sacramento Region Selected for $44 million Green City Investment
VW has agreed to a nearly $2 Billion settlement for cheating on its emissions testing, and $44 million of that is coming to Sacramento...continue reading

CleanStart Chair Gary Simon Interviewed by Mark Haney
“Nothing good happens until someone writes a check!” Watch the video and hear more startup wisdom from industry veteran Gary Simon...continue reading

The Biggest Branding Mistake Made by Startups
by Aaron Heinrich
The thing many startups get wrong is how they describe what their company does....continue reading

News

Sierra Energy to launch $10 million venture capital fund
Sacramento Business Journal

Investment of $44 million from VW settlement could be boon for Sacramento business
Sacramento Business Journal

Volkswagen will spend $44 million to push electric vehicles in Sacramento
T he Sacramento Bee

Climate report full of warnings awaits president
Sacramento Business Journal

Diversity: The Sacramento tech sector's advantage
Sacramento Business Journal

Forbes Magazine thinks tech companies should check out this city. (Hint: It’s Sacramento)
The Sacramento Bee

UC Davis chancellor: Tech center will take 'convincing and salesmanship'
Sacramento Business Journal

SMUD could earn from Japan's energy deregulation
Sacramento Business Journal

Could California Be Greener? Ontario Thinks So
Comstock's Magazine

California mulls larger rebates for electric car buyers
Sacramento Business Journal

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CleanStart Sponsors

Stoel Rives	Weintraub \| Tobin	Comstock’s Magazine
Greenburg Traurig	Moss Adams	Impact Venture Capital
Bosley Till Neue & Talerico		City of West Sacramento

For more information about our sponsors, visit cleanstart.org

Thank You to Our Valuable Partners
AgStart, Area 52, Davis Root, Entrepreneurs Showcase, MedStart,
Northern California SBDC, StartupSac, Sierra Energy Research Park,
Startup Grind Sacramento, UC Davis Engineering Student Startup Center,
UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UC Davis Venture Catalyst