The filming for ‘The Good Entrepreneur’ has calmed down now, so I have had a chance to catch up with my normal schedule. Not that there is much that is normal about it. However I did dream the other day that I did not wear matching shoes during the shooting in Copenhagen!? Only time will tell.

Meeting Craig from Modcell the other week got me thinking. Instead of competing against each other, we should all collaborate to make a low energy showcase. Come on CNBC, surely you must need some new offices?

Craig has got the construction method sorted with Modcell, while Marco can install the water system. We have the cooling, ventilation and heating covered. What else do we need? With so many great entries to the competition we must be able to cover everything.

Back to reality, and we have been following up all the leads from the show last week. On a personal note I find it very motivating listening to customer’s problems and seeing how we can help. We have made some great contacts through this competition and the trade show from keeping offices fresh and healthy to a few wildcards, like keeping chickens cool.

We have been very lucky to develop a relationship with Workspace PLC (www.workspacegroup.co.uk) and are currently negotiating a roll out with them, following the successful trial of our units in two of their sites. Workspace has a real pull from their customers who expect air conditioning as standard in their offices, but they have a very strong environmental policy. So it’s great to hear that they want to ban the installation of normal air conditioning systems and install ours as the alternative. Especially when they own so many buildings in the London area!

The final pitch is getting closer now. I guess I should be feeling nervous, but that can wait until there are 7 cameras pointing at me and all those lights. Both Shai Agassi and Andy Brough my mentor and stress tester offered to help with the pitch, so I think it is time to take them up on their offer.

Normally I would research the judges but I have actually heard of them all before. It’s going to be quite an honour to pitch to them and I am looking forward to some tough questions.

Last week we officially launched the Artica system at the Energy Solutions Expo at London Olympia.

The event started with a last minute dash across London in a van not quite big enough to fit everything in. We also had the first production unit fresh from our suppliers and some custom ‘plinths’ to display it on. By the time the first visitors arrived most of the paint had dried!

The Energy Solutions Expo is the UK’s fastest growing event dedicated to clean, efficient, sustainable, renewable and alternative energy solutions for businesses. The show is attended by a variety of professionals from the building industry including architects, building consultants and facilities managers.

This was Artica’s first trade show and pretty much went according to plan. The only hitch with the event was that the organisers thought it was a good idea to run a free bar, under the pretence of ‘networking’.

The reaction from visitors to the stand was excellent. It was a great pleasure to explain to people how the system works and our audience seemed genuinely interested. We now have a number of potential installs with a wide range of clients, including schools and hospitals to a range of commercial applications such as offices and airports.

Some engineers and facilities managers seemed skeptical of the systems performance, ‘it seems too good to be true’, or wanted to know ‘what’s the catch’. This is a common problem with any innovative and disruptive new technology, however there was an overriding sentiment across visitor demographics that the Artica system was very impressive, something that has massive potential and was an exciting product. All we have to do now is satisfy all the interest we generated!