What a wonderful world this could be!

I'm a hyper-realist, and an eternal optimist, and I don't see those things as mutually exclusive. Perhaps that's just me! I don't watch the news, or read the newspapers, it's far too depressing, especially in the UK at present. Don't get me wrong, I don't bury my head in the sand, I'm aware of current affairs, but constantly putting that much negativity in your brain is bad for you. I believe that despite all of the BS going on in the world, the majority of people are good, and millions of positive things happen every day, they just don't sell newspapers or make good clickbait. The world is wonderful, but it is in mortal danger. The reason I'm so optimistic though is that day in and day out I see, speak to and meet absolute heroes who are working hard to make the environment and society a much better place.

The soul of a winner

On Monday evening I was a guest at the Inven Capital 'Soul of a winner' event in Prague. It is of course an amazing and beautiful city, but that was only half of the joy. Inven are an amazing cleantech VC, and the evening was an opportunity to share not just the companies and founders they invest in, but also the mission and goals they all share. I had the opportunity to speak to a number of founders and other investors and VCs, but aside from playing the bongo's, we also heard from some inspiring people that are changing the world as entrepreneurs. One in particular was Dov Moran, an amazing entrepreneur and now investor, and mentor. Dov invented the Flash Drive!

For me the clear message from the evening, and this relates to the headline, is that that so many of the brightest minds, and most driven entrepreneurs are making huge steps, through cleantech, to pull us back from the brink, to give humanity and our planet the best possible chance of survival. And I'm 'stoked' to play my part in this cleantech ecosystem, as CEO of the worlds best cleantech executive search firm, as a podcast host, and a connector of people. One of the companies making a huge impact, that has Inven Capital as an investor is Driivz, I recently interviewed the CEO Doron Frenkel on the This week in Cleantech Podcast, you can check that out here.

The thing that also stands out in my meetings, my reading and podcasting, and Dov Moran was really clear about this, is the importance and a person, an entrepreneur and as a business having a 'North Star'. A set of guidelines or principles that guide you and keep you on track. The Hyperion team recently put ours into writing, to share, but more importantly to make sure everything we do is aligned with these values, with our North Star. Happy to hear your thoughts.

Another great investment company making big bets on the cleantech future is the IP Group PLC. I interviewed their Head of Cleantech, Robert Trezona, for this weeks podcast, you can take a listen to Roberts view on how we can change the world here.

Cool Green Start-ups

One of my favourite cleantech events of the calender is EcoSummit. Held on the banks of the Spree in Berlin, it's one of the best events that connects start-ups and scale-ups with VCs, CVCs, Institutional investors, or and corporate venturers. The coolest, greenest start-ups come looking for money, and legends like Sonnen, Tado and EVBox have all taken to the stage. It's an event we're very proud to support and sponsor, and early bird tickets are now available!

The Hyperion team are also delighted to be supporting Fully Charged with their first US event, and you will have seen, we're sponsoring the European Pavilion. A platform for companies from EMEA who are exploring the opportunities in the US to take a low cost, low risk stand at what I expect to be a massive success (the first two UK shows have been). You can see more details of the event here. If you are interested in joining the pavilion please let me know. The event is in Austin, TX, the home of the first Hyperion Executive Search US office.

Apologies I'm a little late to press here, it's been a very busy month. If you are interested more in cleantech news, stories and insights, and not just my ramblings, the Hyperion Newsletter is for you, or you can check out the teams insights here

The world is a wonderful place, and it's full of wonderful people, let's not forget that!

David