Founders
Oliver Guinness
Co-Founder, Managing Director
Oliver manages the investment and portfolio activities for Clearpoint Ventures and serves on the firm's investment committee. Prior to Clearpoint, Oliver advised companies on energy technologies, policies, and risks, both independently and as a consultant for companies including The Economist, Economist Intelligence Unit, and Greentech Media. Projects ranged from assessing the economics and environmental and security risks of different energy technologies for Chevron to advising companies on renewable energy markets in Germany, Spain and the US.
Prior to that, Oliver developed a for-profit telecom company and related training program in South America with funding from the World Bank and USAID and directed business development for a Silicon Valley startup that raised $13 million from Credit Suisse. Oliver started his career working in corporate finance at Merrill Lynch and Greyrock Capital where he focused on growth stage companies. He completed the Venture Capital Executive Program at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, has a Masters in International Affairs and Business in Emerging Markets from Columbia and a degree in Economics from Cornell. Oliver is also a Special Advisor to YouthActionNet, a signature entrepreneurship program of the International Youth Foundation.
Jimmy Balodimas
Co-Founder, Senior Advisor
Jimmy serves as both a Senior Advisor and member of Clearpoint's investment committee. He has deep investment experience working with public and private companies across various industries including cleantech and energy. Jimmy is an equity partner at First New York Securities where he actively trades over $50 million, sits on the boards of various private companies, and is an active angel investor with over 25 investments. He graduated from Williams College with a Degree in Economics and is involved in numerous foundations and charities.
Clearpoint has been a strong strategic backbone, forcing me to think big picture while also focusing on the details and execution. They know what it takes to build great companies in our industry.
Oliver Guinness is the rare investment professional whose deep understanding of the human-side of business is matched by a sophisticated approach to building sustainable companies.