The ACTION network connects cleantech incubators across New England to support green businesses and job growth. It aims to accelerate startup success through collaboration between incubators, universities, investors, and other stakeholders. The network provides startups with services like office space, prototyping facilities, funding assistance, and introductions to potential partners and customers.

1. The region’s network of cleantech incubators
Joan Popolo, Programs Director, ACTION
jpopolo@actionnewengland.org
Massachusetts Green Careers Conference
October 1, 2014
Business Incubators

2. Who Are We?
The region’s network of cleantech incubators
•Our Mission
•Our Geography
Our unique regional network includes a range of incubation models,
industry and academic affiliations, resources and expertise to
collectively meet the needs of our members’ companies

3. ACTION’s Mission
Support green
job growth in
the Northeast
3
Accelerate the growth
and success of early-
stage companies
Strengthen the
regional cleantech
cluster

4. Our Geographic
Distribution
4

5. Special call-out to our friends at
Barb Finer, Founder & CEO, barb@techsandbox.org
www.techsandbox.org
for their efforts in organizing a CleanTech SIG!

6. What Does ACTION Do?
Supports Incubators
Supporting Cleantech Startups
We help our members accelerate their startups’ success by
augmenting programs, facilitating resource sharing and best
practices among them, and connecting & collaborating within
the greater cleantech ecosystem.

7. Our network of incubators provides diverse resources
and a highly supportive hub where
entrepreneurs
business leaders
government agencies
community leaders
investors
universities & others
collaborate toward the successful commercialization of
enterprises that will build a prosperous green economy,
improve the quality of our lives and sustain the health of
our environment.

8. Our Benefits and Services
8
For Incubators
 Peer-to-peer networking to develop best practices for
incubator management
 Pipeline of cleantech startup referrals to incubators
 Engineering, prototyping and manufacturing resources
 Sharing of specialized equipment and facilities
 Group discounts – professional memberships, conferences
 Investor introductions and funding opportunities

9. ACTION can help find the incubator that best fits the needs of your cleantech startupACTION can help find the incubator that best fits the needs of your cleantech startup
Considering Business Incubation?
Our Startup
Referral Program
can help find the
incubator that best
fits the needs of
your cleantech
company
 Assistance in seeking grant & investor funding
 Mentoring
 Co-working , shared or private office space
 Wet lab facilities
 Prototyping Space
 Advice on engineering & manufacturing resources
 Peer-to-peer networking and connections to the
regional cleantech ecosystem
 Highly discounted market research reports
 Funds for grant-writing assistance
 Discounted conference fees
 Business and product development programs
 ACTIONPass for short-term meeting space
What Our Network Offers Entrepreneurs

10. Cluster Building
• Regional Concentrations of Related Industries
• Establish consortium of stakeholders within a region
• Who are the stakeholders?
We Believe in the Importance of Building
Regional Community Networks
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Incubators
Universities
Service providers, Banks
Accelerators
Chambers of Commerce
R&D facilities
Investors
Manufacturers
Makerspaces
Industry organizations

11. Some of our Key Stakeholders
11

12. Our Impact
$47K
ACTION negotiates group discounts for its members
to conferences and professional organizations.
GRANTS TO STARTUPS
Our performance is measured by the value of benefits and services we
provide for our member incubators and their startup companies
IN-KIND
SPONSOR SERVICES
GROUP DISCOUNTS
INCUBATION AWARDS
STARTUP REFERRALS
$47K
80+
>$500K
$300K+
>$68K
ACTION’s Startup Referral Program provides a pipeline of
introductions between startups and incubators for best fit
matches for companies. See our Startup Referral Brochure
Short-term incubation awards are made available on a
competitive basis for promising early-stage startups.
ACTION and its partners provide startups with grant-
writing assistance, market research reports and funding
through grants.
Our sponsors generously provide legal, accounting,
marketing, pitch coaching, advising, software packages,
travel subsidies, and HR services for startups.

13. Where the (green) jobs are
Job Offerings:
Next Step Living – 59 jobs
EnerNOC – 55 jobs
National Grid – 64 opportunities
Northeast Utilities -46 openings
Ameresco -10
Bridge Energy –12 jobs
Conservation Services Group-15 jobs
Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners -
12
Fraunhofer – 14 positions open
Etc..
Seeking talent in:
Engineering, technical
Customer service
Sales
IT services
Business and finance
As reported in a recent New England Clean Energy Council blog post (Kevin Doyle),
an analysis of job offerings from just 50 NECEC member companies shows:

14. Where are the Green Careers in the ACTIONetwork?
For Students
•Paid internships for students within ACTION incubators or startups
-marketing and communications, events planning
-business analytics/database mgt
-technical support
•Volunteer opportunities with incubators or partner orgs
-learn about incubation, entrepreneurship, and the greater cleantech ecosystem
•Cleantech startups hire talent as they grow (slowly)
For Industry Experts
•Incubator Mentor opportunities – industry executives provide sector-specific
expertise to cleantech entrepreneurs.
•Positions within startups– tech development and deployment of green technologies,
all business services
•Journalism -writing and reporting on greentech
•Partner and quasi-gov’t organizations -program development, marketing, finance

15. Case Study-

16. Thank you for your interest in
Cleantech Business Incubation
and ACTION !
www.actionnewengland.org
jpopolo@actionnewengland.org