Michele Ashby - The Modern Energy Matchmaker: Connecting Investors with Entrepreneurs

Copyright 2010 by Michele Ashby. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, write Addicus Books, Inc., P.O. Box 45327, Omaha, Nebraska 68145.

ISBN 978-1-886039-95-7
Typography by Linda Dageforde
Cover photo and design by Sarah Edgell,
Edgellworks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ashby, Michele, 1955
The modern energy matchmaker : connecting investors
with entrepreneurs/Michele Ashby.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-886039-95-7 (alk. paper)
1. Clean energy industriesUnited StatesFinance. 2. Investments.
3. Venture capital. I. Title.
HD9502.5.C543U626 2010
333.794dc22

2010022701

Addicus Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 45327
Omaha, Nebraska 68145
www.AddicusBooks.com

Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the memory of my daughter, Dani, my angel

T here are several people who I would like to thank for helping make this book possible. The first is my late daughter, Dani. Few of us get a second chance to live life to the fullest, and I am grateful to Dani for teaching me how to move onto discoverand appreciate each day with courage. I thank my husband, Keith, for his ongoing support, trust, and love so that I may go out and slay the dragon. I thank my son, Johny, for giving the gift of life to my husband.

I express my appreciation to Frank Giustra for believing in me from the very beginning. I also thank Don Mitchell, my fearless leader and loving mentor, as well as my team at MiNE LLC for all the things they dolarge and small.

I extend my thanks to my publisher Rod Colvin, Addicus Books, for keeping me on task with this book, and to my editors and helpers Judy Katz, Anne, and Susan.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Traveler and to MISAthe Movement of Spiritual Awarenessfor my ministry, which makes my life on this planet worthwhile and fun. Most of all, I appreciate God as my partner.

I have been working in the natural resources arena for nearly three decades. Today, I am utilizing my extensive contact base of investors, analysts, bankers, entrepreneurs, C-level executives (CEOs, CFOs, and COOs), resource and energy companies, government contacts, experts, and businesses to match the right people and to produce the best possible outcomes. Energy companies that require financing to move forward often need considerable help getting in front of the right investors and analysts. I can help them make the appropriate connections. My company, MiNE LLC, finds and showcases companies that offer innovative and proven modern energy technologies. We then facilitate relationships between these entrepreneurial leaders and motivated investors, with the intent to help foster collaborative ventures.

Many of these matchmaking exercises are working spectacularly for all parties. This is due, in large measure, to the modern energy sector itself, which is proving its worth and value daily. Even at this early stage of the industry, investors are profiting, and companies are both saving and making money. We are beginning to see how the world can, and ultimately will, shape up as a better place for us, and especially for our children and our childrens children.

As we progress toward a cleaner and greener world, I believe that I am witnessing a sea change in attitude, a great global consensus about modern energyan umbrella term I coined to encompass new and old forms of energy. This includes wind, solar, nuclear, wave, biofuels, biomass, smart-grid technologies, magnetics, hydropower, energy efficiencies, coal, oil, and gasand even things we have not yet thought of or developed that will be part of the current and future energy equation. I now consistently use modern energy to broadly reference the entire cutting-edge, up-to-the-minute, clean, green renewable, and traditional energy sector in all its aspects and prospects.

Every day, technological advances are moving the modern energy industry forward. I am delighted to see companies that started on a shoestring successfully acquire the funding needed to build their better technologies or projects. I also am encouraged to see many more in this arena seeking funding to bring their promising products and projects to fruition. Thanks to such dedication and innovation, we have solar panels, wind towers, and biomass power plants. And even though the recession has impacted the growth of modern energy deals, the enthusiasm and interest in the sector continues to grow.

While exciting, these current forms of energy are not sufficient to meet all of societys energy needs, and they certainly do not work reliably in every situation. Will they do so in ten years? Will we ever be completely unshackled from oil and gas or even coal? Can we, in the meantime, make dirty energy at least cleaner, safer, and less ubiquitous?

I am an optimist. A grounded, informed, realistic optimist. I firmly believe that all the energy we need to meet our lifestyles exists in nature, and it is there for the taking. And I do mean all the energy needed everywhere, by everyone in every corner of the planet. Energy is equally plentiful for people in privileged societies, for people in third-world countries, and for urban, rural, and tribal people. I strongly disagree with collective Chicken Littles terrified by what they see as the prospect of Armageddon if we dont go fully green in this exact year or even this exact decade. But just like advances in other fields, for example, smart phones, 3-D movies, and health care, our modern energy-related technology will have to catch up with our vision. In fact, that is the very definition of the word vision: something imagined or created in our minds eye that has not yet been created in the physical world.

Of course, it will take time for the modern energy industry to mature. Far more research and development are needed to acquire key knowledge and achieve advancements, before we can celebrate major milestones along the way.

You may be asking what we should do in the meantime, while we wait for our reality to catch up with our vision.

Good question. Glad you asked! Thats exactly what this book is about.

Think of this book as a primer on modern energy. It offers you, the reader, a high-level perspective of the modern energy industry, some emerging technologies, and ideas for how to begin your own analysis of the industry. By the end of the book, youll have a much better idea of how to determine your interest in and readiness for exploring opportunities in the modern energy industry.

Are you a good candidate for a modern energy partnership or investment? Read on to find out.

M odern energy has come to be known by many names: clean, green, alternative, and renewable. Regardless of what you call it, this type of energy is here to stay. Growing demand and higher prices for energy are leading to increased development of modern energy sources around the world. Making the shift from tried-and-true energy sources to alternative, cutting-edge forms is a daunting, yet exhilarating, undertaking.