An investor who brings more than cash
Dan Morrell, who is 38, is the founder of Future Forests. Before establishing the company he worked in the music and advertising business.I met Alexander Schwedeler for the first time when we were looking for second round financing at the end of 2001. It was an important time for the company. I was really hungry to build up the business and I felt that we had a real window of opportunity to do so. I was very keen to have Triodos as an investor and not just for their money. Triodos has deep specialist knowledge in the renewable energy business and I knew its standing in the green community would provide an important endorsement of our green credentials.Of course, the irony is that you always feel that you have not raised enough money even when you have raised ￡1.35m. When I set up Future Forests, I didn’t know that the carbon offset market was going to be so big: the World Bank predicts that it will be 1 per cent of gross domestic product by 2008.I would have preferred to have had ￡20m behind the business in order to create the biggest impact and to help people redress the climate crisis. Alexander and I have a very good working relationship and we get on well. His drive and his deep understanding of the climate change business have been vital to the development of the company. He has, for example, helped us understand the crucial importance of organic farming for climate change, and now we are developing products for this market. And he has made available his network of contacts in the green community, which has been invaluable. Alexander and I have had differing viewpoints when it comes to growing the business. I am absolutely passionate about Future Forests and spreading the message about carbon neutrality. I see my role as an entrepreneur as making the best case for business growth and pushing the company to seize every opportunity.But Alexander’s approach has been more conservative and he has focused on cutting costs and achieving steady growth. This has been frustrating but it is inevitable and it has not damped my enthusiasm.By the middle of 2003, I was becoming pretty stretched, time-wise. I was doing several people’s jobs, I was working from 7am to 11pm and I was in Los Angeles for several months of the year. Dealing with operational issues from Los Angeles meant getting up in the middle of the night to run management meetings by phone. All this was bad for business and bad for my health. And it made me very unhappy. Yet passing over day-to-day operational control of a business something into which I put my heart and soul for five years has been an extremely difficult thing to do. But Alexander and the other investors have helped me to make this transition. Now, of course, I realise that it is absolutely brilliant to be able to pass over the operations of the business to Jonathan Shopley, who has exactly the kind of business skills the company required. I have commuted my role into a brand-building and promotional one. I can focus on tracking new opportunities, finding high profile supporters for the “carbon neutral” cause such as Coldplay, Leonard di Caprio and Roland Emmerich (who made the blockbuster The Day After Tomorrow) and focus on corporate marketing.You hear lots of stories about founders and venture capitalists falling out. So I feel rather blessed really. I feel that we have been very lucky. If we had had aggressive investors who were looking to get their money out immediately, there might have been problems. As it is, our relationship works very well and it has been hugely valuable to Future Forests.
投资人带来的不仅仅是资金
未来森林公司（Future Forests）的创办人丹?莫雷尔（Dan Morrell）今年38岁。在创办这家公司之前，他曾任职于音乐和广告行业。
在2001年末，当我进行第二轮融资时，第一次遇到了亚历山大?施韦德勒（Alexander Schwedeler）。当时，公司正处于一个关键的时刻。我急于拓展业务，我感到正好有机会能够做到这一点。我非常希望英国Triodos银行能做我们的投资人，我这么想不仅仅只是想得到他们的投资。Triodos银行在可再生能源业务方面有着深厚的专业知识，而且我知道，它在环保社区的地位能为我们的环保资格提供某种认可。
当然，具有讽刺意味的是，即使当你已经筹措到135万英镑的时候，你还会感到资金不够用。当我创建未来森林时，我并不知道碳冲销市场（carbon offset market）会有这么大：世界银行预测，到2008年，该市场的收益将占国内生产总值的1％。
我真希望能为公司带来2000万英镑的资金作为后盾，这样就能产生最大的影响力，并帮助人们消除气候危机。
亚历山大和我有着良好的工作关系，我们彼此相处融洽。他在工作方面干劲十足，而且对气候变化这一行业非常在行，这两点对公司的发展至关重要。比如，在他的帮助下，我们明白了有机农业对气候变化的重要性，因此目前我们就在研发这个市场的产品。另外，他还让我们共享他在环保领域的人际关系网络，这是相当宝贵的。在公司业务发展上，我和亚历山大之间有过分歧。我对未来森林怀着满腔热情，到处宣传将二氧化碳排放量降为零的碳中性（carbon neutrality）信息。作为企业家，我认为我的角色是尽力为公司寻求最好的发展，并抓住每一个机遇。
但亚历山大的行事方式则较为保守，他把精力集中在如何削减成本，并让公司取得稳步发展上。这会让我感到无奈，但这是不可避免的事，我的热情也不会因此有所减退。
在2003年中，我感到在时间方面压力很大。我一个人干几个人的活，从早上7点干到晚上11点。一年当中我会在洛杉矶待几个月。在洛杉矶处理业务就意味着在午夜起床，打电话主持管理会议。这么干对公司不利，也有害我的健康，而且令我很不开心。这5年来我在处理公司日常业务上投注了全部心血，但要把这项工作转交他人去做，对我而言绝非易事。然而亚历山大和其他投资人帮我顺利渡过了这一难关。当然，现在的我已经意识到，把公司日常业务的工作交给乔纳森?肖普雷（Jonathan Shopley）处理绝对是个明智之举，因为他正好具备公司所需要的这种经营技能。我已经完成了角色转换，开始打造品牌，宣传公司。现在，我可以关注公司营销方面的事务，集中精力寻找公司发展的新机遇，为“碳中性”这一事业找到高知名度的支持者，比如酷玩乐队（Coldplay）、莱昂纳多?狄卡普里奥（Leonard di Caprio）以及罗兰?艾默里奇（Roland Emmerich）（罗兰?艾默里奇是大片《后天》的导演）。
现年40岁的亚历山大?施韦德勒是Triodos 创业投资公司的高级基金管理人，他被未来森林公司的精力、热情和信念所打动。
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你也许听到过许多公司创办人和风险资本家最终失和闹翻的故事。所以，我感到犹如得到福星高照，我觉得我们非常幸运。如果我们的投资人咄咄逼人，急于收回投资，那么也许就会有麻烦了。但事实上，我们的关系非常融洽，这对未来森林而言实在极为难得。
