SMP 161: How Sunvoy's Software Helps Solar Installers?

Episode Summary In this episode of the Solar Maverick Podcast, Benoy speaks with Herve Billet and the Joe Marhamati who are the founders of Sunvoy.  Sunvoy is the first and only solar customer portal and fleet management system built for solar installers by a solar installer.  Herve and Joe discuss how their software helps solar installers, what they learned from working at the Department of Energy, and they speak about their entrepreneurship experiences. Benoy Thanjan Benoy Thanjan is the Founder and CEO of Reneu Energy and he is also an advisor for several solar startup companies.  He has extensive project origination, development, and financial experience in the renewable energy industry and in the environmental commodities market.   This includes initial site evaluation, permitting, financing, sourcing equipment, and negotiating the long-term energy and environmental commodities off-take agreements. He manages due diligence processes on land, permitting, and utility interconnection and is in charge of financing and structuring through Note to Proceed (“NTP”) to Commercial Operation Date (“COD”). Benoy composes teams suitable for all project development and construction tasks. He is also involved in project planning and pipeline financial modeling. He has been part of all sides of the transaction and this allows him to provide unique perspectives and value. Benoy has extensive experience in financial engineering to make solar projects profitable. Before founding Reneu Energy, he was the SREC Trader in the Project Finance Group for SolarCity which merged with Tesla in 2016.  He originated SREC trades with buyers and co-developed their SREC monetization and hedging strategy with the senior management of SolarCity to move into the east coast markets.  Benoy was the Vice President at Vanguard Energy Partners which is a national solar installer where he focused on project finance solutions for commercial scale solar projects.  He also worked for Ridgewood Renewable Power, a private equity fund, where he analyzed potential investments in renewable energy projects and worked on maximizing the financial return of the projects in the portfolio.  Benoy also worked on the sale of all of the renewable energy projects in Ridgewood’s portfolio.   He was in the Energy Structured Finance practice for Deloitte & Touche and in Financial Advisory Services practice at Ernst & Young.  Benoy received his first experience in Finance as an intern at D.E. Shaw & Co., which is a global investment firm with 37 billion dollars in investment capital. He has a MBA in Finance from Rutgers University and a BS in Finance and Economics from the Stern School of Business at New York University.  Benoy was an Alumni Scholar at the Stern School of Business.   Herve Billet He is a father, serial entrepreneur, investor, engineer, Master Electrician on a mission to fight climate change. Ipsun Solar installs residential and commercial solar PV systems. They are a licensed General Contractor in 3 U.S. States: Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland. Ipsun Tech has a software called Sunvoy to automate communication and tasks for solar companies and provide a solar installation company with a white label customer portal. Sunvoy also offers a tool to manage a solar fleet. Check it out at www.sunvoy.com Before co-founding Ipsun Power I was with Accenture consulting with Fortune 500 companies, U.S. Federal agencies and large non-profits: - Greenhouse Gas emission calculations for the U.S. Department of Energy Headquarters. - Business development work for Accenture's Sustainability Services - Lead a Digital implementation team for Goodwill International Industries - Provided strategy and sales support to large accounts including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, UNICEF, United Nations, U.S. Department of Labor He co-founded my first company when I was 21, a solar car organization www.solarteam.be meant to highlight the capabilities of solar power. Joe Marhamati What gets him out of bed every day is helping solar installers learn from my lived experience in building an 8-figure solar business, not just the successes but also the mistakes. In my current role as co-founder and CFO of Sunvoy, he help solar installers build their brands by building a white-labeled customer portal and fleet management platform to bring together all of their fleet data into a single location. He is also passionate about helping solar installers with their tech stack, growth strategy, management and leadership direction, and exit plans.   Stay Connected: Benoy Thanjan Email: [email protected]  LinkedIn: Benoy Thanjan Website: https://www.reneuenergy.com   Herve Billet Website:  https://sunvoy.com/ Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/hervebilliet/   Joe Marhamati Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/marhamati/   Join Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast for the Summer Solstice Fundraiser Celebrate the peak of summer with us at the Summer Solstice Fundraiser, hosted by Reneu Energy and the Solar Maverick Podcast. This special evening will take place on Thursday, June 20, from 6 PM to 10 PM at Hudson Hall in Jersey City, NJ. As we revel in the longest day of the year, we'll also be raising funds for the Let's Share the Sun Foundation, which aids impoverished communities in harnessing solar energy. Thanks to your support, we raised $2,250 for this great cause from our previous events. Event Details Venue: Hudson Hall, a Czech biergarten and smokehouse co-owned by Benoy, CEO of Reneu Energy. Time: 6 PM to 10 PM, with an open bar from 6 PM to 8 PM and delicious food throughout the evening. Tickets: $64 per person. You can RSVP using the link provided below. Sponsorship Opportunities: If you're interested in sponsoring this event and helping make a difference, please respond to this email. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/reneuenergy/1256198