Tom Schulz

Tom Schulz is a serial entrepreneur, investor, venture consultant and philanthropist.

Tom focuses on early stage companies in the Cleantech and Internet industries. He is Managing Partner at the Cleantech Circle.

Cleantech Circle's partners are serial entrepreneurs and angel investors with a passion for Cleantech (renewable energy, air and water, energy efficiency, carbon sequestration). We create and invest in startup and early-stage companies, and we advise VCs and their portfolio companies on technology and strategy.

One of Tom's current projects is BioCee, an advanced biofuels startup out of the University of Minnesota. BioCee bridges the gap between microbiology and chemical engineering.

Prior to becoming an investor, Tom already had over twenty years of technical and business experience. He worked on computer languages at Digital Equipment Corporation's Western Research Lab in Palo Alto and artificial intelligence and multimedia projects at Apple Computer in Germany. Tom was a strategic management consultant for The Boston Consulting Group at their Munich and San Francisco offices.

In 1995, Tom co-founded the first publicly traded, nationwide Internet service provider in Germany, Cybernet AG, where he served on the executive management board.

After going public with Cybernet, he went on to become an angel investor with the Munich Business Angel Network. Tom currently serves on the advisory board of Earlybird Venture Capital of Munich and Palo Alto. He is member of The Angels' Forum, a professionally run investor group in Palo Alto which also manages the Halo Funds.

Tom's latest startup, Sageera Institute LLC, is an Internet-based marketing and publishing company. Tom also serves as advisor for Feeva Inc, Autonet Inc, TrustedOpinion Inc., LampDesk Inc., and other Internet and Cleantech companies.

Tom earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University and an M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany.

Tom Schulz’s Specialties:

Strategy Consulting, Coaching
Start-up management
Venture Capital Fundraising and Investing
Internet, Mobile Internet, CleanTech

Tom Schulz’s Experience

Managing Partner

Cleantech Circle, LLC

(Partnership; 1-10 employees; Renewables & Environment industry)

October 2007 — Present (2 years 5 months)

Cleantech Circle's partners are serial entrepreneurs and angel investors with a passion for Cleantech (renewable energy, air and water, energy efficiency, carbon sequestration). We create and invest in startup and early-stage companies, and we advise VCs and their portfolio companies on technology and strategy.
Co-founder

BioCee, Inc.

(Privately Held; Biotechnology industry)

June 2007 — Present (2 years 9 months)

BioCee Inc.’s mission is to enable the cost-effective and environmentally sound production of clean fuels, chemicals, and water treatment by harnessing the full biocatalytic potential of microorganisms. BioCee’s patented, biocoating innovation is a true platform technology that enables the development of novel applications of biocatalysts as well as making existing biocatalysts more competitive by reducing capital and operating costs. Founded in 2007, the company is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In October 2009, BioCee was among the first recipients of ARPA-E grants for transformational innovations in the energy sector.
Investor/Advisor

Trusted Opinion, Inc.

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Internet industry)

October 2006 — Present (3 years 5 months)

Trusted Opinion, Inc. is the first Internet rating and recommendation service which is based on real-life social groups. Our patent pending Social Recommendation Engine (SCREEN) is mimicking “word-of-mouth” and peer influence. Our website automatically produces product and service recommendations that are more relevant and more trustworthy than from any other rating and review site.
Investor/Advisor

Autonet Mobile, Inc.

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Telecommunications industry)

April 2006 — Present (3 years 11 months)

Autonet, Inc. is the world’s first high-speed network designed specifically for cars. Autonet turns the car into a Wi-Fi hotspot and delivers broadband connectivity, multimedia content, and location-based services & advertising to the front and back seats. Our advanced network and patent-pending IP platform enables seamless Internet connectivity as vehicles move between cellular towers and between high & low-speed networks.
In short, Autonet’s subscription-based service connects the car with high-speed Internet and delivers a rich user experience to both the front and back seat environments.
Advisor

Feeva Technology Inc.

(Internet industry)

February 2005 — Present (5 years 1 month)
CEO, Co-founder

Sageera Institute LLC

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Online Media industry)

September 2003 — Present (6 years 6 months)

Sageera is an Internet publishing and marketing company.
Member, Advisory Board

Earlybird Venture Capital

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

December 1998 — Present (11 years 3 months)
Founder & President

AlumniKaTH Silicon Valley

(Public Company; GOOG; Internet industry)

January 2008 — June 2009 (1 year 6 months)

Founded and led the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Alumni Association of the University of Karlsruhe (AlumniKaTH).
Angel Investor

European American Angel Club

(Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

January 2006 — December 2008 (3 years )
Angel Investor

The Angels' Forum

(Privately Held; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

September 2002 — June 2008 (5 years 10 months)

The Angels' Forum (TAF) is an early-stage investment organization comprised of 25 private equity investors who are supported by a professional financial services management team. TAF applies the rigor, structure, and portfolio management of traditional venture capital investing to earlier stage angel investing. The private equity investors affiliated with TAF (the "Angels") are all successful business executives and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds who share an interest in investing both time, as board members and advisors, and capital in promising early-stage companies.

The Angels' Forum only invests in Silicon Valley/Bay Area companies. Typical initial investments range between $100,000 and $1 million. Total investment in a company has reached $3 million.

The Halo Fund is a venture capital fund that co-invests with The Angels' Forum on deals that meet certain investment criteria.
Member, Management Team

Halo Fund II

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)

September 2002 — March 2008 (5 years 7 months)
Advisor

Lampdesk, Inc.

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Wireless industry)

May 2007 — October 2007 (6 months)

Advising the founding team on strategy and fundraising. Lampdesk was acquired in 2008.
Founder and Member, Board of Directors ("Vorstand")

Cybernet AG

(Public Company; 51-200 employees; ZNET; Internet industry)

December 1995 — December 1997 (2 years 1 month)

Co-founded first nationwide Internet Service Provider in Germany. Became the first public Internet company in Germany.
Founder, President

Infobahn International GmbH

(Privately Held; Internet industry)

January 1995 — December 1995 (1 year )

Founded and ran Internet consulting company in the days when there was no commercial Internet in Germany...
Strategy Consultant

The Boston Consulting Group

(Partnership; 501-1000 employees; BCG; Management Consulting industry)

January 1990 — December 1994 (5 years )

Joined BCG in the Munich office, and continued in San Francisco.

Tom Schulz’s Education

Stanford University Graduate School of Business

MBA , 1991 — 1993

Activities and Societies:

Entrepreneurship Club
Universität Karlsruhe (TH)

Diplom-Informatiker , (MS Computer Science) , 1981 — 1989

Diploma Thesis on "Hypermedia Expert Systems" under sponsorship from Apple Computers, Germany.

Activities and Societies:

AIESEC
Stanford University

Computer Science July 1985 — December 1985

Activities and Societies:

Exchange student at Stanford University, California; RISC technology, compiler construction, parallel computing; employee, Digital Equipment Corp., Western Research Laboratory, Palo Alto.
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich

Computer Science 1983 — 1984

Activities and Societies:

Exchange student at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Worked on compiler construction, artificial intelligence, MODULA-2, PROLOG.

Additional Information

Tom Schulz’s Websites:

Tom Schulz’s Interests:

Certified NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Practitioner, Marathon Runner, Cleantech

Tom Schulz’s Groups:

Mensa, Stanford Business School Alumni Association, Stanford Alumni Association, ETH Alumni, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Alumni Association (AlumniKaTH), German American Business Association (GABA), The Angels' Forum, European American Angel Club