00:04:53 · Guillaume Moubeche, Alan Chang
[00:04:53] S1: Okay. [00:04:55] S0: Yeah. Knock on doors. And Charles also learned to become a trader, so he's a qualified energy trader. So there you go. That's your full stack energy. Like, very, very small full stack energy company. [00:05:09] S1: And how exactly did you get the the 1,000,000? Did you raise the money first and... Or did you use, like, some Revolut stock and and invest it directly? [00:05:19] S0: Yeah. I I... Yeah. Both of us put some of our own capital in it. Yeah. Before before Raise the Round. Before Raise the Round. [00:05:29] S1: Okay. So you you raised the round when you had, like, the the energy company, or was it before you [00:05:36] S0: It was, like, half half there. [00:05:38] S1: Okay. Okay. Okay. And and how how exactly do you go, like, for raising for for an energy company? Like, how how how did you pitch? Like, how did it look like at first?
00:05:38 · Guillaume Moubeche, Alan Chang
[00:05:38] S1: Okay. Okay. Okay. And and how how exactly do you go, like, for raising for for an energy company? Like, how how how did you pitch? Like, how did it look like at first? [00:05:50] S0: I mean, I'd say more or less is, you know, how I... It's just like, you know, describing the problem and, you know, at least have a high level plan of how we how we tackle it. So obviously, like, you know, we we had some financials, but, you know, they they were totally wrong, unsurprisingly, like most seed companies. But, yeah, like, I think I think investors, like, agree agree this is a big, you know, important problem to solve, and at least they think we're the right team to tackle it. Yeah. And and and and this is like... I would say this is one of the few industries where the addressable market is, like, absolutely huge. Right? I actually think, you know, this company can grow... Keep growing even beyond a lifetime. [00:06:53] S1: Okay. Nice. Do do you feel like your focus right now is The UK market, but you want to expand globally? Is it like your goal at some point? [00:07:03] S0: Yeah. Like, the goal is become a number one energy company in the world. So it's hard to do that without expanding internationally.
00:07:03 · Alan Chang, Guillaume Moubeche
[00:07:03] S0: Yeah. Like, the goal is become a number one energy company in the world. So it's hard to do that without expanding internationally. [00:07:11] S1: Alright. And and what's like the... Because right now, you're really, like, competing on on price. Like, is there... What what would you say? Like, what would make you the best company to keep, like, an energy cost that is extremely low? And what are the risks? Would the incumbent decide to, like, decrease your price if this is that you're starting, like, a price war? Like, how exactly do you think... Do you see it as a threat or not at all? [00:07:42] S0: Yeah. So, yeah, I get this question a lot. So I think the first assumption, right, should be most companies want to make more profit. Right? And I'll I'll argue if they wanted to make more profit, they would have already. [00:08:06] S1: Okay.
00:08:06 · Guillaume Moubeche, Alan Chang
[00:08:06] S1: Okay. [00:08:06] S0: Right? So the energy is very simple. Right? Like, it's like, it's really the cost to deliver a single kilowatt hour. Right? And, you know, it's important for energy companies to be structurally profitable. Right? So, you know, you can reduce your margins, but, you know, it's very hard to go beyond zero. Whereas we spent... In the last two and a half years since we launched, we've spent a lot of energy in reducing, you know, the cost per kilowatt hour. In fact, like, so far, we've achieved roughly 15% reduction in the cost per kilowatt hour since we launched, which is much higher than our competitors. So... Yeah. Sure. They can, you know, lower the prices and make those ones more competitive, but, you know, I doubt they will go below zero. So really, how much you can go in re... In price reduction is really from your margins, from your efficiency. Right? And even if they do lower prices, I would say, you know, we've partially achieved our goal of lowering energy costs. Right? [00:09:27] S1: And is your vision, like, to continue lower the cost for the end consumer? [00:09:33] S0: Yeah. For sure. I think... Like, think about it. Like, if you if you look at Europe, right, the average blended cost per kilowatt hour is roughly, you know, 20 to $30 cents per kilowatt hour. If you look at China, it's $88 cents. Right? So what that tells me, right, is the prices at Europe in Europe, it can be at least three times cheaper. [00:10:02] S1: Why do you think there's such a difference in pricing?
00:10:02 · Guillaume Moubeche, Alan Chang
[00:10:02] S1: Why do you think there's such a difference in pricing? [00:10:05] S0: I mean, there's... So, like, I can give you many, many reasons. Right? I think it's a combination of inefficiencies and bad policy. Now... But I would say majority is probably bad, you know, inefficiencies, which, you know, we can take out. Bad policies, you know, not on our control, but we we would try to influence, you know, energy regulators to implement the right policies. [00:10:40] S1: And how do you influence? [00:10:43] S0: I mean, we just, you know, present them the facts. Right? You know, it's like, you know, if you do this, price will go down. Right? And I think it's very... You know, it it... It's, you know... I I don't think in convi... Like, I think most people would want lower energy prices. Right? I think it's hard to argue with, you know, no matter your political positioning, right, I think it's hard to argue against lower energy prices. So we just present, you know, an alternative policy that will help, you know, help us get there. [00:11:28] S1: And are you looking at kind of the the future energy sources that could become available to reduce the the cost also?
00:11:28 · Guillaume Moubeche, Alan Chang
[00:11:28] S1: And are you looking at kind of the the future energy sources that could become available to reduce the the cost also? [00:11:38] S0: Yeah. So Like fusion? Yeah. So right now our focus is existing technologies. So it's about improving what we have existing and just making it more efficient. But, yeah, the idea is like in the future, once, you know, the company is making a lot more money, yeah, we will invest those, you know, free cash flow into, you know, big bets that can take a long time to pay out or, you know, may not even pay out. Right? But the idea is, like, we focus, reinvest all our energy and money into, you know, make make... Making, you know, low cost energy a reality. [00:12:16] S1: And where are, like, the the main sources of energies that you're taking right now? Because, obviously, like, bought, like, something... I think it was in in in Scotland at first or something like this. And how exactly do you expand, like, the the amount of energy you can get as you scale? [00:12:34] S0: Yeah. So right now, we do a combination of generating on power as well as buying power off the market. But, yeah, the idea is, like, we we will increase both the amount of generation in the... In in our portfolio as well as the, you know, different energy technologies in the portfolio as well. [00:12:52] S1: And can you explain how that work? Like, when you connect to maybe, like, someone's energy and you have to redistribute it? Like, how exactly does that work?