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Entrepreneur of the Month: Shondip Ghosh

Company Name: BANYAN ENERGY

Brief Description: Banyan Energy is developing a high efficiency solar technology that aims to reduce the cost of power from the sun.

1. What was your primary motivation for starting a company?

I have a Physics background. My partner, David Schultz, is pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. We were both looking for something that we could develop from scratch and own. Also, the ability to do something in your every day life that could have major implications for the way the world works was pretty alluring.

2. What were the major steps you went through to start your company?

The first step is understanding your environment. We spent two years researching the energy space, exploring ideas and trying different technology approaches. Once we decided on one that worked, we set out to work out the design intricacies and to build the prototype. At this point, we had a third person I knew from business school, Matt Evans, join our team. We worked on the business plan and incorporated over the summer. There are a number of legal issues around incorporation, such as ownership, filing the patent, making sure the IP was cleared from the University of California, since we were all associated with the University.

3. How did you raise funding? At what point in your launch cycle?

We are currently self-funded, and have been bootstrapping thus far. We are looking for seed funding right now to support our technology development, and will seek VC investment next year. We have a short list of venture capitalists in the energy arena, which we created by attending conferences and talking to people in the field.

4. What, in your opinion, are the elements that are key of being a successful entrepreneur?

There are two things that stand out for me. The first is commitment. You need to have incredible drive, energy and excitement for what you are doing. You can get by with being moderately excited, but having the kind of passion around “this is what I want to do with my life” is what will get you through those daunting (and numerous) moments when you come across a seemingly insurmountable problem and need to put all your efforts into overcoming it. In many cases, there is no structure you can rely on, you are trying to create that structure, and there really is no tangible upside at this point, except for the thrill of working on something that is truly important to you. Commitments opens up doors because when you are passionate about something, you are devoted to making it happen, and invariably, you do.

The other critical element is the ability to mobilize resources. Money, of course, is the most obvious. People are also critical resources. We were able to get Matt on board by getting him excited about our plan and vision. We are building relationships with people with decades of solar and manufacturing experience. Our patent lawyer is amongst the best for this technology; he typically works with large clients but he took us on because he liked us.

6. You talked about unfailing commitment, and they say that starting a company is a life-consuming event . How did you manage to retain some balance in your life? (or did you?)

I tend to be on the side of not having great balance. Starting a company you are passionate about is all-consuming. You have to make tradeoffs, some of which I am comfortable with, and others with which I am not. It’s always a struggle to tear yourself away to make time for your friends, or for yourself. But every once in a while, you have to cut yourself off.

7. What is the one thing you wish you knew before you started?

It’s all well and good to have a five-year plan, or even a one or two-year plan, but the reality is that you have to follow your nose for a little while. And the reason it happens that way is that opportunities present themselves at different times, and you have to be ready to avail of those opportunities while they exist, in order to grow the business.

8. What was your most valuable asset in the process?

Having the vision for what we are going to do, carving out the problem, fleshing out the opportunity is critical. Staying true to the vision keeps us on track.

9. What are some of the big opportunities you are seeing currently (India and US)?

The energy world is ripe for investment. We are looking at a several decade-long boom to change from our current energy systems to the new ones. This is a several trillion dollar industry and opportunities abound.

The other place is India. Whether in infrastructure, or in rural industry, or finance, every area of the economy is open for expansion. I have never worked in India, but have friends there who all confirm that doing business in India is a pain, but if you can stick it out, the opportunities are tremendous.

10. Resources/advice for our readers out there?

Here’s my one nugget: If you are thinking about starting a company, really focus on a problem you want to solve, that you can see yourself launching your life into, because that will be the key to your success. If you chase after the next hot technology but your heart is not in it, you won’t get too far.

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