I really do believe that by working together we can create a world which is sustainable, beautiful, elegant and harmonious with nature.

Featured:  Victoria Betancourt, President and Founder of Coneybeare Cleantech

Company Info:  Coneybeare Cleantech is a full-service recruitment leader in the sustainable technology and renewable energy sectors, offering retained and exclusive contingency recruiting, direct hire and contractor placements, consulting and training services as well as reference checks. Employers may hire us to connect them with great employees, independent contractors or consultants. Our team offers training in practices related to employment and sustainability.

Coneybeare Cleantech’s recruiters, who have built a robust employer and candidate network, produce superior results and make the process of finding and placing premier talent seamless. Our world-class services are customized to each client’s individual needs, whether they are a start-up company or Fortune 500 corporation.

Headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., we also have offices in San Francisco and Colombia, South America.
Beyond recruitment and consulting services, Coneybeare Cleantech is a leader in the clean technology movement. Our mission is to build a more sustainable future for the coming generations by connecting the right people with the right opportunities at innovative companies in renewable energy and clean technology sectors.

Ultimately, recruiting is all about connecting people. Exchanging ideas and forging relationships that serve this goal are our core values.

BusinessInterviews.com:  What inspired you to launch your business?

I really do believe that by working together we can create a world that is sustainable, beautiful, elegant and harmonious with nature.

My background is in recruiting and architecture, and I created Coneybeare Cleantech to be all about sustainability by bringing together talented people who share our vision to create “heaven on earth.” All of the technology and resources we need to solve our most pressing problems with climate change currently exist. Through our events and conferences, and through connecting people to companies and technologies worldwide, we can help create the future we desire.

BusinessInterviews.com:  What issue does your core product help solve and how so?

Our core service is recruiting people to work in renewable energy and clean technology companies. This is one way we can facilitate our greater vision of spreading knowledge and innovation about sustainability. After all, it’s people who will create the solutions and technologies we need to thrive.

Other than recruiting, we host events where thought leaders share the innovations that are driving us forward. People come to learn and mingle in a relaxed, salon-like setting. The events are educational and a great way for people in sustainability to network. We give workshops on various topics as well.

BusinessInterviews.com:  What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you/your Company?

I am excited to define Coneybeare Cleantech in a different way from how people typically think of recruiters or headhunters. My personal mission to spread sustainability in an inspiring and rewarding way drives the company. My favorite part of what I do is meeting some of the most interesting people on the planet – doing the coolest, most innovative and worthy things – and helping them move their technology and story forward using our network.

At our last conference in May 2015, we brought a tiny company from the Netherlands to Irvine, Calif., where the founder showed, for the first time in the U.S., how to generate electricity from living plants. The company actually harvests electricity from the soil around the plants, which is a waste product from living microbes. It is completely free of any negative environmental impacts and produces electricity day and night. Now, we are trying to help them get a demonstration project going in California

Beyond that, I also am creating a “sustainability demonstration project” in Colombia, South America, in the coffee region where I own a small plot of land. We practice permaculture and sustainable building practices, and I hope to sample several types of sustainable innovations and hold workshops on them.

BusinessInterviews.com:  Where do you envision your company in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

In the next five years, I envision expanding into South America, as we are already working with clients who want to build or broaden their presence in the region.

I hope my “sustainability demonstration project” in Colombia will become a true model for how we can live beautifully, without damaging the earth or depleting our resources. It is also a type of architectural playground for me.

Beyond that, I hope to continue to connect remarkable people with each other and innovative technologies that will yield profits while making the world a better place.

BusinessInterviews.com:  What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs and business owners? What do you wish someone told you?

There are a few nuggets of wisdom that I learned early on from my mother and mentor:

• The No. 1 rule in business is “never run out of cash.”
• Make it your own – if you have a business, you get to define it any way you chose.
• Nothing is ever as good as it seems or as bad as it seems.

Also,  I wish I could have told my younger self to lighten up!