We invited Praneeth Pillarisetti, Founder of Birds Eye Energy for an interview with Most Popular Stories to know more about his entrepreneurial journey.
Birds Eye Energy is a green energy company with a strong focus on R&D. They are aiming to launch innovative green energy technologies that are first of their kind in India. Birds Eye Energy has been recognized as the 10 best green energy companies of 2019. Also been recognized by United Nations (UNIDO) for Its innovative products.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an entrepreneur
Ever since I studied Masters in Renewable energy at the University of Florida, it has been my dream to start a company that would be the innovation leader in the Indian energy segment.
The startup was founded in 2017 and right from the start, it was pretty clear that I did not want to be similar to the 100’s of solar energy companies in India. I was pretty clear on 3 things that would set us apart from other energy companies:
- Every product would be developed completely indigenously by us from scratch
- Every product we develop would be world-class
- Every product we develop would be the best fit its customer segment
Solar is the most widely accepted green energy technology, so it seemed to be the best starting point. Hence our road map for the next few years is focused on solar. But our long term vision is to innovate in other technologies as well, such as fuel cells, waste to energy, EVs, etc.
The vision and dream were always there, but once I figured out the solid business plan, my friends (from B.Tech) came forward as the seed investors. Then we collaborated with my alma mater IIT Madras and CSIR-CEERI Chennai to develop India’s first 2-in-1 solar panel.
- Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
Although I loved my job at Cummins in the US and I was working on the cutting edge of technology, I always felt like I could be doing something more impactful in India. India’s energy segment is set to grow at a great pace and I believed this is the right place for innovation.
Also in a large corporation, one is always replaceable, just another cog in the wheel. If not me, someone else will do the same job and accomplish the same thing for the company and customers. But doing what I am doing now with Birds Eye Energy being the first to launch a technology like this, I can surely say that if not for us, this technology wouldn’t be in India.
I feel like we are creating something and making an impact that is truly irreplaceable. If not for us, my customers would not have gone solar, or they wouldn’t have been able to achieve the type of savings and results that they have achieved with our systems Rather than being just another cog in the wheel, we are blazing a trail for other wheels to follow.
- What was the vision behind it?
Our vision is ambitious and simple: Build India’s most innovative energy company.
During my 10 years of education and work experience in the US, I worked with great companies like Cummins, Ford, which were working on cutting edge technology. But none of this research was focused on energy segments of developing countries like India.
That is where the dream of building an Indian company that does world-class innovations, indigenously, not just for India, but the entire world. This is why our first product 2-in-1 panel is built as per European standards and has even outperformed similar German products in a side-by-side benchmarking test.
- Describe the services that you offer to your customers and in what way they are unique?
We developed and launched India’s first and only 2-in-1 solar panels. Our panels can provide both electricity and hot water simultaneously from a single panel. (all other solar panels either produce only hot water or only electricity).
We provide a total turnkey solution for the customer where we design, install, and commission the entire system. So far we worked with many marquee clients such as OYO, Indian Railways, Novotel, and have installations across 5 different states.
We did not stop there. In response to the COVID crisis, we launched a new Opex model campaign for the hotel segment. Hotels are the worst hit segment due to the ongoing crisis. So to help our hotel customers be more capital efficient, we offer our solar solution with zero investment (we invest in the system by ourselves).
We recover by charging them on electricity and give them hot water for free. This way we help the hotel save money from day 1, without any investment. This is just another example of how we continuously evolve and think out of the box to make sure that our offering is the best fit for the customer segment.
- What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?
Most of the challenges we face are that faced by most startups: Managing cash flows, re-evaluating every rupee we spend, often being stretched thin on manpower, etc.
In addition to those, the challenge of being the first in the market is that most customers are slow to adapt to a new product. There have been cases where we lost business because the customer thought we did not have enough experience to execute the project; whereas in reality, even our very first project was much more complicated than this.
As a team, Harsha (my co-founder) and I take these in our stride. We are in this for the long run and we know that the product we have is a winner; and that confidence keeps us going with the same enthusiasm day after day despite the challenges we face.
- How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Stress from running a startup is unlike any other. I unwind on the tennis court. I play tennis every morning and that 1 hr on the court feels like a ‘mini-vacation’. My family is my support system and spending quality time with my parents and wife is something I look
forward to.
Our smallest and the cutest member of our family, (our pet dog) Marco is a great and hyperactive companion. Spending time with him is a great stress buster.
- How your company is helping India to grow?
I believe we are helping India grow on multiple fronts.
Our direct impact is to reduce the carbon footprint of Indian consumers. Since our 2-in-1 panels are the most efficient solar panels in India, our panels produce more than 2 times the energy from the same rooftop space as compared to other solar technologies. So we maximize the solar generation and have the biggest impact on the environment as compared to any other solar technology in India. Every single solar panel we install reduces the greenhouse gas by 17 tonnes! That is equivalent to planting 300 trees!
Also, since our products are designed to address all the disadvantages of ordinary solar technologies, more people will now go solar and help maximize the impact of Birds Eye Energy.
The other impact we hope to have long term is on the innovation front. We want to set an example that world-class innovative products developed in India; not just for Indian markets but for world markets.
We want to set an example where innovative made in India products not only compete in the world but can outperform the best products from the rest of the world.
To contact Birds Eye Energy,Click Here!
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Excellent ‘Made In India’ innovation. Good Luck to the Founders and wish this success paves way to some more inventions to make India proud.