202: How this Israeli Entrepreneur is Simplifying the Solar Business ☀ | Aviv Shalgi of Solar Simplified

202: How this Israeli Entrepreneur is Simplifying the Solar Business ☀ | Aviv Shalgi of Solar Simplified

Background on Aviv Shalgi of Solar Simplified:

Aviv Shalgi is a serial entrepreneur, and is the CEO of an energy tech startup Solar Simplified, which is a platform that matches renters and homeowners who care about the environment and want to save money on the electricity bill with local solar farms. For more than 6 years, Aviv has been a Board Member, Mentor, and Advisor to many entrepreneurs, startups, investors, VCs, and non-profit organizations.

In the past, Aviv served as a Captain in the IDF (Israel’s “Eyes in the sky”) and worked in Hardware and Management Consulting, and received multiple innovation excellence awards, including The Major-General of Intelligence Corps award for Creative Thinking. Aside from building two successful startups, he is a Business Development and Corporate Development professional with several successful M&A, VC investments, and joint ventures under his belt.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[2:04] Aviv Shalgi, 34 years old from Chicago, Illinois, runs a startup called Solar Simplified, which builds a platform that can connect consumers with solar developers.
[3:27] Explaining further what Solar Simplified is all about.
[8:41] Solar Simplified is a very small company, currently with 6 employees servicing a thousand households. They are looking to expand their business throughout the country.
[10:09] Everybody is making money through their service, according to Aviv.
[17:35] They are the only company that is doing this type of business, which proved to be very exciting for Aviv.
[21:24] Aviv is from Israel and moved to the US five years ago. He served in the Israeli military for four years operating satellites.
[23:56] After his stint in the military, he worked in the engineering and management consulting industry, and then joined a mobile advertising startup.
[27:51] The mobile advertising startup needed Aviv to make money or else they would not survive.
[31:47] Hiring and working with people you can trust is very important for Aviv.
[35:31] Aviv offers a bit of advice on how to do a successful pitch.
[40:48] The idea to create a new startup within a startup came up for Aviv.
[44:35] Moving to the US was part business and part personal decision and they wanted to experience living abroad.
[46:37] Culture shock wasn’t much of an issue when Aviv came to the US.
[52:49] It can become super complicated when moving abroad. Aviv recommends doing a lot of planning to make the transition between countries easier.
[57:39] Aviv shares his second startup story called Dormigo.
[1:02:39] Pouring most of his savings into his second startup was a scary experience for Aviv and he doesn’t recommend it to entrepreneurs.
[1:09:23] Most entrepreneurs would say go for it but Aviv does not believe in this advice.

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Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖📚 Favorite Books? The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Alexa
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Asana
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Reaching More Solar Developers, As Those are Usually Done by Small Teams of 5-10 People. Companies which Build Solar Power Plants and Want to Increase Their Profits and Eliminate Their Customers Risks, While Selling Their Energy to the Masses

Key Point from the Interview:

“All of the ride sharing apps if you think about them, they’re facilitating a connection between a driver and a rider and taking a cut. We’re doing the exact same thing, facilitating renewable energy power plant with somebody who wants to buy or use renewable energy in their home or in their business.”

Resources Mentioned:

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