Dan Griffin's Blog
Comments on security, PKI, smart cards, cryptography, and entrepreneurship.
NWEN ESIF 2006
April 29, 2006
I attended the Northwest Entrepreneur Network’s Early Stage Investment Forum 2006 this week and saw some pitches from many Pacific Northwest companies who are doing some amazing things. One noticeable factor that struck me was the variety of industries represented by these companies. Of course the PacNW has a major computer technology presence, but the influence of coffee, aerospace, and transportation was clear as well.
- I sampled a short cup brewed by The Coffee Equipment Company via what I presume was a Clover brewer. The brew was very strong - like French press on steroids. I highly recommend that you try coffee brewed that way at least once, especially if you’re one of those people who might enjoy knowing what good coffee actually tastes like (hint: not like a Starbucks latte). Keep an eye out for this company and their brewing equipment, and don’t be surprised if you start to see it at high-end cafes and in gourmet home kitchens. (Full disclosure: the coffee was so damn strong that I couldn’t finish it, but that’s probably because I usually drink decaf and I’d already had too much that day, anyway.)
- Okay, so my aerospace example is wrong, since ADI Thermal Power Corp isn’t actually in that biz. But their President did work at Boeing for 20 years (and the prerequisite intellectual critical mass for significant innovation in mechanical engineering, such as the following, must have come from somewhere :)). I’m not able to find a website directly affiliated with ADI, but here’s a reasonable description of their product, which is a high-efficiency Stirling engine. My mental model of the product is this: consider the diesel engines that power the refrigerators of many convenience stores. Now suppose you can replace those diesels with an engine that’s quiet, cleaner from an emissions standpoint, and 10 - 15% more fuel efficient. And, as I understand it, much of the efficiency and affordability gain is due to patented technology owned by ADI. What really struck me about their pitch was the assertion that, given the forecast size of the so-called "Distributed Power" electricity generation market, this is a billion-dollar opportunity.
- Finally, check out Charter Bus America. They’re taking the historically manual, paper-driven, and slow process of generating quotes for bus rentals and automating it online. I keep thinking back to some of the employee morale events organized by my previous employer, for which the group administrators would have to charter a small fleet of those huge travel coaches. Apparently, the process of even getting current pricing information from some individual bus companies took days. This is an example of one of those problems just screaming for a web-based solution, and when you hear about it, all you can say is, Duh! Anyway, CBA’s pitch was really solid, and they’re well-positioned to capitalize on a heck of an opportunity.
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