EnergySage is making a big splash this week. The online solar marketplace provider both detailed its massive growth to this point and announced plans to greatly accelerate further expansion.
On the expansion side, EnerygSage opened a $1.5 million Series-A round of funding. Launchpad Venture Group led the round with participation from The New York Angels and the Clean Energy Venture Group. This strategic financing comes during a period of explosive growth for EnergySage, whose industry-first solar comparison-shopping platform is hoping to boost solar adoption around the country by helping consumers and business owners make well-informed decisions that yield greater returns on their solar investments.
Combined with previous seed-round funding from angel investors, an award from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) as well as two Department of Energy (DOE) SunShot Initiative Awards, this Series-A financing brings EnergySage’s total funding to more than $4 million. The new resources will be used to help the company amplify its sales and marketing efforts, building greater awareness of its groundbreaking solar comparison-shopping platform and expanding partnerships with businesses, municipalities, non-profits, utilities and a variety of other organizations striving to promote clean energy adoption. EnergySage currently operates in 30 states nationwide and expects to expand its footprint to all 50 states by year end 2015.
In conjunction with this funding, EnergySage also welcomed Gail Greenwald of Launchpad Venture Group to its board of directors. She joins board members Robert Gervis, also of Launchpad, and Tibor Toth of Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, an additional stakeholder in the company.
“EnergySage’s early success demonstrates the tremendous potential to be realized by simultaneously addressing the challenges faced by both consumers and installers,” said Greenwald. “This round of funding will fuel the company’s continued expansion, resulting in more rapid adoption of solar.”
EnergySage also noted that it achieved triple-digit growth in revenue and marketplace registrations from Q1 2014 through Q1 2015. The company has expanded its footprint within 30 states nationwide and forged partnerships with more than 40 businesses, municipalities, non-profit organizations and utilities striving to promote clean energy.
The EnergySage marketplace puts solar shopping in one place by providing all the information about solar energy systems consumers or business owners need to make a well-informed decision about solar installations. EnergySage enables users to quickly research and compare turnkey solar energy systems, explore financing options and obtain multiple price quotes from more than 250 high-quality, pre-screened solar installers. Consumers using EnergySage adopt solar at rates two to three times higher than industry norms and pay prices that are up to 20 percent less than market averages.
The marketplace also provides solar installers access to a large pool of knowledgeable prospective clients, giving them the ability to reduce customer acquisition costs and efficiently grow their businesses. According to EnergySage, installers’ sales cycles are 70 percent shorter and their customer acquisition costs drop by more than 50 percent compared to other channels.
“Residential solar energy adoption in particular has been inhibited by complexity, pushy salespeople and a lack of disclosure of market pricing – many consumers are paying more than they should and are getting locked into financing that’s not suitable to their particular needs,” said EnergySage CEO Vikram Aggarwal. “We address this problem head-on. EnergySage applies the same approach that one takes when shopping for anything else today – making people aware of all of their options, and without bias. We empower the solar energy buyer to drive the sales process in that they get all the information they want, when they want it, and can make direct comparisons about all of the ‘products’ available to them, from solar equipment and installers to financing.”
— Solar Builder magazine
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