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Mitch Black: Leading HG Ventures’ New Entrepreneur-in-Residence Role

Posted on by Joe Ball

Bringing Vision and Experience to New Entrepreneur-in-Residence Role


HG Ventures, the investment arm of The Heritage Group that partners with early stage to growth stage companies, recently appointed Mitch Black as the first-ever Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR). This new role highlights a fresh approach to venture investment, startup support and incubation within the company and represents a unique opportunity for both HG Ventures and The Heritage Group.

Traditionally, EIRs in venture capital are temporary leaders who step in to help startups grow or solve specific problems, often acting as interim CEOs or experts. Recently, though, the EIR role has changed. Instead of short-term help, EIRs are now seen as permanent team members, bringing ongoing value by advising, mentoring and supporting companies over the long term, helping them face different stages and challenges.

For The Heritage Group, this transformation in the EIR role aligns well with their New Ventures strategy, which centers around HG Ventures and their portfolio of investments. Founded in 2018, HG Ventures has made significant strides in supporting startups through investment and collaboration, focusing on innovation within and beyond The Heritage Group’s core markets. Over the past six years, the venture arm has invested in 35 companies, helping them develop transformative technologies.

As HG Ventures matures, their portfolio companies are evolving, each entering different stages of growth. This has led to a need for more structured and consistent mentorship, particularly for early-stage founders navigating complex growth phases. Mitch’s role as EIR will support this by providing hands-on guidance and commercial insights that complement The Heritage Group’s technical resources. His appointment represents an opportunity to deepen the support offered to portfolio companies beyond financial investment—by mentoring and advising on challenges that new and seasoned founders alike face.

For Mitch, this appointment marks a culmination of a career that has spanned a mix of entrepreneurial and executive experience that fits well with what The Heritage Group needs. He’s led several companies funded by venture capital and private equity, so he knows what it takes to grow a business from startup to successful company. While his background is in tech and software—different from The Heritage Group’s focus on hardtech—he sees this as a positive. His experience as a founder and leader gives him fresh ideas and practical advice, traits essential to the role he now holds. “I have found a lot more satisfaction in helping others through mentorship work over the years, and I decided this was the trajectory I wanted to take my career,” noted Mitch.

Mitch’s role as EIR represents an opportunity to elevate The Heritage Group’s venture ecosystem, as he supports HG Ventures and potential internal startup projects. His mission is to create value across the board, from mentoring young startups to advising growth-stage companies. This involves a broad range of activities—from helping companies refine their market strategies to advising on operational efficiency, financial planning, and positioning for exits. For him, success isn’t one-size-fits-all; it looks different for each founder and company. He aims to help businesses identify and pursue their unique paths to growth, ensuring that each leader he works with receives personalized, actionable guidance.

Ultimately, Mitch will serve as a bridge, connecting The Heritage Group’s technical expertise with the commercial insight and strategic direction needed for long-term success. “I have a lot of commercial experience, having been through the various stages in a business trajectory. I aim to be helpful to young entrepreneurs, challenging them to look at and think differently, so they refine their go to market strategy,” said Mitch.

This appointment is an exciting next step for The Heritage Group’s New Ventures division. It shows our commitment not just to funding innovation but to actively nurturing and scaling it through hands-on mentorship and strategic guidance. For Mitch, this role is a natural evolution, allowing him to leverage his years of experience to empower a new generation of entrepreneurs.

In the coming years, Mitch’s impact on The Heritage Group and its portfolio companies could set a new standard for how corporate venture arms support early- and growth-stage companies. His appointment underscores a growing trend in the venture world: that sustainable success requires more than capital. By bringing in leaders like Mitch, The Heritage Group is positioning itself as a valuable partner for startups, capable of offering both the financial resources and the mentorship required to help companies achieve their potential. For entrepreneurs within The Heritage Group ecosystem, this new EIR role may provide a crucial edge, offering them the tools and insights they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

 

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SolarCycle Announces New Recycling Facility

Posted on by Joe Ball

Cedartown, Georgia (October 31, 2024) – SOLARCYCLE, an advanced technology-based solar recycling company, today announced a 5 gigawatt (GW) recycling facility in Cedartown Georgia, in partnership with Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp.

The 255,000 square foot facility will have the capacity to recycle and recover materials from 10 million solar panels per year, enough to process an estimated 25-30% of the U.S.’s retired solar panels in 2030. It will initially recycle 2 million solar panels per year and scale as the company meets growing market demand for end-of-life solar services and domestic solar supply.

The facility will be adjacent to SOLARCYCLE’s solar glass factory, announced in February. The glass factory will be the first in the U.S. to produce specialized glass for crystalline-silicon (c-Si) photovoltaics and will have the capacity to manufacture 5-6 GW of solar glass every year. SOLARCYCLE will employ more than 1250 full-time employees across both locations once the campus reaches full capacity.

“As Georgia continues to lead the nation in attracting jobs from emerging industries, we’re thankful SOLARCYCLE is moving up creation of these opportunities in northwest Georgia, benefitting that entire region’s economy,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “I want to thank our local and state partners who made this accelerated growth in Polk County possible, and I look forward to its impact in the years to come.”

“We are pleased to accelerate our work in Cedartown, Georgia in response to continued demand for solar recycling. By scaling recycling and solar glass manufacturing through a vertically integrated process, we are filling a critical gap in America’s solar supply chain and closing the loop for domestic solar manufacturing,” said Suvi Sharma, CEO and Co-Founder of SOLARCYCLE. “We thank Governor Kemp and the Biden-Harris Administration for their success driving clean energy policy forward. Their leadership has made it possible for the industry to grow operations in the U.S. and bring good jobs and meaningful investment to local communities as a result.”

To support the acceleration and expansion of the SOLARCYCLE circular economy campus in Cedartown, the company welcomes Microsoft to its roster of strategic investors, which includes Fifth Wall, HG Ventures, Prologis Ventures, Closed Loop Partners, and Urban Innovation Fund.

“The transition to a net zero economy will require massive deployment of renewable energy solutions at scale,” said Brandon Middaugh, Sr. Director of Sustainability Markets at Microsoft. “It’s important to us that companies like SOLARCYCLE are developing innovative solutions for ensuring that the raw materials required for this build out and deployment are returned to the supply chain.”

The facility will debut SOLARCYCLE’s next generation recycling process which will have the capacity to recover up to 99% of PV materials and is optimized for bifacial C-Si panels. This state-of-the-art closed loop process is significantly more flexible and scalable than previous recycling solutions while achieving much higher value and mass recovery rates.  Current recyclers are using the same technology platform for both monofacial and bifacial panels, which is extremely inefficient and leads to much lower quality recovered materials. Recovered materials from this recycling facility will be manufactured into new solar glass at the adjacent factory and sold directly back to American solar manufacturers to fill a critical gap in the country’s solar supply chain. The company has long-term partnerships with more than 70 of the nation’s largest energy companies to recycle and recover value from retired solar panels.

SOLARCYCLE currently operates facilities in Odessa, Texas and Mesa, Arizona. The new recycling facility is move-in-ready and will be operational mid 2025. The adjacent glass factory will be operational in 2026. SOLARCYCLE is hiring full-time jobs in manufacturing, engineering, management, research and design, and support staff. Open roles are available at www.solarcycle.us/careers.

 

About SOLARCYCLE, Inc.
SOLARCYCLE is leading the growth of the circular economy for solar in America. The company partners with the nation’s largest asset owners and manufacturers to recycle solar panels, recover valuable materials, and make key components for the next generation of solar panels and clean energy products. Through its circular economy solutions, SOLARCYCLE enhances the sustainability and resiliency of the solar supply chain in the US. Learn more at www.SOLARCYCLE.us.