Cleantech companies polish their elevator pitches.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: TECHNOLOGY

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN CLEANTECH Open is nearing the home stretch, with the October .11 finish line of an awards ceremony coming into focus. Then there's the Global Forum in November--"the Academy Awards of Cleantech"--which will feature top companies form across the country competing for the $250,000 grand prize.

Under the umbrella of the Cleantech Open, the world's largest cleantech accelerator, there are 19 semifinalist companies that are semifinalists in the. Rocky Mountain region, most of which were represented at a three-clay training event at the University of Phoenix in Lone Tree August 13 to 15. Based in Colorado as well as Arizona, Utah and Montana, the regional semifinalists were selected in the spring, and many attended the Cleantech Open Academy earlier in the year. The businesses run the cleantech gamut from renewable energy to transportation.

The August regional training event consisted of lectures from experts on crafting business plans, financing and other areas of startup interest, as well as mock judging as participants gear up for the real thing in mid-October. One of the key areas of work: the elevator pitch, which culminated in a competition.

Jerry Healey, the region's training chair, says the pitches improved markedly over the course of the three-day event. "On day one, they were pretty rough," he said. "By the third clay, they were amazing."

Paul Sim, CEO of Phoenix-based Solar Pool Technologies, won first for his elevator pitch concerning his company's solar powered pool-cleaning robot. "We make swimming pool owners love their pool again," he said, touting a two-thirds reduction in electricity used by minimizing the need for pumps. "There is just an amazing amount of resources for a small company like us that I wouldn't be able to access if it weren't for the Cleantech Open."

Thomas Reilly III, VP of research and development for Fort Collins-based...