We were first introduced to Greenstart in a May of this year. The idea is to do for green-tech startups, what Y Combinator did for web and mobile start-ups. It sounds like a good concept. According to wsj.com, however, the ideas behind the company don’t come without critics.
Greenstart launched in May 2011 in San Francisco and will offer office space, connections with advisors, seed capitol between $25,000 and $100,000, and a day to pitch ideas to venture capitalists. Like other startup incubators, Greenstart also offers a 3 month “bootcamp.”
You can guess by the name what types of companies Greenstart is interested in: Clean-tech. They are not just looking for clean-tech companies, they are looking for clean-tech companies that can be revenue producing in 12 months or less. A tall order, and also the constraint that causes critics to start voicing their opinions.
Steve Foster, partner at venture firm Altira Group responded via email by stating that he “would be curious what clean-tech businesses get to revenue within 12 months of starting operation.” He also said that he would be concerned about the operations of an accelerator that produced such companies.
Greenstart, whose founders have little clean-tech experience, responded to the criticism by stating that “we’re not building solar manufacturing, or starting the next tesla – we’re focusing on clean tech that can be ready to market really quickly.”
The initial plan for Greenstart was to enroll 10 companies in its first 3 month program. As of September 20th at the grand opening of their new offices, they had 4 in their first class.
