SunCast 869: How Two Unlikely Founders Are Rewiring the Way Solar Gets Built | Ben Callam & Maksim Markevich of PVFarm
Oct 30, 2025
Ben Callam, an architect-turned-builder with extensive field experience, and Maksim Markevich, a self-taught software engineer and creator, co-founded PVFarm to bridge the solar design and buildability gap. They discuss why most solar software fails EPC needs, emphasizing the importance of collaboration over mere automation. Ben shares insights from building in challenging environments, while Maksim highlights the need for design tools that start near construction. Their journey illustrates the synergy between engineering and practical construction to make solar truly effective.
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Choose Domains Like Building A Factory
- Pick domains you love and where distribution and customers are known, like building a physical factory.
- Balance market size with the revenue model needed for your growth and fundraising plan.
Building In Expeditionary Conditions
- Ben worked on expeditionary builds in Afghanistan, learning to improvise with containers and local trades.
- Those constraints reshaped his view on practicality and the craft of making structures work in the field.
Zimbabwe Embassy Proved Design-To-Fabrication
- On the US Embassy in Zimbabwe they used BIM, plasma cutters and local shops to iterate the model into fabricated parts.
- The project finished early and proved a model of design-to-fabrication workflows in difficult contexts.