Stanford MBAs Fail to Ask EEStor Question

A group of Stanford University MBA hopefuls gathered together recently to waste each other's time by asking a collection of run of the mill dumb questions at a Kleiner Perkins & John Doerr presentation. From what I can tell by skimming through the video, no one at Stanford has any sense at all. Ok, there was a tiny bit of common sense in the crowd but it was starved for oxygen. So, non Stanford alums, walk tall today because you saved quite a bit on your education and are probably in much better shape as a result.

Yes, it is necessary to be critical of smart people who have an opportunity to ask smart questions but fail to do so! Had "the EEStor question" been asked, we might be in a more tolerating mood this great Monday morning! Now, let's show our Stanford friends how we get down to business.

Skip to 12:00 and examine the Green Fund Portfolio which includes the "stealth capacitor" investment. MUHAHAHAAHAH!!

We know who the stealth capacitor company is. One of the stealth battery companies is Fortu. Not sure about the stealth battery company and the stealth vehicle company.

A stealth vehicle company? V-Vehicle? Can't be them because they are out of stealth unless you are suggesting Kleiner partners are too lazy to update their powerpoint slides.

Special thanks to an alert reader who sent this video to me!

EEStor Dream Dinner Guests to Assemble for Electric Car Panel

Imagine you could have dinner with anyone related to EEStor (but outside of EEStor & Zenn) and engage in a riveting discussion about EEStor. Who would you pick and why? How about William Ford Jr., who has held discussions with Ian Clifford of Zenn Motor Company? Or, what about Jennifer Granholm, the governor of Michigan who recently supported Zenn Motor Company's DOE application for a facility to be built in Michigan. Or how about Kleiner Perkins' Ray Lane, whose name is listed as the primary point of contact on SEC documents related to EEStor ownership?

I don't know about you but that would be appetizing conversation for sure. Add to that a representative from the Edison Electrical Institute, which would call to mind the last debacle of electric cars due to an intentionally set battery factory fire, and you'd have the makings of one fascinating discussion.

Well, you won't be having these people over for dinner any time soon, I'm afraid to say. (yes, wake up). But! You can catch these persons of interest Oct 19 & 21 at the 2009 The Business of Plugging In conference at the opening session.

If you attend this event and allow these fine individual to escape without discussing EEStor, you are a fool. Let me help you formulate the first question for Ray Lane:

1) Ray, according to filed lobbyist records of Fabiani & Company, Kleiner Perkins companies Fisker, Fortu and V Vehicle have all had lobbying performed on their behalf. Is there some reason why EEStor is not also represented?

Zenn/EEStor Article in Globe and Mail

I've been following EEStor long enough that I no longer link to just any article that appears with the keyword 'eestor' in it. But, I think Steve Ladurantaye's article on EEStor deserves a link due to the effort he put into it. First, he somehow got Kleiner spokeswoman Brianna Woon to indicate that EEStor is in stealth mode. Kleiner Perkins CB has never made a public statement about EEStor ever (TMK)....until that quote, if you take Woon to be a spokesperson for KPCB. Kleiner Perkins contracts certain aspects of media relations to Burson-Marsteller, Woon's employer. Personally, I love the quote he has captured. I've spoken to Woon in the context of groveling for an interview with a KPCB partner. Time after time, I've been turned down. But of all the Kleiner people I've ever actually spoken to, Woon is by far, leagues above the rest in terms of courtesy and passion for her role. However, I suspect her job may now be at risk given the incredible silence from Kleiner on the topic of EEStor.

Secondly, I love what Ladurantaye has captured in terms of the skeptical quote from the University of Waterloo's Linda Nazar:

“Silence doesn't have to mean they haven't discovered something useful, but it often means things don't work the way they perhaps expected.”

To invoke such a statement, I imagine Ladurantaye must have said something provocative and thick such as, "EEStor has been so quiet. They must have what they claim." :-) Note to Nazar: go spend 8 years working under Arthur Von Hippel at MIT and we'll talk. (She's a chemist with a background in lithium ion research, according to her website).

But, you have to give Ladurantaye HIGH PRAISE for capturing a truly classic EEStor quote from Maxwell's John Miller, (not that John Miller): "I'm perplexed by any sort of suggestion that they are in any way one of our competitors." Miller cites production volume, existing sales and probably 457 other things that Maxwell does now that EEStor does not. But of course, those 457 things don't matter if EEStor has what they say they have. So Miller's perplex-ion is well placed if not mistated.

Yes, Ladurantaye screwed up the discussion of "fierce online debate" by not mentioning by name TheEEStory.com but he can be forgiven, this one time.

Prior to his article's publication, Ladurantaye exchanged a few emails with me. I can tell by his article's omissions that he didn't understand some of the information I provided him. Not to worry, for now, it's slated for the documentary.

Unstealthing Kleiner Perkins' Fortu Powercell: Kleiner helped them seek DOE Battery Funds

Via yet another determined reader of TheEEStory.com, a new stealth Kleiner investment has come to light. This time, it required a FOIA request to the Department of Energy to learn the list of applicants for advanced battery development funds.

The complete list is a whos who of battery upstarts, established players and wannabes. It is currently located at TheEEStory.com.

Since Kleiner has been so generous to me in regards to my numerous requests for comment on EEStor, it does make me chuckle a bit to be able to help uncloak yet another of their investments hiding in stealth. :-)

The DOE document lists Fortu Powercell Inc., as having an address of Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers of 2750 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025. The POC listed is Mr. Alan Greenshields. From their website, it looks like this is a German company. http://www.fortu.de/

According to the forums website, RCGroups, Fortu uses a lithium chemistry consisting of Lithium-Cobalt-inorganic technology.

HHHhhhmm. Backing a German company for funds designed to grow a domestic battery industry. HHHhhhhmmm, not commenting on the EEStor investment. HHHhhhmmm.

Anyone at Kleiner care to clear any of this up for inquiring minds? Email: eestorblog@gmail.com


Here is one of their patents.