I write this on a Sunday evening – a time for reflection. It’s been a busy week – starting in London for 3 days of filming and meeting my mentors, followed with my trying to catch up with my normal workload in Malta and ending with a football game with 5-year olds as part of my nephew’s birthday party celebrations.

I travelled to London on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by my wife Jo. We arrived at our hotel late in the evening, with just enough time to pop out for dinner at an Italian resturant. I was picked up the following morning to meet the first of my mentors, Jeremy Leggett. A geologist by training, Jeremy began his career as a consultant for the oil industry. He later became an environmental campaigner for Greenpeace before evolving into a social entrepreneur and author. Jeremy Leggett is the founder and is currently executive chairman of Solarcentury, the UK’s largest independent solar energy company. My meeting with Jeremy went smoothly; the sun was out and we had the opportunity to have our discussion on Solarcentury’s roof which is a showcase of his company’s products. Jeremy and I have a lot in common; both of us are ex-environmental activists who have put our money where our mouth is and started up businesses in the environmental sector. However Jeremy’s experience is wideranging and his achievements too numerous to list; his shelves are groaning under the weight of the awards his company won but as he says ‘None of them have gone to our head’- despite the fact that Solarcentury is the fastest growing energy company in the UK. Jeremy’s main advice to me was that I should invest in good people, and especially in a good financial controller. In his view, engineers we can easily get engrossed in the technology, to the detriment of the financial aspects so it’s important ‘to get the numbers right’.

My afternoon meeting was with a ‘stress-tester’, Liam Halligan of Prosperity Capital Management (UK) Ltd. I must admit that I was very anxious in the run up to this meeting. ‘What does a stress-tester do? How does one prepare oneself to meet a stress tester?’ I asked myself. The tension oozed away as soon as Liam and I shook hands and he addressed me by my first name. We had a short discussion off camera and I was pleased to note that Liam had studiously read my business plan and taken notes. The conversation with Liam centred on intellectual property (IP) and what I should do to protect my idea. It was reassuring to get to know that although IP is a huge bonus (especially when it comes to attracting big investors) the project idea could run without having any IP. And the fact that Liam put so much emphasis on protecting the idea leads me to understand that he thinks the idea is worth protecting in the first place. Liam recommended that I immediately determine whether the HOTER project has any IP worth registering.

Back at the hotel I met Jo (who had a relaxing day in Kensington Gardens), and we dined at yet another Italian restaurant.