Are you curious about the behind-the-scenes of growth-stage venture capital deals? Join Greentown Labs at the Ion for the next workshop in the Houston Ion District Investor Activation Program! In this session, we’ll be learning from our friends at Vinson & Elkins about growth-stage venture capital deals and the key terms investors, startups and their lawyers negotiate over the course of a VC transaction.

Together we will learn directly from Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, Ellen Wilkirson, a Houston-based growth-stage investor, and Michael Gibson, an Austin-based growth-stage and M&A attorney.

The Houston Ion District Investor Activation Program is helping to build an equitable startup ecosystem capable of rapid deployment by addressing a fundamental challenge: the region’s lack of funding for early-stage climatetech startups, especially for those led by underrepresented founders.

This program from Greentown Labs and The Ion brings early-stage investors from Greater Houston—a region playing a pivotal role in the energy transition—into the fold, offering education on climatetech investing, channeling a pool of capital to young startups, and catalyzing a thriving startup investment ecosystem that prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion. Join the program here!

About the Speakers:

Michael P. Gibson | People | Vinson & Elkins LLP

Michael advises clients on strategic and capital-raising transactions across a broad range of industries, including technology, renewable and sustainable energy, transportation and manufacturing. Michael has extensive experience with minority and growth equity investments (including preferred equity and convertible debt financings), as well as acquisitions, dispositions and sale-of-the-company transactions, and corporate reorganizations. He also regularly advises on corporate governance, securities law and other general corporate matters.

Michael represents a wide variety of enterprises, from public and private companies and their boards of directors, to private equity investors and their portfolio companies, and venture capital investors and emerging growth companies.

Michael was selected to be included in the BTI Client Service All-Stars list in 2022, where a client interviewee praised Michael in saying that he “is always on top of things for us.”

Trevor Best:
Trevor Best is the CEO and Co-Founder of Syzygy Plasmonics. Syzygy is pioneering a new type of chemical reactor designed to produce industrial chemicals at lower cost and with fewer carbon emissions. Their novel technology is driven by light rather than heat, enabling a substantially more efficient process. Critically, Syzygy’s technology supports energy security and expansion through resource efficiency. Recent publications show Syzygy’s core components can be made without using rare earth materials, adding to the company’s value as a sustainable technology provider.

Before starting Syzygy, Trevor worked for the oilfield services company Baker Hughes. There he held a variety of management positions and gained expertise in technology development, project and personnel management, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance. He is originally from Midland Texas and is a graduate of Texas Tech University.

Ellen Wilkirson:
Ellen is a Managing Director at Freestone, a partnership with Tailwater Capital, where she is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing investments in the energy transition and circular economy spaces. Prior to Freestone, Ellen served as a Vice President at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P, focusing on public and private investments in midstream and renewables. Prior to Kayne Anderson, she served as an investment banker in the Global Energy Group at Credit Suisse. Ellen began her career in the assurance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers, and she is a CPA in the state of Texas.

• Questions? Please reach out to Greentown Labs’ Director, Investor Program, Jackie Firsty (investorprogram@greentownlabs.com).