Founders seeking financing for their startups often turn to venture capital (VC) companies. 

One of the joys of running the business I do is my regular interaction with a fabulously diverse range of both entrepreneurs building great cleantech businesses and the investors that entrust their money to them. The delicate balance between the two keeps the extraordinary progress of our industry moving forward at such a pace. In view of this I have written this free e-book, How to Access Venture Capital Finance. 

In recent months, I’ve interviewed a variety of VC investors and here we have captured for you the best advice from five of them. Later, I also feature a full-length interview with Jelena Markovic of Baywa Ventures where we discuss the people side of investment and how founders and leaders can grow the perfect team.

You can hear each contributor's full biography and conversation on the Leaders in Cleantech podcast, but in this book I highlight key advice from four top specialist cleantech VCs, Dan Goldman of Clean Energy Ventures, Tomas Kemtys of Contrarian Ventures, Petr Mikovec of Inven Capital and Robert Trezona of the IP Group. We look at what a venture capital investor is looking for in an entrepreneur in order to make the decision to invest.

How can cleantech founders position themselves for investment? What are the criteria most VCs apply and what are the crucial pieces of advice every entrepreneur in this space needs to know?

I hope this guide will help entrepreneurs navigate the tricky waters of finding and securing investment. We have compiled the very best and most useful advice from the very top of the cleantech venture capital profession into this document so you can access it in one central place. It represents an indispensable guide to what VCs think and what they want from founders and entrepreneurs.

Here are some of the most important takeaways:

1. Leverage Your Network

2. Specialize

3. Think from the Lens of an Investor

4. Remain Critical

5. Do Not Be Discouraged

6. Know Your Elevator Pitch

7. Understand Your Product and Traction

8. Have a Vision and a Clear Growth Plan for Your Business

9. Master the Financials and Limitations 

10. Highlight Your Team

Download your copy HERE