It may seem an odd time to ask that question. VC funding is hard to come by at present, deals harder to close, valuations lower, and plenty of down-rounds being done. It can feel a little like ‘just take what you can get’. But I disagree. (I'm on my third start-up, so have had these challenges). It is a good time to look at alternative finance, be that debt from banks, or non-banks as highlighted in the article. Or looking towards Angel investors and syndicates, and Family Offices. 

I love working with VCs, we partner with many. They play an important role in cleantech. But at the moment they aren't too forthcoming with cash, and they can always be a little too focuses on what's ‘hot’.  It reminds me of my favourite VC joke, told to me by a VC……. The VC partners having lunch in a restaurant, the waiter says to one, ‘What can I get for you sir?’ and the first VC says, ‘I’ll have what he's having.' (Boom toosh!- I'll be here all week).  But it speaks much truth. If you're tech isn't in flavour of the month, it's harder still. It's definitely time to look at other funding options. 

If you find some money, and need to deploy that to grow, supporting fast-growth cleantech start-ups and scale-ups is 90% of what we do. Finding the very best talent for growth. Happy to share more.

David