Domain Knowledge Wins: Larry Goldenhersh, CEO of Enviance (Part 5)

Sramana: Who was your first paying customer and how did you find them?

Larry Goldenhersh: The DuPont Corporation was our first material customer. We were in Washington briefing Senate and Congressional staff on the vision of using the Internet to cut the cost and improve the quality of environmental compliance. I had worked with Congressional Staff prior as a strategic advisor. I had been designated by the Speaker of the California Assembly the representative of the people of California and the Department of Fish and Game in a big resource dispute over Proposition 132.

The people of California had legislated the removal of monofilament elements from the waters of California. The commercial fishing industry had sued the state claiming that Proposition 132 was unconstitutional under both the Federal and California constitutions. I had been hired to help beat back that claim. Throughout that process I had been introduced to various people in Washington.

After that had concluded I then had a desire to meet with congressional staff members to explain how to leverage the Internet for environmental compliance. In one of those meetings a staff member said that DuPont had a relationship with the EPA and was trying to build something like what I was talking about. They recommended that I talk to them. My head of sales and marketing had spent 15 years at DuPont so when we left that meeting we called DuPont from the cab and asked them if we could come and talk to them about leveraging the Internet to expedite their environmental compliance process.

A week later we were in Wilmington explaining how it was that Enviance could take the Toxic Release Inventory Reporting Tool that DuPont had developed and optimize it using Internet tools. DuPont had developed a reporting tool to file the Toxic Release Inventory Report with the EPA. It was a cradle to grave report that the EPA estimated consumed 8 million hours of time across industry. DuPont had tried to automate it and they had a non web based solution. Enviance, along with another Internet based compliance provider that is no longer around, and SAIC competed for the right to take that product and optimize it. We won that competition.

Sramana: How big was that deal?

Larry Goldenhersh: The deal was quite substantial in a lot of ways. DuPont allowed us to publicly announce that they had engaged us to re-tool their reporting tool. They walked us around thought leadership conferences and introduced us to other companies, explaining that they had selected us because of our domain knowledge. At the end of the day DuPont uses Enviance to manage compliance at all 32 of its chemical facilities in the United States. It is a very successful 12 year relationship.

Sramana: That is an excellent reference customer to get you into other large accounts.

Larry Goldenhersh: It was the stone age of the Internet, there were no web services, we had 6 people, and we were the only company that DuPont was walking around and showing to the world. DuPont is the largest chemical company in the world so that says something when they walk you around.

Sramana: Who followed that reference account?

Larry Goldenhersh: Pacific Gas and Electric followed. We met the Director of Environmental Health and Safety of Pacific Gas and Electric at a conference. People will not come to you, you have to go to them, so we brought him to our booth. We showed him how the Internet could optimize, safe cost and improve quality. He loved the Internet, he got it, and he was interested. A month later we had a very, very small contract to start work with them. Today they are one of our big utility customers and a 12 year partner. Last month they did a webinar on how they use Enviance for all of its greenhouse gas reporting.

This segment is part 5 in the series : Domain Knowledge Wins: Larry Goldenhersh, CEO of Enviance
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