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HOT TOPICS
- The Startup Velocity Question
- Platform as a Service
- Man and Superman
- Web 3.0 = (4C + P + VS)
- The Future: End of Capitalism
- Capitalism 2.0
Engineering Algae-based Bio Fuel: Valcent CEO Glen Kertz (Part 4)
SM: Are you the only algae-based bio fuel company in the US? GK: No, a lot have popped up. There are four or five I think are in the same ball park as we are in terms of scale, and then there are a lot of little companies with a couple of stock tanks or
Engineering Algae-based Bio Fuel: Valcent CEO Glen Kertz (Part 3)
SM: How did you finance your initial ad campaign to allow you to obtain $2 million in sales? GK: I have some friends in the venture capital world. I showed them what I had and where I wanted to go, and they decided they wanted to join.
Engineering Algae-based Bio Fuel: Valcent CEO Glen Kertz (Part 2)
SM: What was your next step after Agristar? GK: I started my own consulting company and pursued other interests such as painting. I essentially took a break from the business world for two years, which let me think about what I wanted to do next. During that period I started developing innovative technology, some of
Engineering Algae-based Bio Fuel: Valcent CEO Glen Kertz (Part 1)
Glen Kertz is a serial entrepreneur and an inventor who holds over 20 US and foreign patents in various fields. He started his first company at the age of 12 and has continued to create new business ventures based on scientific innovation. He has an extensive background in the development of a wide range of
The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 7)
SM: In your opinion, what are some of the typical problems entrepreneurs have? GG: I think the biggest problem is they think they have to a perfect product before they can go to market. The reality is that learning does not start until you have some value proposition. When you go through the process of
The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 6)
SM: Have you taken any venture capital funding with RightNow, or has it been solely bootstrapped? GG: We raised about $27 million in 1999 and 2000. The first key is that our partners were really good. We also were a good size, we had about 160 people on board. We had a $6-million-a-year business and they
The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 5)
SM: Is there any particular market segment that you have targeted, or do you simply focus on companies by size? GG: We have about 1,800 clients who tend to be larger organizations. Over 60% of our business is with corporations that have over $1 billion in revenue. Some of our larger verticals are telecommunications, which accounts
The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte (Part 4)
SM: How did you conduct sales at RightNow? GG: Primarily through telesales, which was combined with Internet-based demonstrations and trial periods of the product.