Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology
00:05:58 · Alan Chang, Hector Mason
[00:05:58] S1: Yeah. So for me, it's basically impact the problem. I think it goes well saying that this is one of the most important problems in the world right now. I think second is, like, this complexity sparked my intellectual curiosity. When Charles and I discussed with starting company, one of the criteria is that we agreed it you know, it has to be a problem that if it weren't for us, it would be solved. These are things we care about, and it just so happens that energy tick all those three boxes. I think we're embracing complexity, and I think complexity will only go up from here. But I think what gets me very motivated is building a great team and attackers this problem. Because I think it's a bit counterintuitive, but the harder your problem, the more important the problem is. I think the better talent you can attract. Right? And I'd say like we have pretty happy with the team. I go to battle with every day to solve this problem. [00:06:43] S2: What what are some of the tangible achievements that you're most proud of in the journey of Fuze so far?
00:06:43 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:06:43] S2: What what are some of the tangible achievements that you're most proud of in the journey of Fuze so far? [00:06:48] S1: It's very hard to pinpoint exactly one one thing, but I can give you some numbers. Right? So we have benchmarked against our cost of energy. So not necessarily the price we pass on to customers, but our cost of energy. We benchmarked against the whole industry. And so far we've lowered from beginning to end, which is today, we've lowered it about 15%. So some of that cost savings we decided to pass on to customers, but some we've decided to keep as margin. But that's like the efficiency gain we've made so far, 15%. [00:07:18] S2: And where is that coming from? Is it labor? Is it grid?
00:07:18 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:07:18] S2: And where is that coming from? Is it labor? Is it grid? [00:07:21] S1: It's a combination of many things. For example, it could be from automation, like some... Something as simple as automation. So, like, you know, last month we launched our AI customer support, so that gets us some cost savings. But it could also be our billing engine. It could be also from our production and demand forecasting. Just having a more accurate and precise forecasting compared to everyone else allows us to buy exactly how much we need, as opposed to overbuyunderbuy, which basically create an unintentional position where we can lose money in the market. Another example is our EPC team. So building utility scale generation, we are able to save roughly 30% in CapEx compared to everyone else because of just better execution and just in housing building things in houses post outsourcing. Like, there are many, levers we pull to achieve that 15%. And the more we do this, we more realize, actually, there's so many more levers we can pull. But, yeah, I'll I'll say that's the key achievement, like, 15%. It's amazing.
00:08:13 · James Pringle
[00:08:13] S0: It it is amazing, and I'm a happy customer. I've been a customer since we did the podcast, basically, because I I think it was still a wait list when we first did it, and I was on the wait list. And then as soon as I could, I switched to to Fuse, and I've been very happy customer since. And I wanted to ask what are some of the other levers that you've got planned? You know, you you recently posted, you know, next stop 1,000,000,000 ARR, and, like, presumably some of these levers are part of getting you there. So what have you got coming next?
00:08:41 · Alan Chang
[00:08:41] S1: Yeah. So probably the product I'm most excited about, you know, coming this year is our micro solar battery product. So if you think about the problem of conventional solar, you need to own your own roof and you need maybe 10 to $20 of your own money to install it, right? So if you think about it, that's not very accessible to most households. So we're building a product where it will cost just over £1,000 and it's going be like roughly 2.5 kilowatt system of solar and battery. And all you need to do is plug in, right? So it's going be like ITA style assembly. So it's like a ten minute, roughly ten minute assembly. And then you can start generating your own energy, right? So you can hang up, you know, we'll give you a mount, you can mount it off your balcony, or if you have a backyard, put it in your backyard. Or if you unfortunately don't have neither of them, can just get the battery too. And we're talking around three year payback of the system costs. So you're getting money back in roughly three years. And also it's going to be a very, I'd say, well designed product. So I would say traditionally energy products are not the most beautiful, don't look great in your home. So I think this is gonna complement your home decor like super well, and it's gonna, you know, integrate seamlessly into your Fuse app too.
00:09:51 · Hector Mason, Alan Chang
[00:09:51] S2: That's super exciting. They will get me to change, I have to say. Home batteries have been on my radar for a while. Alan, we love getting to know the the people behind these companies as well, and one of the things that's talked about a lot in in StartUp Land is how the most successful founders balance these two things at once. They balance insane self belief, but also a huge amount of self doubt, and a fear of not being enough, a fear of not achieving enough. Does that resonate with you? [00:10:20] S1: Yeah, of course. I think for me, my my fear of not moving fast enough probably drives me more than, say, positive reinforcement. So, yeah, for sure. That that does resonate. [00:10:34] S2: Why the drive to move [00:10:36] S1: so fast? Why is that the thing? Because time is the most important commodity. Actually, if you think about it, I think the biggest enemy for us is time. It's actually not capital, it's time. If we don't use that time efficiently, like, I think we're we're not gonna succeed. And are you always looking forwards, or do you ever give yourself credit for what you have achieved? No. To be honest, I don't think what we achieve is, you know, I'll say it's a small achievement. Yeah. I'll just I'll just call it a small achievement. And, yeah, there's so much more we can achieve. And, yeah, I I I rarely look back. [00:11:11] S2: Does that... Tell us about the mindset. So does that mean... Do do you feel, like, contented and satisfied by what you