Switchr is a Norwegian company whose existence is based on the shift towards a greener tomorrow – empowering regular people to make a difference whilst making money. Interesting as their business is, we had a talk with their Chief Marketing Officer, Christian Bråtebekken, who shared what Switchr is all about, what makes them tick and what their ambitions for the future are:
Could you please introduce Switchr and the team?
Switchr empowers people to invest directly in solar power parks, and drive the switch to sustainable energy production while earning an income. Through the user panel the investors can follow their investment, how much energy is produced because of their investment, how much CO2-emissions have been avoided because of their investment, and on top of that how much money they have made from the fixed yearly interest.
How and why was Switchr founded?
Switchr was created from the vision of letting regular people drive the change to clean and sustainable energy by investing directly in solar parks around the world. Our founder, Lars Dysterud Hansen, has started several solar companies before, but when he started Switchr in 2017 he wanted to test a more disruptive business model for infrastructure, and let people in rather than financial institutions.
What’s the biggest impact you have seen on both your customers and the industry you work in?
Luckily enough we have seen that our customers really want to make a change. Our parks have different yields depending on where in the world they are, how the solar radiation is, how much the electricity is sold for and so on. We have seen that a lot of people like to invest in a park that is close even if it has a lower yield. That means that money isn’t everything. Making a change is the most important, and that confirms our business idea.
What challenges have you faced along your journey and what are your biggest learnings?
We are lucky not to have had many big challenges. That doesn’t mean it has been (or is) easy, but it is really about working hard and solving or just outsmarting every challenge that comes. Our biggest learning is that if you have a great idea and get the right people to gather around it – the rest will miraculously fall in place.
How do you work with innovation within your organization?
Our business model is pretty innovative itself. We don’t focus on innovation per se, it is more that it comes naturally as part of everything we do.
What’s in the pipeline that you’re working on right now?
We basically have two pipelines at any given time: Getting more investors, or switchrs as we call them, and looking for new solar parks to build or buy for them to invest in. There are a lot of exciting solar parks on the way in, and a lot of exciting features in our user board to come.
Why did you choose Epicenter?
Our amazing head of board, Jan Grønbech, has his office at Epicenter working with dCompany. When we were looking for offices he told us a lot of great things about Epicenter. We have not been disappointed – rather amazed. We love it at Epicenter.
Want to know more about Switchr? Visit their website
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