Here's How Radhika Choudary's venture promotes use of rooftop solar energy

Radhika Choudary is the co-founder of Freyr Energy that deals in rooftop solar segment for homes and businesses. Her aim is to increase awareness among people about Solar and make the journey of her customers easy and seamless. Here's her journey in her own words.

How entrepreneurship happened to me:

I was initially working in the wind energy sector, then moved to Solar Energy and worked in this industry for 13 years before starting Freyr Energy. While working I realised that the residential sector was not being catered to and there is a niche opportunity in rooftop solar segment for homes and businesses. During this time, I had met Saurabh as a consultant. Our growing camaraderie led us to start Freyr Energy in 2014 and focus on solar rooftop sector. At that time, the price of Solar had crashed and the subsidy was not a mandatory requirement. This led to the opening up of the private sector. We were keen to solve challenges such as customer acquisition and scaling the business sustainably across the country for our business.

Initially, I was looking after the sales division while Saurabh took care of business development, complementing each other's skill set. After strengthening our I started to oversee the Business Development, Marketing and HR division of the company. I work towards bringing new business opportunities for the company and strengthen the technology platform with key customer insights. Developing a strategic partnership with manufacturers to ensure that we are able to offer quality products at affordable prices to our customers is also our priority.

My immediate goal:

My immediate goal would be to get 1,00,000 downloads for our customer app SunPro+ in the next 6 months. The app was launched on 15 July, 2020. I plan to increase awareness to people about Solar and make the journey for our customers easy and seamless.

Challenges faced in the journey:

In 2014, when Freyr Energy ventured into rooftop solar, the awareness was minimal. It was very challenging for us to convince our customers to adopt solar. The main challenge was the uncertainty in the minds of the customers due to the government regulations and fluctuating subsidies. This also led to a lot of customers postponing their decisions. The drastic reduction in price of solar systems over the last few years, made it one of the cheapest sources of power. The increasing awareness of solar and it's pay back period of 3-4 years has further made it an attractive investment option for our customers.

Benefits of starting small:

Since we are a small company it becomes easy for us to evaluate opportunities and act on them quickly and efficiently. Due to the lack of a rigid hierarchy, we have found that it is easier for us to mentor and engage effectively with employees. The open communication brings out productivity and creates a positive environment within the team.

How pandemic has affected my business:

During the pandemic, Solar was not being considered as an option, even though it was the best solution to reduce operation costs for businesses. The uncertainty in the customers' minds also impacted the business. To cope with this, we started to look at decisions closely and carefully monitor external cash investment. Our business started working on various innovations to create new opportunities. We launched our revolutionary app SunPro+ to help customers place a contact-less order through the app. Recently, we also came up with financing options to make it more affordable for customers. Here our consumers pay a monthly EMI and own the system helping them maximise their savings.

Tips for aspiring entrepreneurs

The first tip I want to share is "fail cheap, fail fast". It would not be efficient if you want to go ahead without enough research and hands-on experience. It is necessary to know and analyse your thoughts and have a good plan before you jump into starting something on your own.

I always believe in my experience that being an entrepreneur is a full-time job. If you have decided to start a startup, dive into it 100%. A full commitment is the best way for you to grow and build trust.

It is also necessary to maintain proper books and accounts to avoid things being bundled up later. It is necessary to be organised and maintain the financials well. I also suggest to have mentors for constant guidance, get new ideas and different perspectives.

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