Third annual GloSho’15 Cleantech Global Showcase

Last month Greentown Labs headed west to Los Angeles for the third annual Cleantech Global Showcase: GloSho’15, an annual summit hosted by Greentown Labs’ partner, the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), to gather global cleantech ecosystem players together. The two-day event brought an array of thought leaders, investors, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and international industry leaders all under one roof to explore the cutting edge of cleantech investment, entrepreneurship and innovation in 2015.

Held at the J.W. Marriott @LA Live in downtown Los Angeles, the first day of programming was kicked off by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti., Mayor Garcetti welcomed the wide array of visitors with an address highlighting how GloSho’15 would be an exciting time to discuss the evolving cleantech ecosystem not only in Los Angeles, but globally, as startups and entrepreneurs came from the US, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Italy, Finland, China, and more. With more than 600 attendees, GloSho’15 was a one-of-a-kind event structured into three parts, each of which created an exciting opportunity to engage with international visitors, innovative startups, and local cleantech enthusiasts.

Day one was all about investors, where more than 30 top investors from all classes participated in panels to provide an insider’s perspective on how the global cleantech investment climate is evolving, and what their respective investment landscapes look like heading into 2016. Investors and experts formed panels to discuss topics that included angels, venture capital, private equity, project finance, government, corporate strategic, and impact / double bottom line. Our very own Adam Rein, Co-Founder of Altaeros Energies and Principal at MissionPoint Capital Partners, was a featured speaker for the session on Impact and Family Offices.

Day two was the reverse, focusing on global innovation and included pitches from 25 innovative companies from around the world. Topics covered by these startup sessions were broken down into sub-sections that included energy, water, and materials, transportation and the built environment, and agriculture and smart cities.

Greentown Labs exhibited in the Expo hall, which was made up of more than 80 companies showcasing their innovations in various technology sectors, as well as a variety of organizations that help connect and grow the cleantech ecosystem both nationally and around the world.

Greentown Labs was thrilled to showcase among all of these inspiring incubators, associations, and innovative startups; and we are happy to have been a part of an event where we could support the growth and awareness of the ecosystem as a cleantech incubator and partner to LACI.

NGIN Workshop at the La Kretz Innovation Campus

Not only is GloSho a global showcase and competition, it is also the signature event of LACI’s Network for Global Innovation (NGIN), which annually convenes a select international audience of cleantech entrepreneurs, investors, technologists, utility executives, academics and policymakers to promote a free-flowing exchange of companies, investment, expertise and relationships for cleantech innovators across borders and around the world.

Mark Vasu, Executive Vice President, and Megan Fellows, Marketing Fellow, attended LACI’s invite-only NGIN Expert Workshop on Friday, October 23rd led by Executive Director, Fred Waiti. It was held in their soon-to-open La Kretz Innovation Campus, a fully renovated 60,000 square foot building and global cleantech hub complete with exterior and interior ‘living’ walls, solar parking canopies with EV charging stations and water recycling systems.

The workshop convened NGIN members and invited guests from around the world for a day of collaboration to share best practices, discuss NGIN’s programs and determine how to take the network to the next level. Attendees to the NGIN Expert workshop included NGIN members and international representation from countries as far away as Canada, Mexico, China, Finland, Italy and Dubai.

Currently, the NGIN network works to connect premier cleantech innovation institutions in key markets around the world to create an interconnected network of organizations that support each other’s cleantech development and success. The goal of this workshop was to discuss the future of the NGIN network, which would involve both expanding the alliance to new markets, and also deepening the level of engagement with current members.

We extend a special thanks to our LACI hosts and new international acquaintances and we look forward to continuing to build on this type of engagement and explore opportunities for supporting each other’s bi-coastal and global cleantech initiatives.

Read more about our Partnership with LACI and the Network for Global Innovation (NGIN)