The Nichole Wischoff Podcast
00:00:00 · Nichole Wischoff, Alan Chang
[00:00:00] S0: You start Fuse Energy. You have since raised a 170,000,000, 70,000,000 recently, 400,000,000 in revenue in a very short time, I think, since launching maybe '23. So what led to you leaving Revolut and starting, of all things, an an energy business? [00:00:14] S1: Charles and I discussed the slide to do something together. It's like, what are the most important problem in the next twenty five years? [00:00:19] S0: Was this after ChadGBT, or was this even before that where you're like, hey. [00:00:23] S1: We've got before. [00:00:25] S0: Oh, wow. Interesting. Okay. [00:00:26] S1: There is no clear mix of technology that can get us to a 100% renewable at low cost. [00:00:32] S0: So you've raised a 170,000,000 so far from great funds. What do you think in terms of capital intensity it requires to really, like, reach a speed limit? Alan, thank you so much for joining the show. It is wonderful to meet you. I've actually been following you for quite some time as I in a past life built a neobank that Walmart bought called One Finance. So not exactly Revolut, that following the company. And so I... While I want to focus entirely on Fuse and all things energy, because I think it's very, very, high priority in the world right now. I did briefly want to hear your background. It looks like Revolut was maybe your first job out of school back in 2015. That's been quite a ride for seven years. So one, wanted to learn more about you, Alan, background prior to Fuze, and then dive into all things Fuze energy, the story, and all things just related to energy.
00:00:32 · Nichole Wischoff, Alan Chang
[00:00:32] S0: So you've raised a 170,000,000 so far from great funds. What do you think in terms of capital intensity it requires to really, like, reach a speed limit? Alan, thank you so much for joining the show. It is wonderful to meet you. I've actually been following you for quite some time as I in a past life built a neobank that Walmart bought called One Finance. So not exactly Revolut, that following the company. And so I... While I want to focus entirely on Fuse and all things energy, because I think it's very, very, high priority in the world right now. I did briefly want to hear your background. It looks like Revolut was maybe your first job out of school back in 2015. That's been quite a ride for seven years. So one, wanted to learn more about you, Alan, background prior to Fuze, and then dive into all things Fuze energy, the story, and all things just related to energy. [00:01:25] S1: Sure. So, yeah. So first of all, thanks for having me. So indeed, you're right. My first job is actually in Revolut. So I joined Revolut Triadoc College. So, obviously, tons of learnings. But... Yeah. So I think key learning is how to build a, you know, regulated company full stack from from scratch. [00:01:52] S0: What number I [00:01:53] S1: think we're not learning strategy. [00:01:54] S0: Were you? And, like, where was the... I guess, what was the thesis of the company at the time? Because I know now it's got several products, and there's crypto, and there's all these layers. So what was the company up to? And I guess, did they find you, or did you find them?
00:01:54 · Nichole Wischoff, Alan Chang
[00:01:54] S0: Were you? And, like, where was the... I guess, what was the thesis of the company at the time? Because I know now it's got several products, and there's crypto, and there's all these layers. So what was the company up to? And I guess, did they find you, or did you find them? [00:02:06] S1: Yeah. So I was fifth employee at at Revolut. And so at the time, it was mostly firefighting rather than a clear road map. It was tons of operational problems that just needed to be solved and just, you know, picked bit by bit. But, yeah, at at the time, it wasn't super clear what Revolut can become. Think Nikola had a very good analogy. I think, in fact, we operated like bacteria, right? So essentially whenever there's food, that's where bacteria grows, right? So that's kind of what we did. And we didn't want to be a bank initially, but now it's obviously completely opposite. So... Yeah. So it's it's it's it's going where the opportunity is. [00:03:03] S0: Yeah. Were you... Did you find a random job application that early, or did they find you? Like, how did you end up, like, being, like, I wanna join a tech company right out of school versus a bank or, like, you know, something like that.
00:03:03 · Nichole Wischoff, Alan Chang
[00:03:03] S0: Yeah. Were you... Did you find a random job application that early, or did they find you? Like, how did you end up, like, being, like, I wanna join a tech company right out of school versus a bank or, like, you know, something like that. [00:03:16] S1: Yeah. So... Yeah. So for me, I I always, you know, wanted to do a start up, and I think I knew, like, you know, I didn't have an experience, so joining a high growth startup was the best way to learn. And actually for me, joining an early stage startup was a higher priority than, let's say, established companies. So for me, established company was Plan B. If I couldn't get a job at a early stage company, but very luckily, I found Revolut very, very basically, you know, first week of graduation. [00:03:52] S0: Yeah. You, you know, fast forward seven years have started an energy company as of 2022. You worked with your co founder there. Correct? [00:04:01] S1: Yeah. That's correct. [00:04:03] S0: When did he join or how much overlap did you have? [00:04:07] S1: Yeah. So I actually I I hired Charles into into Revolut. [00:04:12] S0: Okay. [00:04:13] S1: So he was probably my second batch of people I hired. First batch was basically a complete failure. So he was probably first successful hire I made. And yeah, we worked together in a bunch of projects and I wanted to work with someone who was very ambitious and even after making some money is still, like, very, very hungry and also, like, very, very, very smart. Mhmm. And I think Charles is one of the very, very few people who who are like that.
00:04:13 · Alan Chang, Nichole Wischoff
[00:04:13] S1: So he was probably my second batch of people I hired. First batch was basically a complete failure. So he was probably first successful hire I made. And yeah, we worked together in a bunch of projects and I wanted to work with someone who was very ambitious and even after making some money is still, like, very, very hungry and also, like, very, very, very smart. Mhmm. And I think Charles is one of the very, very few people who who are like that. [00:04:52] S0: That's amazing. I was gonna say, where would you say you compliment each other? Like, where is he strong that maybe you're not? I feel like these things are sort of like a marriage, so where would you say the balance is there? [00:05:02] S1: Yeah. So I I I I love pushing boundaries, so I I ask why can't this be done faster or why this, you know, why can't we do more at the same time? And then he he pushes back a lot on you know, sometimes I I I stretch a team so much that it's maybe it's, you know, Maybe stretch your goal so much that maybe it's, like, you know, actually not possible, whereas he tries to bring it back to reality. So I'd say, like, yeah, we we we we complement each other quite well on that front.
00:05:02 · Alan Chang, Nichole Wischoff
[00:05:02] S1: Yeah. So I I I I love pushing boundaries, so I I ask why can't this be done faster or why this, you know, why can't we do more at the same time? And then he he pushes back a lot on you know, sometimes I I I stretch a team so much that it's maybe it's, you know, Maybe stretch your goal so much that maybe it's, like, you know, actually not possible, whereas he tries to bring it back to reality. So I'd say, like, yeah, we we we we complement each other quite well on that front. [00:05:36] S0: Yeah. That's amazing. So you... It sounds like it's been almost four years, 2022. You start Fuse Energy, and you have since raised a 170,000,000, 70,000,000 recently. So congratulations. 400,000,000 in revenue in a very short time, I think since launching maybe '23. I wanna go back to the beginning. So what led to you leaving Revolut and starting, of all things, an an energy business, which, by the way, definitely needed in the world, so high priority, but very different from your background. So what sort of led to this this change in this idea?