The Tech Entrepreneur

The Tech Entrepreneur

Guest: Farouk Alhassan

Episode Summary:
In this episode, we’ll be interviewing Farouk Alhassan, software engineer and co-founder of Senapt, the first dedicated Energy-As-A-Service platform.
We’ll learn about how we got started and what led him to the energy sector.
Farouk is going to share with us why apps, platforms, mindset, and data management practices need substantial innovation in the industry to benefit both consumers and suppliers.
In this episode, you’ll also learn about the importance of making sustainable energy financially accessible to all demographics and how Senapt is planning to achieve that.
We are going to talk about how Farouk manages his team and how their productive output can be so high even when in small numbers.
We’ll ask Farouk which advice he would give to his former self after all these years, and what he would like to change the most in the industry.
All the relevant links are listed below, enjoy the episode.
Quote
“ One thing that frustrates me in the energy sector is the fact that people think things have to be done in a certain way all the time. I came from outside the industry, so I had the freedom of
thought to think of things in a different way” Farouk Alhassan

Guest Bio:
Farouk Alhassan is the co-founder of Senapt, a UK-based Energy-As-A-Service Platform.
His company aims at enabling energy efficiency and sustainable lifestyles everywhere on the planet, lowering the cost for the consumers while retaining profitability for the suppliers.
Farouk moved to the UK in 2006 and started working as a software engineer.
He later moved to the finance sector and investment banking working for the likes of Goldman Sachs, furthering his career.
In 2016 his future to be Co-Founder inspired him to bring his solution and expertise to the energy sector where innovation was needed, and that’s how Senapt came to be.

Timestamps:
● 00:00 Podcast and guest Introduction
● 1:19 The idea behind Senapt
● 3:50 Outdated practices in the energy sector
● 5:43 Energy platform structure
● 8:29 Energy apps for customers
● 10:51 Senapt's challenges and operations
● 14:54 Data migration and integration issues
● 16:54 Senapt’s position in the market
● 18:57 The cost of serve
● 22:02 Farouk’s advice to his younger self
● 23:30 Building a team
● 25:23 Changes needed in the Energy Sector

Links:
ClearSky Logic:
https://www.clearskylogic.com/

Senapt:
https://www.senapt.co.uk/

Farouk Alhassan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/faroukalhassan/

Check out Previous episodes:

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DFn4ZPaCDfxATpkmHwREa

ListenNotes:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-tech-entrepreneur-darren-auld-vKnFAbfa03E/

Google Podcasts:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMzA0O
DA5LnJzcw==

The Tech Entrepreneur

Guest: Farouk Alhassan

Episode Summary:
In this episode, we’ll be interviewing Farouk Alhassan, software engineer and co-founder of Senapt, the first dedicated Energy-As-A-Service platform.
We’ll learn about how we got started and what led him to the energy sector.
Farouk is going to share with us why apps, platforms, mindset, and data management practices need substantial innovation in the industry to benefit both consumers and suppliers.
In this episode, you’ll also learn about the importance of making sustainable energy financially accessible to all demographics and how Senapt is planning to achieve that.
We are going to talk about how Farouk manages his team and how their productive output can be so high even when in small numbers.
We’ll ask Farouk which advice he would give to his former self after all these years, and what he would like to change the most in the industry.
All the relevant links are listed below, enjoy the episode.
Quote
“ One thing that frustrates me in the energy sector is the fact that people think things have to be done in a certain way all the time. I came from outside the industry, so I had the freedom of
thought to think of things in a different way” Farouk Alhassan

Guest Bio:
Farouk Alhassan is the co-founder of Senapt, a UK-based Energy-As-A-Service Platform.
His company aims at enabling energy efficiency and sustainable lifestyles everywhere on the planet, lowering the cost for the consumers while retaining profitability for the suppliers.
Farouk moved to the UK in 2006 and started working as a software engineer.
He later moved to the finance sector and investment banking working for the likes of Goldman Sachs, furthering his career.
In 2016 his future to be Co-Founder inspired him to bring his solution and expertise to the energy sector where innovation was needed, and that’s how Senapt came to be.

Timestamps:
● 00:00 Podcast and guest Introduction
● 1:19 The idea behind Senapt
● 3:50 Outdated practices in the energy sector
● 5:43 Energy platform structure
● 8:29 Energy apps for customers
● 10:51 Senapt's challenges and operations
● 14:54 Data migration and integration issues
● 16:54 Senapt’s position in the market
● 18:57 The cost of serve
● 22:02 Farouk’s advice to his younger self
● 23:30 Building a team
● 25:23 Changes needed in the Energy Sector

Links:
ClearSky Logic:
https://www.clearskylogic.com/

Senapt:
https://www.senapt.co.uk/

Farouk Alhassan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/faroukalhassan/

Check out Previous episodes:

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DFn4ZPaCDfxATpkmHwREa

ListenNotes:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-tech-entrepreneur-darren-auld-vKnFAbfa03E/

Google Podcasts:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMzA0O
DA5LnJzcw==

In this episode, we’ll be interviewing Ian Parry, co-founder of Daisy rock and consultant in the energy sector.

We’ll learn about his career path and how different it was to work for big companies like British Gas as opposed to smaller startups.

Ian is going to share with us his perspective on how the industry has evolved throughout the years and how the growth in competition has shaped the sector.

In this episode, you’ll also learn what it’s like to work for Pure Planet and how some companies are moving on from call centers and providing a different customer support journey.

We are going to talk about the key ways to boost engagement through community and apps.

You’ll hear about the current challenges and trends in the industry and how quality data can help companies providing a better customer experience, leaving the friction behind.

All the relevant links are listed below, enjoy the episode.

Quote
“ As a customer, I just assume that you know how much I use. Why can’t I give permission from one energy supplier to another to give them my billing history? This helps them serve me better.” Ian Parry

Guest Bio:

Ian Parry is the co-founder of Daisy Rock, he has a long history as a consultant and leader in the energy sector.

He started his career working for British Gas for 13 years and later moved into consulting for companies such as Jaywing and Experian.

More recently he worked with Pure Planet, Social Energy, and Colorado Energy giving him a well-rounded perspective of the industry ranging from the big-six to Startups.

Timestamps:
● 00:20 Podcast and guest Introduction
● 00:49 Ian's career background
● 2:08 What has changed in the industry
● 4:24 Ian's experience with Pure Planet
● 8:20 Will Energy Companies have call centers in the future?
● 9:58 How to increase engagement
● 13:35 How data affects behavior
● 15:17 Community-based energy companies
● 16:20 The current trends in the industry
● 18:19 The current challenges in the industry
● 22:10 What are the changes needed in the sector?
● 24:34 Episode wrap-up

Links:
ClearSky Logic:
https://www.clearskylogic.com/

Daisy Rock Consulting:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/daisyrock/

Check out Previous episodes:

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DFn4ZPaCDfxATpkmHwREa

ListenNotes:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-tech-entrepreneur-darren-auld-vKnFAbfa03E/

Google Podcasts:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMzA0ODA5LnJzcw==

In this episode, we’ll be interviewing Ian Parry, co-founder of Daisy rock and consultant in the energy sector.

We’ll learn about his career path and how different it was to work for big companies like British Gas as opposed to smaller startups.

Ian is going to share with us his perspective on how the industry has evolved throughout the years and how the growth in competition has shaped the sector.

In this episode, you’ll also learn what it’s like to work for Pure Planet and how some companies are moving on from call centers and providing a different customer support journey.

We are going to talk about the key ways to boost engagement through community and apps.

You’ll hear about the current challenges and trends in the industry and how quality data can help companies providing a better customer experience, leaving the friction behind.

All the relevant links are listed below, enjoy the episode.

Quote
“ As a customer, I just assume that you know how much I use. Why can’t I give permission from one energy supplier to another to give them my billing history? This helps them serve me better.” Ian Parry

Guest Bio:

Ian Parry is the co-founder of Daisy Rock, he has a long history as a consultant and leader in the energy sector.

He started his career working for British Gas for 13 years and later moved into consulting for companies such as Jaywing and Experian.

More recently he worked with Pure Planet, Social Energy, and Colorado Energy giving him a well-rounded perspective of the industry ranging from the big-six to Startups.

Timestamps:
● 00:20 Podcast and guest Introduction
● 00:49 Ian's career background
● 2:08 What has changed in the industry
● 4:24 Ian's experience with Pure Planet
● 8:20 Will Energy Companies have call centers in the future?
● 9:58 How to increase engagement
● 13:35 How data affects behavior
● 15:17 Community-based energy companies
● 16:20 The current trends in the industry
● 18:19 The current challenges in the industry
● 22:10 What are the changes needed in the sector?
● 24:34 Episode wrap-up

Links:
ClearSky Logic:
https://www.clearskylogic.com/

Daisy Rock Consulting:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/daisyrock/

Check out Previous episodes:

Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5DFn4ZPaCDfxATpkmHwREa

ListenNotes:
https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-tech-entrepreneur-darren-auld-vKnFAbfa03E/

Google Podcasts:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMzA0ODA5LnJzcw==

Episode Summary:

Today’s guest on TechEntrepreneur is Sarah Morgan, which is a performance and leadership coach and founder of Luceat-consulting.

Sarah’s business focuses on helping individuals and businesses to maximize their performance, processes, and technology. She also focuses on the mindset of the team or individual, addressing any self-limiting beliefs.

In this episode, we are going to discuss the importance of technology in the energy sector and talk about some examples of successful and unsuccessful tech solutions, and what we can learn from them.

Sarah is going to talk about how tech can help to provide a better client experience and why this is something that the energy sector desperately needs.

We are going to share some practical examples of how tech solutions can free people from tedious tasks, lower the risk of mistakes, and allow the workforce to focus on tasks better executed by humans.

Sarah is also going to give us her prediction on the future of energy and renewables and also share with us what changes she would like to see in the industry.

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes

“The best situations are when, people who are currently doing things that are really tedious,

they will get bored and will make mistakes. Computers don't get bored, they don't make

mistakes. I think you have the ability to free people up and to allow them to make more

intelligent human-like decisions about things.” Phil Telfer

"The consumer is forgotten so regularly when it comes to technology, billing systems,

industry process, etc... it's all about the data around the consumption.

I think that customer-centricity is desperately needed" Sarah Morgan

Timestamps:

● 0:20 Episode introduction

● 1:02 Sarah's role and background

● 2:20 The importance of technology in the energy sector

● 4:00 Examples of bad uses of technology

● 5:16 Examples of good uses of technology

● 7:31 The positive changes enabled by tech

● 8:57 Using tech for tedious processes

● 10:16 Energy company VS tech company

● 15:12 The future of energy

● 18:47 Learning from other sectors

● 20:54 What would Sarah change in the energy sector?

● 21:40 Episode wrap-up

Links:

Episode Summary:

Today’s guest on TechEntrepreneur is Sarah Morgan, which is a performance and leadership coach and founder of Luceat-consulting.

Sarah’s business focuses on helping individuals and businesses to maximize their performance, processes, and technology. She also focuses on the mindset of the team or individual, addressing any self-limiting beliefs.

In this episode, we are going to discuss the importance of technology in the energy sector and talk about some examples of successful and unsuccessful tech solutions, and what we can learn from them.

Sarah is going to talk about how tech can help to provide a better client experience and why this is something that the energy sector desperately needs.

We are going to share some practical examples of how tech solutions can free people from tedious tasks, lower the risk of mistakes, and allow the workforce to focus on tasks better executed by humans.

Sarah is also going to give us her prediction on the future of energy and renewables and also share with us what changes she would like to see in the industry.

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes

“The best situations are when, people who are currently doing things that are really tedious,

they will get bored and will make mistakes. Computers don't get bored, they don't make

mistakes. I think you have the ability to free people up and to allow them to make more

intelligent human-like decisions about things.” Phil Telfer

"The consumer is forgotten so regularly when it comes to technology, billing systems,

industry process, etc... it's all about the data around the consumption.

I think that customer-centricity is desperately needed" Sarah Morgan

Timestamps:

● 0:20 Episode introduction

● 1:02 Sarah's role and background

● 2:20 The importance of technology in the energy sector

● 4:00 Examples of bad uses of technology

● 5:16 Examples of good uses of technology

● 7:31 The positive changes enabled by tech

● 8:57 Using tech for tedious processes

● 10:16 Energy company VS tech company

● 15:12 The future of energy

● 18:47 Learning from other sectors

● 20:54 What would Sarah change in the energy sector?

● 21:40 Episode wrap-up

Links:

Today’s guest on TechEntrepreneur is Ashley Tate , which is a serial entrepreneur founder of Mina, a company that provides EV charging solutions.

Ash’s business focuses on helping individuals and fleets simplifying the EV charging process and billing, making it a pleasant and efficient experience. Ash is going to talk about how he became an entrepreneur, left school at 16 years old, and started several successful businesses with little preparation but a lot of motivation and resilience.

We’re going to learn about the importance of recruiting, and why Ash chose to downsize his team overtime, preferring a small quality team with a strong culture. Ash is going to share with us his mindset when it comes to business plans, focus, and why he ultimately decided to turn the direction of his business after launch.

The solutions that Mina provides are addressing a crucial problem in the EV market, we are going to learn what these challenges are and how the company started. Ultimately Ash is going to share with us some advice for young entrepreneurs, his impressions on the EV market, and his vision for Mina’s future.

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes

"I think that's the entrepreneur mindset. They see a problem and they're like...we can solve this!

We'll just solve this other problem here too! And a lot of times you kind of forget the overheads

you're incurring." Darren Auld

"I think there is a fine balance to be had between, kind of being throwing things at people to

make it feel like a good culture and actually being a good culture." Ashley Tate

Timestamps:

● 0:21 Episode introduction

● 1:05 Ash's background story

● 2:19 Ash's first business experience

● 4:53 Recruiting staff

● 7:24 Overthinking the business plan

● 8:44 The importance of hiring great people

● 15:26 How Mina started

● 17:45 Focus is the key

● 19:53 Future plans

● 20:54 Dealing with sales

● 22:49 The EV Market's expansion

● 24:39 Ash’s advice to past self

● 26:58 Episode wrap-up

Links:

Brought to you by ClearSkyLogic, find out more at:

www.clearskylogic.com

Discover Mina, find out more at:

https://www.mina.energy/

Today’s guest on TechEntrepreneur is Ashley Tate , which is a serial entrepreneur founder of Mina, a company that provides EV charging solutions.

Ash’s business focuses on helping individuals and fleets simplifying the EV charging process and billing, making it a pleasant and efficient experience. Ash is going to talk about how he became an entrepreneur, left school at 16 years old, and started several successful businesses with little preparation but a lot of motivation and resilience.

We’re going to learn about the importance of recruiting, and why Ash chose to downsize his team overtime, preferring a small quality team with a strong culture. Ash is going to share with us his mindset when it comes to business plans, focus, and why he ultimately decided to turn the direction of his business after launch.

The solutions that Mina provides are addressing a crucial problem in the EV market, we are going to learn what these challenges are and how the company started. Ultimately Ash is going to share with us some advice for young entrepreneurs, his impressions on the EV market, and his vision for Mina’s future.

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes

"I think that's the entrepreneur mindset. They see a problem and they're like...we can solve this!

We'll just solve this other problem here too! And a lot of times you kind of forget the overheads

you're incurring." Darren Auld

"I think there is a fine balance to be had between, kind of being throwing things at people to

make it feel like a good culture and actually being a good culture." Ashley Tate

Timestamps:

● 0:21 Episode introduction

● 1:05 Ash's background story

● 2:19 Ash's first business experience

● 4:53 Recruiting staff

● 7:24 Overthinking the business plan

● 8:44 The importance of hiring great people

● 15:26 How Mina started

● 17:45 Focus is the key

● 19:53 Future plans

● 20:54 Dealing with sales

● 22:49 The EV Market's expansion

● 24:39 Ash’s advice to past self

● 26:58 Episode wrap-up

Links:

Brought to you by ClearSkyLogic, find out more at:

www.clearskylogic.com

Discover Mina, find out more at:

https://www.mina.energy/

Today’s guest on The TechEntrepreneur podcast is Rob Eynon, Director at New Energy Consulting, a boutique consultancy that focuses on getting energy retailers to work better within the energy market. 

He’ll talk about how he became a consultant and the challenges that are currently present in the industry. 

We’ll learn about customer-facing portals and apps and the huge advantages that these bring, especially when seamlessly integrated. 

Rob will share with us a couple of companies that are working in that direction and explain why improving the customer journey boosts loyalty and lowers acquisition costs. 

Countries like Norway and Iceland are great examples of countries focused on energy innovation and we’ll talk about what we can learn from them. 

Implementing new processes in companies can be challenging if the staff don’t fully trust them. We’ll talk about how to help prevent this from happening so that the switch from old to new processes can be smooth and frictionless. 

Lastly, Rob will share with us the one thing he’d like to change the most in the energy sector and why. 

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes 

“ If I create a really good digital client-facing app or portal, then I can not only reduce contact calls into my call center, but I actually can charge a rate which isn’t necessarily there to go and fish for large numbers of clients. You’ve actually got something that is sustainable." Phil Telfer

"If you make life really easy for customers, then you can increase loyalty. Which reduces churn and the cost of acquisition in energy retail is such a high element of the margin. I don’t think anyone makes any money in Year One of supply.” Rob Eynon 

Timestamps: 

● 0:20 Host and Guest introduction 

● 0:58 What is New Energy Consulting about? 

● 2:26 Customer-facing apps/portals 

● 4:14 Why should companies develop them? 

● 5:30 Seamlessly integrated apps and hardware 

● 7:49 Are any companies doing these integrations now? 

● 11:56 Which countries are leading in energy innovation? 

● 14:04 Why some inefficient processes remain even after innovation? ● 19:53 What single thing would Rob change in the energy sector? 

● 22:54 Wrap up and goodbyes

Links: 

Brought to you by ClearSkyLogic, find out more at: www.clearskylogic.com

Today’s guest on The TechEntrepreneur podcast is Rob Eynon, Director at New Energy Consulting, a boutique consultancy that focuses on getting energy retailers to work better within the energy market. 

He’ll talk about how he became a consultant and the challenges that are currently present in the industry. 

We’ll learn about customer-facing portals and apps and the huge advantages that these bring, especially when seamlessly integrated. 

Rob will share with us a couple of companies that are working in that direction and explain why improving the customer journey boosts loyalty and lowers acquisition costs. 

Countries like Norway and Iceland are great examples of countries focused on energy innovation and we’ll talk about what we can learn from them. 

Implementing new processes in companies can be challenging if the staff don’t fully trust them. We’ll talk about how to help prevent this from happening so that the switch from old to new processes can be smooth and frictionless. 

Lastly, Rob will share with us the one thing he’d like to change the most in the energy sector and why. 

Enjoy the episode and we’d be happy if you could leave us a review.

Quotes 

“ If I create a really good digital client-facing app or portal, then I can not only reduce contact calls into my call center, but I actually can charge a rate which isn’t necessarily there to go and fish for large numbers of clients. You’ve actually got something that is sustainable." Phil Telfer

"If you make life really easy for customers, then you can increase loyalty. Which reduces churn and the cost of acquisition in energy retail is such a high element of the margin. I don’t think anyone makes any money in Year One of supply.” Rob Eynon 

Timestamps: 

● 0:20 Host and Guest introduction 

● 0:58 What is New Energy Consulting about? 

● 2:26 Customer-facing apps/portals 

● 4:14 Why should companies develop them? 

● 5:30 Seamlessly integrated apps and hardware 

● 7:49 Are any companies doing these integrations now? 

● 11:56 Which countries are leading in energy innovation? 

● 14:04 Why some inefficient processes remain even after innovation? ● 19:53 What single thing would Rob change in the energy sector? 

● 22:54 Wrap up and goodbyes

Links: 

Brought to you by ClearSkyLogic, find out more at: www.clearskylogic.com