The Small Business Black Holes with Alan Pentz From Bootstrap to $100M: How Lion Energy Built an Energy Revolution | Tyler Hortin
Mar 25, 2025
24:03
In this episode of Small Business Black Holes, host Alan Pentz sits down with Tyler Hortin, Co-founder of Lion Energy, who shares his journey of growing a bootstrapped emergency power solutions company from its founding in 2012 to $100 million in revenue, focusing on sustainable growth, product innovation, and strategic decision-making.
What You'll Learn:
- How to scale a bootstrapped business through disciplined reinvestment and strategic product development
- The essential balance of managing growth while maintaining profitability in a capital-intensive business
- Why quality control and extensive product testing are crucial for maintaining customer trust and reducing returns
- How to navigate the transition from product-focused to technology-driven business model
- The framework for making strategic decisions about product development and R&D investment
- Why distributed power storage solutions are becoming critical infrastructure beyond environmental benefits
- How to manage the crucial challenge of scaling your team alongside rapid business growth
- The importance of balancing multiple sales channels while maintaining product quality and customer experience
Highlights:
[5:12] Disciplined Bootstrapped Growth Strategy
[09:52] Product Development Funding Framework
[13:17] Quality-First Testing Protocol
[20:36] People-Centric Growth Management
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