The Importance of Humility in Startup Mode

Kate Henningsen is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Arcadia. Arcadia is a tech company empowering energy innovators and consumers to fight the climate crisis. Arcadia started as a way for consumers to gain access to premium renewable energy credits for their home energy consumption. They now claim to be the leading manager of community solar projects in the United States. They've expanded on that with the launch of the ARC platform in late 2021 and the acquisition of Urjanet in the spring of 2022, which together allow Arcadia to offer developer API access to data from over 10,000 utilities globally across electric, water, gas, and waste.

Kate has scaled the business to hundreds of global employees, significant revenue, and hundreds of millions of dollars in capital raised. We talk about how she's managed her own transition from startup to scale and the advice she often gives to women looking to work in climate tech. We're thrilled to be multiple time investors in Arcadia via our MCJ Collective Venture funds. To us, they represent one of the standout success stories in terms of being a high growth digital company that's driving real impact on decarbonization.

In this episode, we cover: 

• [01:55]: Kate's background
• [05:08]: Arcadia's beginnings: Premium RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates)
• [07:48]: Arcadia's billing relationship with customers
• [09:41]: Arcadia's first core proposition: Matching everyone who wants it with clean energy
• [10:55]: Becoming the largest manager of community solar projects in the US
• [12:22]: Building relationships with utilities
• [14:40]: The popularity of community solar projects
• [16:46]: How the energy market has evolved in the last five years
• [18:34]: Sign-up process for community solar
• [23:00]: The savings benefits of community solar and its role in the market
• [26:16]: Origins and overview of the ARC platform and role of EV manufacturers
• [31:00]: Arcadia's acquisition of Urjanet
• [34:01]: How Kate manages as COO of two large businesses
• [36:47]: How to maneuver within the "monopoly system" of the energy market
• [39:31]: The need for humility and adaptability while scaling
• [41:12]: Kate's advice for women breaking into climate
• [45:42]: Advice for founders navigating today's market environment
• [49:33]: The future of Arcadia and how folks can get connected

Get connected: 
Kate Henningsen
Cody Simms Twitter / LinkedIn
MCJ Podcast / Collective

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Episode recorded on May 31, 2023

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*Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant