Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

Nearly 100 ventures will participate in the 2024 Energy Tech Venture Forum! They'll be descending on Houston to showcase the cutting-edge technologies and represent a broad array of solutions to accelerate the energy transition. For these ventures, it is an opportunity to meet energy investors and corporations, showcase their company and network with 600+ angel investors, venture capitalists, corporate innovation groups, industry leaders, academics and service providers. See below for the ventures that will be pitching, and visit the ETVF website at: https://lnkd.in/gW82guqD to see the full list of participating companies. Acceleware Ltd. AmpUp Anabaena Andium Biodel AG BioVeritas Blue Sky Measurements CERT Systems Emvolon Fairbrics FlowCellutions Free Form Fibers LLC Hazer Group Limited KC8 Capture Technologies MicroEra Power, Inc. Mote Nanosonics Noble Gas Systems Novastus NuCube Energy NxLite (Formerly 3E Nano Inc) Osmoses Porous Liquid Technologies Pyran Inc. Qube Technologies Renewell Energy Revterra SkyH2O Tendo Technologies Teren, Inc. ThermoLift, Inc. TrelliSense ZEG Power Clean Energy Accelerator Class 4 Demo Day Pitches:  1S1 ENERGY Capwell Services CarboMat CORROLYTICS Geolabe Kaizen Clean Energy Mitico OceanBit QEA Tech Sensytec Vroom Solar VulcanX Energy

The Energy Tech Venture Forum will connect energy innovators, investors, corporations and the energy ecosystem on September 12, 2024. The day before, investors are participating during Office Hours, one-on-one, invite-only meetings between investors and participating energy ventures. We're excited to welcome these investors and corporate innovators during the 21st annual event. And don't forget: early-bird registration is available until August 30. Register at: https://lnkd.in/eU6DCZ39.

Clean Energy Accelerator Class 4 startups made their way back to Ion Houston a few weeks ago. While in Houston, they experienced workshops led by experts like Richard Scruggs, Laureen Meroueh, PhD, Andy Roehr, Beth O'Sullivan, Trevor Best, Nick Webster, Andrew Bruce and many more. If you were here and met the startups, give us a shout in the comments! In between learning about best practices for engaging with angel investors, legal considerations and practicing their pitches, we had some fun, too! We're counting down the days until Class 4 presents their pitches during one of the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week anchor events, the 21st Annual Energy Tech Venture Forum, on September 12th! Register for ETVF to see the Clean Energy Accelerator Class 4 Demo Day pitches at: https://lnkd.in/eU6DCZ39.

Last Wednesday night, the Houston energy ecosystem gathered at the Ion Houston for an exciting Happy Hour and Preview of the Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week! There, we talked about the week, networked with event hosts and started building momentum as we prepare to welcome folks to Houston. Don't forget: The 21st Annual Energy Tech Venture Forum, hosted at the historic JW Marriott this year, will be happening on September 12th and is one of the anchors for the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Early-bird registration to the conference is closing soon at: https://lnkd.in/eU6DCZ39. We'll see you there! Greentown Labs Halliburton Labs Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI) Digital Wildcatters Activate

Join Rice Business - Jones Graduate School of Business Executive Education at the Ion Houston for breakfast and a panel discussion with business leaders in energy transition on Wednesday, August 28. Moderated by Dr. Yan Anthea Zhang, our panel speakers will share their expertise on stakeholder pressure, challenges in implementation, strategic changes, alignment between employee incentives and firm energy transition strategy. Secure your spot at: https://lnkd.in/gJYpc5VQ.

We had a great turnout at Software Day yesterday! An Intro to Central Texas Seed Stage VCs, hosted by Aziz Gilani with Mercury, featured a discussion between some of his most notable VCs, Eric Engineer, Rajiv Bala, Cat Dizon and Mike Marcantonio. If you missed the chat, here are some key takeaways: ✍️ When you approach VCs, make sure you can tell your story in a few sentences: What problem are you addressing? What's your solution? How is it unique? How big is the market? If you aren't able to talk about your story succinctly, you aren't ready to reach out to VCs. 💡 Find the right VCs by doing your homework in advance. Read their websites and do your research, both on the firm and the partner's backgrounds. Find out what sectors and stage the VC invests in. Don't send out a generic mass email to a bunch of investors. Personalize your email. 🚩 What are the red flags that deter VCs from an entrepreneur? Not being: coachable, willing to answer questions and accept feedback, and not being transparent about what you don't know and the risks. VCs know that all startups are imperfect, so be willing to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out the answer." 📈 Generate urgency to invest in your company by making legitimate progress with other VCs, creating a sense of competition to invest in your startup, making revenue progress and showing that you are bringing on customers. But remember: accepting venture capital is like a marriage — it can be a 10+ year relationship with an investor. Going slow can help you make sure you are comfortable with that investor. 💻 If you don't get a response from a VC, you can follow-up, but the best way is to provide updates and show you are making progress with your company. 📣 You SHOULD send a pitch deck. Have a well-structured pitch deck of 10-12 slides. Your executive summary should be upfront and is the most important part. Don't make the VC try to figure out your business, and your email to them should be short and simple.

Who's ready for the 21st Annual Energy Tech Venture Forum! Stick with us here on LinkedIn as, over the next few weeks, we roll out the speakers, schedule and ventures that will be pitching during the event. First up, our keynotes! David Baldwin, co-founder of OpenMinds and Partner at SCF Partners will set the stage during the morning keynote, and we'll close an insightful day with a fireside chat featuring Rachel Slaybaugh, partner at DCVC, interviewed by Barbara Burger! Where will this all be happening on September 12th? New this year, we'll be taking the forum off-campus to the JW Marriott Downtown! Due to the start of construction at McNair Hall, as Rice Business - Jones Graduate School of Business grows, we will be moving this year's Thursday programming into this boutique hotel conveniently located on the rail line. You'll be able to make the Ion Houston your home base, hop on the rail to the venue and return to the Ion to close out the day. The Energy Tech Venture Forum is also an anchor event for the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. Get your early-bird tickets today: https://lnkd.in/eU6DCZ39.

We hope you're ready for Software Day, happening tomorrow at Ion Houston! Hear from four Central Texas seed stage VCs at "An Intro to Central Texas Seed Stage VCs" panel discussion, as they share insights for up-and-coming VCs and what they like to see before investing in a startup. There's still time to RSVP at: https://lnkd.in/gr5HURz8.

We’re going to camp! Join us and other top incubators and accelerators for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Wells Fargo's Camp Cleantech, a startups-only event designed for climate-tech entrepreneurs to learn, network, and have campy fun in one place. Workshops are curated by the nation’s top incubators and accelerators—including a workshop on Industry Pilot Partnerships with Kerri Smith, Executive Director, Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, and Matthew Peña, Director, Rice Alliance Clean Energy Accelerator, Suman Khatiwada, PhD, Janice Tran, Rick Krysiak Jr. , P.E., LEED Green Associate., and Chris Haase, Ph.D. Beyond workshops, engage in Colorado-inspired community activities, from fly casting to cook-offs. Sign up now for camp, August 12-14 in Denver, Colorado: www.campcleantech.com.

Get ready, Houston! The official Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week is approaching quickly, and new events are being added to the schedule. We hope you'll join us for this preview happy hour to network with event hosts, learn more about the week and get excited for this inaugural event! We’ll start with brief remarks to kick it off, and then you can head into networking. Join Halliburton Labs, Greentown Labs, the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI), and Ion Houston on August 14. Register at: https://lnkd.in/gASjkmjj.