Seattle Biodiesel has closed a $2 million investment from strategic investors including Ignition Venture Partner and new Chairman and CEO Martin Tobias.
Tobias, who spent more than 15 years in operating roles in technology companies including CEO of Loudeye and six years at Microsoft, expects Seattle Biodiesel to turn profitable before the end of the year.
“Martin Tobias has an outstanding track record of identifying emerging industries and helping to build great companies,” said Cameron Myhrvold, a partner and founder of Ignition Partners. “Martin’s passion for the renewable fuel industry, his strong desire to reduce the United States’ dependency on foreign sources for oil, and his business acumen make him a natural choice to lead Seattle Biodiesel and accelerate the company’s growth. It’s an honor to have a venture partner from Ignition assume the role of chairman and CEO of a company whose impact may effect generations to come.”
“As a venture capitalist I’ve reviewed over 1,200 business plans and none have had the impact on me as what I saw from Seattle Biodiesel,” said Martin Tobias, CEO and chairman of Seattle Biodiesel. “I firmly believe the world has enough inventors solving software problems, but there aren’t enough people solving this country’s energy dependency on foreign oil. John Plaza and his management team have done an exceptional job bringing Seattle Biodiesel to life and now it’s time to take it to the next level.”
Founded in 2003, Seattle Biodiesel is the first company in the Pacific Northwest to operate a commercial scale (over 5 million gallons a year) and an American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) certified biodiesel refinery. The mission of Seattle Biodiesel is to produce a gallon of biodiesel cheaper than a gallon of petroleum and dramatically reduce the U.S.’s dependence on foreign sources for fuel.
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