Engine For Green Jobs: Premier Power CEO Dean Marks (Part 2)

SM: How did you fund your business? Did you get financing or did you bootstrap?

DM: It was all bootstrapping. The way we sold it, we would get progressive payments for a residential system. Whether it was retrofit or new construction we would get payments as modules were delivered. We were selling so many that we had cash flow coming in on a regular basis. That is what we grew up on.

SM: Tell me about your team.

DM: Miguel de Anquin is my partner and has been here since the beginning. He is from Argentina. We worked together in our past lives. Miguel is key and got his MBA from UC Davis.

SM: Did you have multiple suppliers?

DM: We had one supplier for almost five years: GE. They loved what we did and we liked their name and the fact that it was US made. It was not a big oil company trying to look green. They wanted to focus on this segment and came up with the Brilliance package, which is a GE module, GE inverter, and GE racking. It was all packaged together.

SM: How far did that take you? What kind of volume were you doing?

DM: We started out small. We grew the company and starting bringing on electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and civil engineers. We are very strong on the engineering and design side, and that sets us apart from our competitors. We now have 85 employees. We are very diverse and represent 10 different countries worldwide.

SM: You have 85 employees from 10 different countries?

DM: Yes, our staff comprises individuals who have been born in 10 different countries. Our employees are actually living here and in Spain. Our business is conducted in the US and Spain.

SM: This evolution occurred from 2001 to 2009. What is the revenue ramp you saw in that timeframe?

DM: Around 2004 we were doing $5 million. We did $13 million in 2006 and $17 million in 2007. We did $42 million in 2008.

SM: Is the nature of your business primarily residential?

DM: We started out 100% residential. They were people with 3,000–5,000 square foot homes whose utility bills were $300-$500 a month. These were houses that typically had some fountains or other waterworks which drove pumps, so their electric bills were always higher. Our customers were typically 45 years old and above. That was our target market. We grew around Sacramento and the surrounding areas, from downtown to the suburbs. We slowly started doing some agricultural and high-end winery installations.

This segment is part 2 in the series : Engine For Green Jobs: Premier Power CEO Dean Marks
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