San Diegans have caught the bug for alternative energy and clean tech, but questions remain of how startups will secure sufficient funding and how more advanced technologies will reach their intended markets.

Ruprecht von Buttlar, director of commercialization programs at high-tech and life sciences nonprofit trade organization Connect, said those are the questions best answered by seasoned professionals who have been there, done that.

For 14 years, Connect has been introducing experienced entrepreneurs to less seasoned entrepreneurs to teach them how to pitch their ideas to investors in 15-minute presentations.

The three- to five-month program is free to applicants who qualify, although von Buttlar said all applicants are at least eligible to present their ideas to Connect’s panel of experts.

“We do not turn anyone away without giving them advice,” he said.

Since its inception, Springboard has assisted more than 300 technology companies in starting and funding their operations. More than $600 million has been raised and about half have remained in San Diego.

New Outlook

This year, Connect’s Springboard program is reaching a different audience than past years.

“We are very strong on life sciences and the high-tech part, but we’re also now increasingly attracting alternative energy or clean-tech companies as well as sports and action types of companies,” von Buttlar said.

One such sports technology startup, SportsTV, is developing a program to allow high school and college athletes to showcase themselves on television, a potential tool for recruiters to scout talent.

Others are looking at ways to build a business of biofuels, capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by providing an alternative to fossil fuels.

Omnitek Engineering Corp., based in San Marcos, partnered with Connect to help it advance its efforts in converting gasoline engines into electronic fuel injection, which, when converted, would allow the engines to run on compressed natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas or hydrogen.

The emphasis on clean technologies and alternative energies has been a constant topic of conversation in economic circles, where the emphasis has been on attracting the right mix of industries to San Diego.