Monmouth University graduate Joe Hede spent more than 24 years working for top investment banks in the United States before becoming a venture capitalist. A partner at Rocket Strategies, Inc., Joe Hede invests in clean technology. Cleantech is an investment philosophy that focuses on companies that seek profit from developing efficient and environmentally-friendly technologies. When the term was first coined in the early 2000s, it encompassed companies in the solar, wind, water purification, and biofuel spaces. Today, cleantech has expanded to include data-driven companies that seek improvements in operational performance and productivity while reducing material inputs, energy consumption, and pollution. These companies span various industry verticals including energy infrastructure, efficient transportation, water and wastewater, agriculture, and recycling. Though the philosophy sounds similar to green business, cleantech is different in that the former prioritizes sustainability while the latter seeks profitability through efficient operations. Cleantech investing was first popularized by Nick Parker and Keith Raab, who cofounded Cleantech Venture Network in 2002. Many investors turned to the emerging sector following the collapse of the tech bubble in 2001.
Joe Hede is a respected Connecticut entrepreneur who leads Rocket Strategies Inc. and provides investment solutions as head of the Venture Capital Fund. A consistent contributor to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, Joe Hede supports an organization working to find a cure to a disease that profoundly impacted the last decade of his father’s life. A recent Los Angeles Times article brought attention to a new approach to Alzheimer’s therapy involving the use of sound, in combination with light, in inducing gamma oscillation brain waves. With the pulsating buzz and gently flickering light synchronized at 40 times a second, the test mice had neurons in their brains’ memory circuits start humming at a specific frequency. Just a week of an hour a day of 40 hertz sound and light therapy caused mice with advanced dementia to regain cognitive abilities associated with memory, such as completing mazes for rewards.With no breach of the skin, researchers hypothesize that special cells are being recruited in the brain that promote healing and help correct faulty signaling associated with Alzheimer’s. In particular, microglia immune cells, newly energized, enter and begin “vacuuming up” the protein tangles and sticky plaques that cause the disorder.
A cofounder of the venture capital firm Rocket Strategies, Joe Hede has more than two decades of experience in providing his clients with investment opportunities, primarily in technology and health care. His client base includes other venture capital firms, family companies, and high-net-worth individuals. Outside of the office, Joe Hede enjoys mountain biking in the New Jersey Highlands, which includes the following trails:- Six-Mile Run. Maintained by the Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association, Six-Mile Run was designed for riders of all levels of experience and is one of the most beloved trails in Central Jersey. Riders should anticipate a mix of terrain across five trails.- Eagle Rock. Located near Montclair and West Orange, this 10-mile trail is a great place for beginners to test their skills on short descents with some rocks and roots. The singletrack trail gains and loses about 300 feet in elevation, for a total change of 601 feet.- Thompson Park. Just outside of Jamesburg, this trail system may be short, but its continuous hills will keep your heart beating. There's a lot to explore after your ride, too, like a disc golf course and zoo.
Joe Hede, an investment banking professional with more than 24 years of experience, has worked at several top institutions, including Roth Capital Partners, Wachovia Securities Network, and Paulson Investment Company. The co-founder of Rocket Strategies, Joe Hede helps CEOs, CFOs, entrepreneurs, and other executives participating in venture capital funds.Although both hedge funds and venture capital funds have the primary goal of making money for participating investors, the way these two funds accomplish good returns varies significantly.Most hedge funds focus on investing in one or more asset classes, such as stocks, commodities, foreign exchange, or distressed debt. These investments are made using a pooled fund created by every investor involved in the hedge fund. Once investors put money into the fund, that money must remain for at least one year before the investor can make a withdrawal.To ensure their investors enjoys good returns, hedge fund managers use multiple strategies designed to increase investor alpha, or active return. Since these funds have fewer SEC regulations applied to them than other funds, fund managers have greater flexibility to grant investors high returns. However, it also means that only accredited investors can participate in a hedge fund.Meanwhile, venture capital funds focus on investing in small and startup companies, particularly those operating in the technology industry. Once the investment is made, venture capital funds generally receive a significant stake in ownership of the business, ensuring they receive sizable returns when the startup is sold or files an initial public offering. This method also means investors in venture capital do not receive returns for several years.
