Ready for Business in the USA - update

Day one of our formal schedule, and it’s clear that this trip will be good value to UK plc, being partly subsidised by US companies interested in what we’re up to. First stop: the legendary HP Labs at Palo Alto, followed by a short trip south-east to Sunnyvale to meet with Serious Materials.

We start with a couple of hours of ‘master class’ briefings designed to hone our skills in communicating with potential investors, legal organizations, technology partners and so on. The sessions are fascinating and boost our confidence as we know we’re communicating in the same language as our contacts in the US. Certainly not as Churchill said: “Two nations divided by a common language”.

At law firm Orrick, we confronted some of the realities of gaining US investment in UK companies as we heard from lawyer Lou Soto. Typically investment can take a six month cycle, and US funds will require a US entity in which to invest, preferably with some assets in the entity. Later we were to hear from Jaclyn Mason at UKTI that around 50% of all cleantech venture capital is invested in California, and between 2006 and 2008 this amounted to $6.5 billion.

The top sectors attracting investment last year were: Solar ($1410m) and Biofuels ($985m), followed by: Automotive (£553m), Batteries ($445m), Green buildings ($143m) and Wind energy ($142m).  Naturally I’m pleased to see such a strong interest in battery technology!

One problem that can confront overseas companies, we were advised, is that personal networking is of crucial importance; a lot of business is done through contacts in San Francisco. To assist UK companies in overcoming this hurdle, the British Consulate can open doors, and offers a chargeable service (to ensure commitment and follow through).

The US media are receptive to cleantech stories, especially those involving hot topics such as ‘smart grid’, solar power or electric vehicles. Blogging and other forms of social media are heavily used and companies are recommended to have a point of view which they are prepared to air through for instance blogs and podcasts.

In case we were feeling a little daunted by the scale of the challenge in obtaining investment and doing business in this exciting world, social media expert Julia French gave us these inspiring words: “Don’t underestimate what you’ve already achieved by being here”. “Feel confident.”  I’m looking forward to Day Two already!