Gary Simon is the guru of Sacramento's clean-tech startups
Source: Sacramento Business Journal
For more than 20 years, Gary Simon has been helping Sacramento-area clean-tech entrepreneurs navigate one of the toughest startup sectors around.
Now that work is being recognized,, Gary Simon has been named a Sacramento Inno Award honoree by the Sacramento Business Journal, recognizing his contributions to innovation and entrepreneurship in the Sacramento region.
For those of us involved in the local startup ecosystem, the recognition highlights something important: great startup communities aren't built only by founders. They're also built by the people who spend years helping those founders succeed. We’re fortunate to have Gary in our ecosystem.
More Than 20 Years Supporting Clean Tech
An energy industry veteran, former utility executive and former consultant with Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Simon understands energy markets, science and the complicated regulatory environment surrounding clean technology.
Since 2005, he has put that experience to work supporting clean-tech companies in the Sacramento region. Through CleanStart, Simon has helped entrepreneurs with educational programs, investor introductions, pitch competitions, workshops and mentoring…and much of his advice is provided to founders for free.
Franklin Burris, an executive working in economic development and partnerships with the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), described Simon's impact.
“When Gary does his CEO crash course, he is offering startups such important information. You can’t sit down with him for a few hours and not gain so much,” Burris said.
Burris went even further.
“If Gary introduces us to a company that he thinks is interesting, that is something that we have to take seriously,” he said.
His description of Gary?
“He’s like an oracle.”
Gary's Advice:
“Go After the Free Money First”
In startup terms, that means looking for non-dilutive funding—capital that doesn't require founders to give up equity in their companies. That can include grants, government programs and other initiatives supporting promising energy and efficiency technologies. It's particularly important in clean tech.
A software founder might be able to build an MVP with a couple of developers, laptops and cloud services. Clean-tech founders can face expenses for hardware, manufacturing, testing, certifications and pilot projects before they know whether their technology can scale.
Sacramento also has a unique advantage. We're close to California state government and agencies such as the California Energy Commission, California Public Utilities Commission and California Air Resources Board.
Understanding how to navigate that ecosystem can potentially mean the difference between an interesting technology and a viable company. That's where experience like Simon's becomes valuable.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
Simon began working in the energy industry in 1984 and eventually became a senior director at Cambridge Energy Research Associates, where he headed global electric power.
He later worked with what is now Eversource Energy and power innovation company Acumentrics Corp. before retiring in 2009. Simon also earned a master's degree in ecology from UC Davis.
But retirement apparently didn't mean sitting around doing nothing.
Instead, Simon continued working with entrepreneurs and helping build Sacramento's clean-tech ecosystem.
For years, Simon and the CleanStart team also compiled the CleanStart Progress Report, tracking clean-tech companies in the region and the number of people they employ.
That's important because clean tech can be a difficult business.
Energy projects and manufacturing can require significant amounts of capital, and individual companies sometimes fail. The Progress Report helped look beyond individual successes and failures to measure something bigger: whether the overall regional clean-tech ecosystem was growing.
Startup Ecosystems Need People Like Gary
There's a lesson here that goes beyond clean tech. We spend a lot of time in startup communities celebrating companies that raise millions of dollars, launch new products or have successful exits.
But behind many of those companies are mentors, investors, educators and ecosystem builders who have spent years making introductions, reviewing pitch decks, answering questions and helping founders avoid expensive mistakes. They don't always get the headline. This time, Gary does.
Congratulations to Gary Simon on being named a Sacramento Business Jouranl Inno Award honoree!
After more than two decades of helping clean-tech entrepreneurs test ideas, find funding, make connections and navigate a complicated industry, it's recognition well deserved.
