Tag: entrepreneurs sttrategy

How This Entrepreneur Raised $1 Million and Is Leading an Energy Revolution Before Age 30

The path of the entrepreneur is a bold one. At every stage of the journey, you continually make bold decisions and take bold risks.

This has certainly been the case in my journey as a founder. We started a smart home company (in 2013) when everyone said we were crazy. We saw the vision and moved toward it in the face of uncertainty and risk.

When I was starting, I identified other leaders who were making bold decisions. It helped to feel like I was not alone along the path. I followed entrepreneurs accomplished their goals, and other young leaders blazing a new trail. I recently encountered an inspiring story that demonstrates just how bold we can be.​

Ugwem Eneyo is the co-founder and CEO of Shyft Power Solutions, an energy technology company that’s working to enable an energy revolution for underserved consumers in emerging markets. Eneyo, a graduate student at Stanford University, and a member of Forbes 30 under 30, has secured more than $1 million in funding from investors and participated in the 2019 Ameren Accelerator program. GreenBiz named her a 2019 VERGE Vanguard honoree to recognize her dedication to helping advance Nigeria’s energy infrastructure.

Personally, I feel inspired by Eneyo’s bold ambitions to create solutions in an emerging market with a nascent entrepreneurial system – especially in an industry as demanding as energy. I interviewed her to learn more about her role in energy, Shyft’s path to raising money and how accelerators can be a beneficial platform for entrepreneur success.

1. How did you get interested in energy technology?

Ugwem Eneyo: My family is from the Niger Delta, a region that suffered negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts as a result of the extractive industries. After directly seeing the challenges and how they affected my family and communities in the region, I became keenly interested in the nexus of energy, environment and development.

I actually spent years working as an environmental and regulatory advisor in the oil and gas sector, trying to mitigate the impacts and drive change from within the organizations. I eventually left to pursue my M.S. and Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, still focused on the theme. Shyft Power Solutions is a byproduct of my work at Stanford.

2. How was your experience in your industry different as a Nigerian-American?

Eneyo: There’s an increasing interest within the industry around solving energy challenges in Nigeria and, more broadly, emerging markets. The local knowledge is often an overlooked critical asset in doing so.

My previous work in the industry, and in emerging markets, shows that it’s often non-technical issues that cause projects to be delayed or fail. The intimate local knowledge allows for an understanding of people’s values, culture and thought processes, and that can better inform how we solve problems and how we deliver solutions. This has certainly been the case with Shyft Power Solutions.

3. What approach did you take when raising money for your business?

Eneyo: In the early stage, I leveraged grants and non-dilutive capital, given the longer and more capital-intensive development timeline for building industrial-grade hardware. We also raised traditional venture capital, as well as funding from strategic corporate investors.

The corporate venture capitalists played a key role in our fundraising strategy, as they often had more market knowledge and connections, which complemented the primarily U.S.-based traditional venture capital. And Shyft Power Solutions received $100,000 in seed capital through our participation in the Ameren Accelerator this year.​

4. How did your experience with the 2019 Ameren Accelerator program advance/benefit your business? What’s your relationship with Ameren and the accelerator now that the program has ended?

Eneyo: The Ameren Accelerator, alongside the Ameren employees who served on champion teams as mentors, provided important technical and business development expertise that offered valuable and unique insight into how Shyft’s platform can add value to utilities at scale. Part of our longer-term planning required Shyft to have better insight into utilities, and we were able to leverage Ameren in the process.

Although the accelerator has ended, my team and I have remained in contact with many of our technical champions, who still provide advice and references. Additionally, the accelerator program team has remained supportive, still introducing us to valuable startup resources.​

5. How do you see the energy technology industry changing? What changes would you like to make?

Eneyo: In emerging markets, there will be a leapfrog over traditional central energy infrastructures; instead, we will see digitization and decentralization of energy infrastructure that may work alongside whatever central grid is available. The flexible and intelligent use of distributed energy resources will be necessary to make this possible, and Shyft is developing the technology to do so.

I want to see clean, reliable, and affordable energy for all — urban and rural — and want to see energy demands being met by rapidly growing emerging markets. I’m excited to be leading an organization that’s at the forefront of this energy transition in markets like Nigeria.

By Andrew ThomasFounder, Skybell Video Doorbell

@andrewthomas

261 subscribers

Source: How This Entrepreneur Raised $1 Million and Is Leading an Energy Revolution Before Age 30

Who Got Rich This Week: Zuckerberg, Bezos And Three Other Billionaires Gain $13 Billion Combined

Mark Zuckerberg has had plenty of difficult days in the past year, but this past week was a good one for him. The Facebook CEO’s net worth jumped $5.5 billion in the week through Thursday April 25, mostly due to investor glee about the $2.4 billion in first quarter profit that the social media firm reported on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old is worth $71.3 billion, $20 billion more than at the beginning of 2019. He is now the 5th richest person in the world, up from No. 8 in March when Forbes published the annual world’s billionaires list. The positive quarterly earnings report overshadowed news that Facebook is setting aside as much as $5 billion to pay a fine to the Federal Trade Commission over privacy issues.

Zuckerberg’s gain was by far the biggest of the week, but he is in good company. The fortunes of Zuckerberg and four other tech billionaires, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, rose by a collective $13 billion in seven days.

A day after Facebook released its first-quarter earnings report, Amazon announced a quarterly profit of $3.6 billion, an all-time record for the e-commerce giant. Amazon’s share price rose 2.2% in the week through Thursday, causing Bezos’ net worth to surge by $3.2 billion. The 55-year-old CEO, who owns a 16% stake in Amazon, is now worth $157.8 billion.

Bezos announced earlier this month that he will transfer approximately 4% of the company’s stock to his wife, MacKenzie, as part of their divorce settlement, which is expected to be completed around early July. Jeff Bezos would still be the world’s richest person while MacKenzie will become the third-richest woman.

WE Day California

Steve Ballmer retired from Microsoft in 2014, but he’s still its largest individual shareholder.

2016 Getty Images

The net worth of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO, rose $1.7 billion in the week through Thursday as the software giant’s share price increased by 4.7%. Microsoft smashed earnings estimates with a quarterly revenue of $30.6 billion, boosted by its commercial cloud business, which has grown 41% year-over-year. Ballmer, Microsoft’s largest individual shareholder, is now worth $48.3 billion. Cofounder and former CEO Bill Gates only owns just over 1% of shares, having sold or given away most of his stake in Microsoft, but the stock uptick did bump his net worth by $600 million.

Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, is now worth $40 billion after gaining $1.4 billion in a week due to a 6.6% stock uptick. Last December, the computer maker returned to the public market six years after Dell took the company private. Dell Technologies’ market capitalization was $46.7 billion as of end of day Thursday, up from its $34 billion listing. Dell’s net worth has nearly doubled over the past 12 months.

Larry Page, the cofounder of Google and CEO of its parent company Alphabet, got $1.1 billion richer, with an estimated fortune of $57.6 billion. Shares of Alphabet, which will report its first-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Monday, have increased 2.2% since last Thursday. It has been a busy week for Alphabet’s “Other Bets.” Wing, which became an independent Alphabet business last summer, recently got approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to deliver goods by drone. Wing plans to start drone deliveries in Blacksburg, Virginia, later this year. Loon, which uses high-altitude balloons to provide internet access to remote areas, raised $125 million from a SoftBank subsidiary on Thursday.

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Hayley C. Cuccinello

Forbes Staff

I am a wealth reporter at Forbes. Prior to joining the wealth team, I oversaw the Forbes Media and Entertainment section for nearly three years as Assistant Editor.

Source: Who Got Rich This Week: Zuckerberg, Bezos And Three Other Billionaires Gain $13 Billion Combined

Entrepreneurs: Remember That Who You Spend Time With Is Who You Become – Chris Myers

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This past weekend, I had the incredible pleasure of watching my best friend, Dr. Andrew Wolf, graduate from medical school. This was a tremendous accomplishment, made even more impressive by the fact that he managed to pick up four additional degrees in the process.

Andrew and his twin brother Eric have been my constant companions for the better part of twenty years. We grew up together, facing the same challenges and navigating many of the same opportunities. Throughout all of it, he was a constant positive influence and pushed me to be my very best.

While watching him graduate, I realized just how big of an impact he has had on my life and just how vital it is to surround yourself with people who both challenge and elevate you.

This, of course, is particularly important for entrepreneurs. The old maxim that “Whom you spend time with is whom you become” holds true in business just as it does in life. We often distinguish our business and personal lives, convincing ourselves that it is okay to be one way at the office and another at home.

The truth is that there is no such separation, and to think otherwise is pure folly.  Personal consistency is all we have, and therefore must surround ourselves with people we trust, respect, and admire in every aspect of our lives. Doing so will not only make you a better person but a better leader.

Find a tribe that raises you up

Life can be lonely for entrepreneurs or leaders of organizations, as there aren’t many direct peers they can lean on for support. Interactions with other CEOs tend to become ego contests, where everyone is desperate to prove their success and brilliance.

The result is not only off-putting, but it also poses an active threat to your soul as a leader. Early on in my role as the CEO of BodeTree, I went out of my way to connect with other startup CEOs in an attempt to develop a network that I could lean on when times got tough. Unfortunately, I failed to realize at the time that startup founders can be some of the most insecure and miserable people you’ll ever find.

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The tribe I found myself part of envied each other’s successes and continuously sought validation while tearing down those around them. I’m ashamed to admit it, but after a while I found myself adopting the same behaviors. I was becoming a person I did not want to be.It was only after coming to this realization that I began to distance myself from the group and instead found mentors and friends from different walks of life.
While they rarely had to deal with the exact issues I faced, they were still able to offer insight and value, and I was able to do the same for them. Most importantly, these were people whom I trusted, respected, and admired. My interactions with them made me better, not worse.I should have realized this earlier because of the friends I grew up with and the positive impact they had on my life, but I fell victim to the fallacy that there was a separation between my personal and public experiences. Fortunately, I was able to correct the situation before it got out of hand.

Remember that attitudes are contagious

We often forget that attitudes are contagious, particularly when it comes to business. If a leader surrounds themselves with bad influences, they run the risk of picking up bad behaviors. As leaders, the implications of this extend beyond just the personal; they spread throughout your entire organization.

I’ve been a CEO on paper for about eight years, but it has only been in the last three or so that I feel I’ve earned that title. Before that, I was a CEO in name only, flying by the seat of my pants and stumbling from one crisis to the next.

Early on, one of my most damaging mistakes was thinking that my team didn’t  pick up on my moods or pay attention to my attitude. I falsely believed that my emotions started and ended with me, when in reality they set the tone for the entire team.

When I was anxious, the team was concerned. When I was mad, frustrated, or aggressive, those sentiments flooded into the team as well, coloring their interactions with each other. It took me a few years, but I eventually realized that I had a higher responsibility as a leader.

I could no longer indulge in my mood swings or even share my feelings in the same way that someone else could. I had to modulate my responses and set the right tone for my organization at all times.

As usual, this was easier said than done. Despite what I’d like to believe, I’m no superman. I fall victim to the same temptations and challenges like anyone else. To master my emotions and set a positive tone for my company, I had to have a group of people around me who strengthened me and provided both insight and accountability when I faltered.

Seek out people you want to emulate, be of value, and learn from them

In the end, I realized that I had the answers I was seeking all along. Just as my tribe of friends helped me to survive and thrive adolescence and early adulthood, I needed to have a tribe of mentors and peers who could do the same in my career.

Finding these people can be difficult. There is no secret formula for success, despite what anyone tells you. Instead, all you can do is seek out people you want to be like, offer them value, and do your best to learn from them. Building these relationships isn’t easy, and it certainly isn’t fast, but it is worth the effort.

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