Investors

B. Greg Mitchell, PhD is a Research Biologist and Senior Lecturer at the University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO).

Dr. Mitchell received his B.S. degree with Honors in Aquatic Biology and Special Honors in Botany from the University of Texas at Austin and his PhD in Biological Oceanography from the University of Southern California in 1987.

Dr Mitchell’s expertise is in physiological ecology of photosynthetic microalgae and he has extensive experience with renewable energy projects and companies through his work as a founding member of the Board of Directors of the Algae Biomass Organization. He a founder and investor in a technology start-up focused on automation of laboratory systems.

From 1990-1992 Dr. Mitchell served as NASA Program Manager for the Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry Program and as Program Scientist for NASA’s SeaWiFS and MODIS ocean color satellite missions. For more than 2 decades Dr Mitchell has promoted mass culture of algae to mitigate CO2 and wastewater nutrient loading, and to create biomass for fuel and animal feed.

His current work focuses on optimization of yields of bioenergy molecules in algal growth, numerical modeling of algal yield optimization and design of closed and open photobioreactors that optimize yields.

Dr. Mitchell serves on the Board of Directors of the Houston Advanced Research Center, the Algae Biomass Organization, and the San Diego Center for Algal Biotechnology.

For over 25 years Walton Mitchell & Co. has provided start-up capital to early-stage ventures in diverse fields including life sciences, medical, traditional & clean energy, and transportation.

Perry Lorenz is a 50 year resident of Austin, Texas and has been actively involved, primarily as a principal, in the purchase, sale, development and management of downtown Austin real estate since 1977. Lorenz has
formed and served as managing general partner of numerous partnerships involved in the development and redevelopment of downtown properties, with a recent emphasis on inner city residential projects.
He, with partners and through CVI, of which he is a founding principal, has
developed more than 1000 condominium units in mixed use projects throughout Central Austin, including Spring, BartonPlace, Este, The Pedernales, Saltillo Lofts and The Independent.

Lorenz holds Bachelor of Arts and MBA degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Affiliations include 15 years as a member and past Chair of The City of Austin Design Commission, which promulgated the City of Austin’s Downtown Design Guidelines, past Chair of the City of Austin Downtown Commission, and founding president of The West End Austin Alliance, a coalition of business, real estate and neighborhood interests on the western edge of Austin’s Central Business District. He is a past-president of the Board of the Hill Country Conservancy and former Trustee of St. Stephens School. He is married to Sheridan Lorenz and has two grown daughters.

Two Seven Ventures, LLC is a private equity company that invests in low-carbon energy technologies and resources. Two Seven was founded in 2008 and is based in Aspen, Colorado. We provide early-stage capital to companies with high growth potential, strong intellectual property, or a unique operating advantage.

Two Seven Ventures invests in people, companies, technologies and resources that will accelerate society’s transition to lower-carbon energy use. We look for a strong business case in our investments and we appreciate opportunities that can claim a strong market pull, combined with an intellectual property or operating advantage. We typically invest in early-stage companies and then help where we can to see them through to positive cash flow and growth. We are active investors, using the experience and network of our professional staff to accelerate the growth the companies in which we have invested, lending a hand in corporate governance, and assisting in the shaping and launching of new products.

Two Seven Ventures’ investment philosophy is based our belief in inevitable trends. As CO2 emissions from fossil fuels increasingly perturb earth systems, and as human population doubles to 12 billion, with 80% of us migrating to cities, clean energy and more efficient food production will be a necessity and not a luxury. Economic cycles and political shifts will accelerate or delay the transition to a low-carbon energy economy, but the trend will be steady. Two Seven Ventures will make strategic investments within these trends. Of course, knowing the pace of change, and selecting winning technologies and companies, is the challenge. We will look to invest in companies with strategic operating advantages and, when appropriate, strong IP positions. Our investment strategy is to build a portfolio of companies balanced between development projects that generate cash flow and near-to mid-term exit opportunities, and longer-term investments to build value.