Scaling an Energy Management Venture: Martin Manniche, CEO of Greenwave Systems (Part 7)

Sramana Mitra: What is the business today? Of all these different strategies, which one is generating the maximum revenue?

Martin Manniche: The biggest is Telco. It’s the fastest growing segment for us. As I said, it has really taken the company to the next step. We’re around 300 employee worldwide. Out of them, 220 are engineers. It’s a very engineering-heavy organization.

Sramana Mitra: What is the revenue range?

Martin Manniche: We are a private company but I will say we are between $60 million to $70 million.

Sramana Mitra: Is there anything else that you want to share in the story?

Martin Manniche: When I do speeches about entrepreneurship, the key point is the journey of being an entrepreneur is not just about having a good idea. It’s about being passionate about keep driving even when things are hard. Many people believe that being the CEO of the company is the best job you can have. What people don’t understand is all the tough parts need to be a part of that – the funding part of it, managing and growing, and HR.

You have to believe in yourself even when it’s very tough. Make sure that you don’t lose your passion and innovation. When customers start driving your roadmap, make sure that you do not get locked down so heavily that you can’t innovate and keep innovating.

Focus on being frugal when you run your companies. Make sure that there is always money for tough times and make sure you always consider how you’re going to fund when it’s tough. You can get all the VC money you want when you don’t need it, but when you need it, it’s hard. Bear that in mind.

As the company grows, many leaders stop being paranoid about competition. Always be paranoid about competition. Never be arrogant. As you become more and more successful, you often become more and more arrogant. Be humble. Be a great partner, and build win-win relationships.

Sramana Mitra: What is your relationship with the Denmark startup ecosystem? Do you participate?

Martin Manniche: I’m a goodwill ambassador of Copenhagen. I do a lot of goodwill. I’m also helping Danish entrepreneurs establish themselves. I am involved with a lot of different programs not just in Denmark, but also in the US on helping entrepreneurs both find seed capital and find professional boards. When you are successful to a certain extent, the point is when will you consider giving back? I’m definitely at a point where I’m spending a tremendous amount of time on goodwill.

Sramana Mitra: Great story. It was very nice to meet you.

This segment is part 7 in the series : Scaling an Energy Management Venture: Martin Manniche, CEO of Greenwave Systems
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