The Green Frog from Silicon Valley

From high-tech to the water industry: do you know Booky Oren?

One saying in the high-tech industry is that sharp executives "don't take prisoners". The level of competition is intense, and there is a fine line between success and failure. Yet, many executives find themselves unfulfilled after a succesful exit or a solid career. So what to do if you want to do good while keep doing well?

Move from the high-tech to the water sector for example, like Booky Oren did twelve years ago, and have an impact on one of the greatest world's challenges. I first met with Booky Oren in Canada last year. I caught with him earlier this month on his way to the UK. He is traveling the world to enlist partners to not only compete with innovative technologies but to also collaborate to solve the water conendrum.

Mr. Oren is one of the architects behind the vibrant water technology market in Israel, which has spurred succesful companies like Takadu and leads the world in water re-use. He was the Chairman of the WATEC conference last November, which drew 28,000 visitors from 104 countries. His composure is not unlike the one of a general, and he clearly has a vision for the water industry.

From educated entrepreneur to innovating in education: do you know Geoff Ralston?

The word “education” in California is usually associated with teacher unions who supported the election of Jerry Brown against the former CEO of eBay, Meg Whitman.   Innovation in education seems to be an oxymoron. Actually, the most viewed TED Talk today with 10 million hits is from Sir Ken Robinson who contends that schools kill creativity.

A number of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are trying to help schools do the contrary. And the trend is starting to hit the media with the recent inclusion of Salman Khan among Time’s 100 most influential people. Geoff Ralston (picture above) is a business angel who would like to see more education start-ups popping out of garages. After he sold his last company to Apple in 2009, he launched Imagine K12 along with two other start-up veterans who believe that technology can transform education.

Angels to women: do you know Brigitte Baumann and Stephanie Hanbury-Brown?

Despite the rise of women executives at the head of some of the largest US corporations and most powerful foreign countries, there are still few women entrepreneurs in high-tech. There are even fewer women investing in early-stage companies. Not that they lack the smarts or the courage to start a business; we all have experienced these qualities in many women in our lives. The difficult choices needed to balance family life and a career, as well as the limited vocations in the scientific field, are the most common explanations.

For the International Day of Women, we decided to talk to two women who started a business angel network. Brigitte Baumann is the founder of Go Beyond in Geneva, and she is the President of the Board of EBAN, the European trade association for Business Angels and Seed Funds. Stephanie Hanbury-Brown has been a Managing Director at Golden Seeds since its inception in the New York City in 2004. They accepted to share their experience, and allowed us to go beyond stereotypes. They are, in the true sense of the word, angels to other women.