Ziv Rozenblum Discusses Sustainable Housing at EntreTech Forum
Ziv Rozenblum, Ekotrope
On April 16th EntreTech held a forum entitled Financing The Business of Sustainable Housing and its Technology. The forum provided a platform for entrepreneurs to share their insights. The diverse set of panelists presented a synopsis of their company's core competencies. Founder and CEO Ziv Rozenblum was invited to speak along with a panel of other CEOs and founders from 360Chestnut, Blu Homes, OSRAM Sylvania, and Faze1. The moderator was Fred Browne, Managing Principal of Aristata. These companies have created software to optimize home design (Ekotrope), a green-knowledge base for consumers (360Chestnut), prefabricated modular homes (Blu Homes), LED lighting (OSRAM Sylvania), and customer analytics for solar market intelligence (Faze1). We caught up with Ziv to ask about his impressions of the panel.
You talked about practicing sustainability but not selling sustainability, please elaborate.
When I speak with clients I don’t use sustainability rhetoric because it can't substitute for the bottom line of revenue and profit that our clients want to reach. I want to help my clients achieve those first. However, for some clients, sustainability has added value to their projects, such as the Green Key Village in Florida.
Innovation seems to be a commonality between the panelist’s companies. Share why you think innovation can help the home building industry.
I think that, in many times, innovation is about bringing what has been developed in other industries to an existing industry to improve one or more aspects of it. Innovation is also about having courage to try doing something different not because it’s different, but because it’s better. Many of the panelists did not start out in the building industry. Part of why they are innovative is because they bring their unique experiences and knowledge to the building industry to help improve various aspects of it.
What other panelists were you impressed by and why?
I was quite impressed by Dr. Makarand H. Chipalkatti from OSRAM Sylvania and his insights into the LED lighting market. What I learned from him is that the lighting market is currently undergoing a revolution as big as when Thomas Edison first invented the incandescent light bulb. Not only are LED lights becoming mainstream but the way lighting is done may change with LEDs. Currently, the way we see things is through reflected light from an object. With LED there’s the potential to have the object emit light for us to see. This can lead to drastic improvements in efficiency and versatility in what lighting can do.
Any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
Have courage and do something you are passionate about. Focus and pragmatism are especially important in the beginning stages. In my experience with investors I have found that you may be able to get small amount of funding based off of a great pitch or idea, but if you want more than that you will need a solid business plan and clients to show the investment firms. Getting that first client is always the hardest but it is also the most important. Also, have fun, and enjoy the ride.The EntreTech Forum is held monthly at Constant Contact, Reservoir Place, in Waltham, MA. It is a great place to learn about technology innovation, business ideas, and network with industry leaders. If interested please contact Gates Ouimette at EntreTech Forum.