Lessons of an Industry Startup

As we have stepped through the CEGEN Green Energy evolution to the working designs we have today, here are the five challenges and actions we took (and some lessons learned) that myself and the CEGEN team have learned about being an industry startup.

1.      How to understand the market?

Do your homework in the beginning! Once we had the idea sketched out on something other than a napkin, we went to the leaders of the energy industry for their comments and feedback. This helped us tighten our generation targets, better understand that industry’s challenges of power supply and needs on gas compression facilities.

 This exercise also helped us better identify other benefits to the operations of a facility and tightened our design parameters to minimize operational impacts and forecast industry objections.

2.      Who to work with?

Get the right people on the team early! You need believers in the early stages of development. As much as you need the right technical people, you need the right cheerleaders too, focused on solutions and the goals not the challenges.

Cut out any naysayers early before they influence the believers

3.      When to reveal? Get out there early, often and with passion!

We started early once our designs were protected, to get the word out of what we were working on! We presented at conferences, industry innovation contests, strong and persistent social media presence and included the CEGEN technology in any industry discussion we had.

This created an energy around us that drove the question, “how is CEGEN coming along” where ever we went!

You need to become your own “evangelists”, nobody will do it for you! In today’s world, you can do most of this for free or very little cost.

4.      Where to I find the internal strength? Communicate, cooperate, collaborate!!!!

Pushing the boulder up the hill can be challenging and exhausting and can only be done by a team. Stepping up even when you are tired, not being “too busy” and understanding the imperativeness of the opportunity helps immensely to crest the top of the hill.

Lean on the team and be ready to be leaned on!

5.      Finally, three words to live, work and play by!

“NEVER GIVE UP”!

If you believe, you will achieve