About CTLR’s #HumansOfCleantech
Modeled after the New York Times' Humans of New York series, this is an idea by Peter Kelley and the RenewComm team for us to showcase our members!
Follow #humansofcleantech on LinkedIn for more in this series. #climatetech #energytransition #cleantechleadersroundtable
"I said it then and I say it now: ‘I don't know what I want to be when I grow up!’
"I grew up in a house my father built. He was a bang-the-nails carpenter. Self-made everything, did everything with his hands, literally built the entire house. My mom was an x-ray tech.
“I learned that a new pair of sneakers, if it can go 15, 18 months, it’d be better. I learned the value of hard work at a young age.
“My dad was still hitting nails up to about 90. I inherited his truck, which is the same truck he drove when I was 12. It’s sitting there in the garage. He said if I ever sell it, he's going to haunt me.
"I played baseball and football from when I was six or seven through college. I’m a big team player.
“I was a combination of hardcore athlete and a bit of a gearhead. Rode a lot of things, minibikes, snowmobiles. Built tree forts.
“I built a go kart with plans I bought from Hot Rod Magazine for $2.99, built the whole thing from scratch.
"I was really into model rockets. I designed my own rocket at the age of nine. I called it The Andromeda, because I liked horror movies.
“I thought it was going to work, but it didn't fly very well. I was not an engineer. My rocket won the looks contest, but when it took off, it went up, turned over, and crashed.
"I wasn't going to make the pros in baseball or football, but I wanted to keep playing. I ended up picking Trinity College and majored in economics.
"My favorite subject was philosophy. Absolutely loved it. It has the keys to many answers in life, including scientific ones. It gets my mind off of work, which is helpful.
"I was close to starting a company to create the fountain of youth. There's a combination to every lock, you just have to find it. Then a cousin said, 'Al, you're going to screw up evolution.’ I thought about that and said, 'You're right.'
"With energy you can make money and help the world. I like that balance. Capitalism doesn't always offer that opportunity.
"I left my last company right after a board meeting. They needed to shrink for profit. I'm a growth CEO; I'm a crappy shrinker. Also I wanted to start my third company. So I ripped the bandaid off.
"At Budderfly, I created a business model from scratch, and funded it myself in the first phase. So I’m crazy enough to bet on myself, but that way I didn't have to explain it to everybody. I could take the risk and get it to a point of success, enough to do the next funding round.
"The monetary side is important, but it's a scoreboard. How you play the game matters more. Who you play it with matters more to me than anything."
Al Subbloie is founder and CEO of Budderfly, which sells Energy Efficiency as a Service. Budderfly provides the upfront capital and does the installation and maintenance for cutting-edge technology that reduces waste, increases efficiency, and measures impact.
View other inspirational #HumansOfCleantech stories:
Meet Mahesh Konduru
Meet Ari Raivetz
Meet Cheryl Ginyard-Jones
Meet Raina Tillman Hornaday
Meet Dawn James
Meet David Magid
Meet Rich Kassel
Meet Meghan Nutting
Meet Chris Mathey
Meet Pat Sapinsley
Meet Chante Harris
Meet Patty Wright
Meet Kevin Doffing