Newsletter // GreenBuzz Oct. 5, 2009 :: How to Get Your Green Startup Funded, A Look at the World's Greenest Company, and More...

We're blessed with a large and diverse audience that includes most Fortune 500 companies along with thousands of smaller firms -- more than a few of which are start-ups seeking funding. Which is why I am grateful to Anna Clark for her advice-rich feature, The Secrets to Getting Your Green Business Funded. In it, she probes venture capitalist Bryan Korba for inspiration and insight into how start-ups get funded, at least by VCs.

The bottom line, you may not be surprised to hear, is that green startups aren't treated any different from non-green start-ups, at least from an investor perspective. Which makes sense: Only a small handful of investors are willing to discount their expectations or lower their standards because of a company's social mission. (There is, however, a fine group of "patient-capital" investors that fund values-driven companies that could take longer to become profitable than is acceptable to conventional investors; the Investors' Circle is one such group.)

In the end, any startup, green or not, has to have some fundamental qualities: a good idea, ideally with some intellectual property or "secret sauce" that will ward off competitors; a management team that knows how to build and run a company; a rock-solid understanding of the targeted market (business plans that make broad claims like, "Our market is all 85 million LOHAS consumers" usually are among the first to get dumped); and a demonstrated understanding of what it will take to get from business plan to market.

Anna's piece offers lots more advice: eight investor turn-offs, nine key points to cover in a business plan; six things to keep in mind when you first get funded; seven key characteristics for a start-up CEO; and more. Check it out.

Green Marketing Webcast: The response to our upcoming webcast, The Green Marketing Landscape: Ratings, Labels, and Certifications, has been overwhelming -- so much so that we may have to close registration soon. If you're interested in learning the latest insights into how to ensure that your products and claims are on the mark -- quantified, verified, and communicated ethically and effectively -- this is for you. It promises to be a rich hour. Did I mention that it's free?

Coming up: Next week, we'll be launching an innovative new monthly index on green consumer confidence. Stay tuned!

This report from Kanal Consulting focuses on practical ways that organizations can implement sustainability to improve the bottom line and the environment. 

The latest book from Interface founder and chairman Ray Anderson offers tips and insights from what is arguably the world's most forward-thinking and sustainability-minded mainstream company.

How can companies ensure that their messages comply with legal requirements, customer expectations, and effective marketing strategies? Join a conversation among a panel of experts moderated by GreenBiz.com executive editor Joel Makower, including Stephen Wenc, president of UL Environment, and Suzanne Shelton, president of the Shelton Group, and Brooks Beard, a partner at Morrison & Foerster, about the ins and outs of green marketing effectively and legally in today's marketplace.