Smart green lean startup panel with Cleantech Invest, Savosolar, Wellington Partners, Icos Capital and Ben Energy
Ecosummit TV: Tarja Teppo (Cleantech Invest) moderates the smart green lean startup panel at ECO13 Berlin featuring Jari Varjotie (Savosolar), Bart Markus (Wellington Partners), Peter van Gelderen (Icos Capital) and Jan Marckhoff (Ben Energy). Given that most cleantech startups are capital- and time-intensive, we believe that the lean startup philosophy is the right medicine. Lean startup is all about resource efficient product development with fast iterations to achieve product market fit without wasting too much time and money. While lean startup works well for software startups, the question is whether it can also be applied to hardware startups. For the strategy discussion between the startup management and their VCs, lean startup also means to take smart make or buy decisions to maintain focus and, for example, outsource manufacturing or distribution to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. During an inspiring discussion, our panelists share their experience with being lean while being clean.
Read moreJari Varjotie pitches Savosolar from Finland
Ecosummit TV: Jari Varjotie pitches Savosolar from Finland at ECO13 Berlin. The cleantech startup develops and manufactures very efficient solar thermal absorbers and collectors that are based on patented optical nano coating. In fact, Savosolar claims to be the most efficient solar collector in the field and over 30 customers are a pretty good market proof. Savosolar is backed by Cleantech Invest and currently raises a new round of €4M of which €2M will be public funding. Break-even is planned for 2014 and we believe Savosolar to be an attractive investment opportunity with a nice risk return profile given the advanced development stage of the Finnish startup. Go for it, the sun rises in the north.
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