Comments on: Welcome David Gold

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:01:18 +0000

Hi from France,
I think that efficiency stocks can be a very interesting investment…even ‘boring’ companies that develop or sell insulation for example.
Wave power is also very interesting. Oceans hold a huge amount of energy.
I see many of the benefits of solar or wind going to mainstream utilities. One imagines that many speculators have seen the discount that many solar stocks are currently selling at compared to all time highs…and are salivating with thoughts of returning to those levels. (i.e. Solon or MEMC).
This is a fantastic website and a great resource. Many thanks for sharing your research.
Regards
Richard

By: Tom Konrad

Tom Konrad — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:29:20 +0000

Leadership is important, and especially so the smaller and less profitable the company is. VC firms invest in startups that often have less than 20 employees, so the people they do have are absolutely critical.
When I read David’s article about people, it made me think I should be paying more attention to this elusive quality, but the places where it matters most will be the microcaps, like the geothermal companies OTHER than Ormat.
I have not looked at Ormat’s management at all, but my impression of New Flyer is that they’re extremely sophisticated in terms of financial management… skills necessary to run a business like New Flyer, less so for a startup.

By: D_Lane

D_Lane — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:56:18 +0000

Welcome to Mr. Gold! I look forward to learning from him.
I noticed that he seemed to fully agree with your conclusions, Tom, about the potential of Geothermal. His emphasis on the people behind a venture makes me wonder about the leadership of firms highlighted on this blog, such as New Flyer and Ormat.