Positive Energy. Human less operated and energy efficient commercial buildings.
ClimateLaunchpad start-up is accelerating fast. Next year’s revenue is estimated at $2.5 million.
After participating in ClimateLaunchpad, Positive Energy enrolled in an accelerator programme in Berlin. Since then, things have been moving at high speed for the Turkey based start-up. We had a chat with co-founder and managing partner Soner Hacihaliloğlu.
The cheapest energy is energy saved
“What we do is we developed the ultimate technology for human less operated commercial buildings. We facilitate buildings to operate themselves without the need for any engineering. After ClimateLaunchpad we continued to develop our technology and right now we are in a strategic partnership with E.ON Enerjisa Turkey, as they are the biggest utility company here in Turkey. We are their technology provider for energy analysis. Up to this moment we have around 1,000 devices in the field.”
Accelerating fast after ClimateLaunchpad
“These are the biggest deals we got after joining ClimateLaunchpad Turkey.”
“We joined ClimateLaunchpad after we were contacted by the Turkey team. They invited us at their local event and after that we submitted our idea. We competed at the National Final, but we were not chosen for the Global Final. Later on we applied and have been accepted for an accelerator program in Berlin, Germany. After that we were chosen as one of the most innovative technologies in the energy business. At that point in time we started a pilot with Deutsche Bahn, in Berlin, that it is still going on.
By the end of July 2017 we will start a project with Audi Germany. Right after the Berlin accelerator, they expressed an interest in our technology and proposed to use it in their facilities in Munich and Stuttgart. These are the biggest deals we got after joining ClimateLaunchpad Turkey. We also got an award in Dubai as one of the best new technologies in the energy business. Finally, two months ago during the European Utility Week in Barcelona we received the award as Best International Project. Right now we are looking to expand and move our offices to Berlin, Germany, to take the next step to scale-up and to prepare for serious investment. Right now we are a team of seven: three co-founders plus four fulltime employees - software and hardware engineers - currently all based in Istanbul.”
“Right now we are looking to expand and move our offices to Berlin, Germany, to take the next step to scale-up and to prepare for serious investment.”
Paying customers and a revenue forecast of $2.5 million
“At the moment we have three paying customers, with big accounts like E-ON Turkey. Currently our monthly recurrent revenue is $ 10,000 and we are expecting to close this year with $ 500,000 revenue. The forecast for next year is $ 2.5 million. As soon as we will obtain the next round of funding we can accelerate sales. We also have trials with ten other customers out of which we hope to close at least two of them, so to have five paying customers by the end of the year. All in all, we’re doing great.”
Pilot projects with Audi and Deutsche Bank
“We are very optimistic about our pilot with Deutsche Bank, in one of their stations in Berlin, in the office part. We analyse the lifecycle of this station and their actions in terms of heating and cooling ventilation systems. If this pilot goes well, we hope to extend it to other stations of theirs. Another pilot will start at the end of this month with Audi. We will be doing technical analysis for two or three months in their facilities in Munich and Stuttgart. We will make analysis of what is going on inside the building during the workdays: analysing the lifecycle of the building in terms of energy consumption and whether their automation systems are connected with the lifecycle of the building. This will be our biggest project and if it turns out successful, then we’ll sign a contract with them to use our technology in all of their facilities.”
Finding customers
“The best thing for a start-up is to find companies that want to use their products. After all, you need customers.”
“We were not selected to compete in the ClimateLaunchpad Grand Final, so we did not get to network there with larger companies. But when we were admitted to the Berlin Accelerator we were impressed with the B2B companies invited to their event. They were all genuinely interested to work with the start-ups present. And I believe that is a very important thing. You should focus on attracting these types of companies. For example our pilots with Deutsche Bank and Audi started during the Accelerator and it are still going on. Actually that is the best part for a start-up. That’s what they need. Even if they don’t get any money or awards. It is always better to get in contact with such companies and find customers.”
Best advice: don’t loose your vision or your faith.
Soner leaves us with a word of advice for all start-ups: “My most important recommendation would be: do not loose your vision or your faith with all the ups and downs you go through. Always look forward and believe in what you are doing. That is the most important thing. Because if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.”
