Monday, October 27, 2008

Its official

Well, Melanie and I are starting down the "startup trail" with a new company designed to provide wireless building and controls solutions to commercial and residential homes and facilities throughout the US. The company is called Enercient Systems Technologies, and will soon be providing wireless HVAC, energy management, security, remote monitoring, and keyless entry for commercial and residential customers.

Although I have been involved in several startups and various ventures throughout my life, I feel like this is "the one." I get excited about this every time I think about it (which is quite often) and its one of those things that I feel like is actually a culmination of my life's work, and that a success with this startup will give me the sense that "we did it"

Why?
1. Its is a product that I am passionate about being sold to a market that I know very well. I have had an interest in tech ever since I first saw two robots crash land on a desert planet looking for a way to save the galaxy. Tech is my passion, and I have spent more time and effort staying up with the latest technology than normal. I know the market because I have been involved in HVAC all of my life. Ever since I climbed into my dad's service truck and rode with him to climb onto the roofs of Washington DC I have known that I was born for this stuff. (Despite the fact that sometimes I was dragged kicking and screaming)

2. It is a green product that I can offer without looking like a sellout, and without wearing flowers in my hair. The bottom line is that I care about the environment, and I have the knowledge and the ability to actually do something about it, but I don't have to hug any trees, and I don't have to wear compressed cardboard sandals to do it. I have been offering energy efficient solutions for years- who knew what I do would become such a fad?

3. It is a product that has staying power. Yes, I'm talking about legacy. I feel that this is a company that my son and daughter would someday be proud to someday work for (and eventually own) and I feel that this is something that will carry me through to retirement.

It is true that depite all of the piss and vinegar I had in my 20's I was clueless when it came to discovering what really matters. I thought I understood business, I thought I knew what it meant to change the world, and I thought I knew what role I would eventually play in this world.

Now I am 37 years old, and despite the fact that most baby boomers I know are kicking and screaming their way into retirement age, I want to use this company as the opportunity to move gracefully into middle-age, and spend the time from my mid-forties to retirement investing in the generation behind me, and leave them a world that sucks a little less than the one I have encountered this far.

I see a world where wireless products can monitor energy use and provide real-time data and energy saving solutions. I see a world where people can send and receive updates about their home on their iphones and windows mobile devices. I see a world where your heat pump can call your hvac contractor, and provide efficiency data so that your contractor can make repairs to your system proactively before catastrophic breakdowns occur. I see a world where building systems technologies provide a node for seamless integration with a larger, global wireless network that revolutionizes communications, interoperability, and information sharing.

Check back frequentlty to the Enercient website, and watch for opportunities to invest, network with us, partner with our company and help us bring this exciting product to market.

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