This article was contributed by Robert Gosselin, marketing strategist at Cornerstone Business Advisors

Our role at Cornerstone Business Advisors is to provide clients with access to people who are experts in business and marketing strategy, management, process and finance. We share our knowledge to help clients drive higher revenues, earn more profit and maximizing their business value.  

In our work, we often help clients raise operating capital, a challenge that takes vision, focus and hard work. As an example, I will share how Cornerstone Business Advisors helped Koolbridge Solar, Inc. raise capital from outside investors.

Koolbridge Solar designs and manufactures highly efficient and reliable high-power smart solar technology, including its Transformerless Sinewave DC to AC Inverters and a Smart Load Center, which selects the use of utility or solar power independently for each number of load circuits, based on availability.

The Koolbridge Solar System offers the benefit of power from the sun if the utility goes out, and power from the utility provider if the sun is not shining. If both are available, the Koolbridge Solar System chooses free power from solar sources, which can significantly reduce a homeowner’s electric bill. According to Paul Dent, the company’s founder, “Installing a solar system without a smart energy management system like Koolbridge Solar's Smart Load Center is like installing a heating and cooling system without a thermostat.”

The Benefits of Solar Power

The use of solar power continues to grow across the world, but there has been no “smart” technology until now to manage and distribute the power throughout a home or a business in a seamless fashion.  

Today's home solar installations fall into two categories:

1. Grid-tied systems that feed power back into the grid through metering devices and are required to shut down when the utility has an outage. This means that the homeowner is without power despite investing in a solar system to overcome that very situation.
    
2. Standalone solar systems that rely on a battery to store power when the sun is shining and to deliver it 24/7/365 when the homeowner wants it. A large enough battery allows this system to be totally off the grid. But even the largest batteries cannot bridge more than a few cloudy days in succession, so a generator is usually an additional component of this system. Unfortunately, the cost to run the generator is three times as much as power from a utility provider.  

Primary research that we conducted on behalf of Koolbridge Solar indicated that its market focus and highest yield would come from the residential sector, where more than 90,000 homes a month are projected to be built, and builders and homeowners alike are demanding increased efficiencies and economic value. By readying new homes for future solar panel installation or battery backup, the growth potential for investors and the company is enormous, as is the market for upgrading existing homes. According to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Incubator Program, the worldwide photovoltaic market is valued at $81 billion, and represents only 1 percent of total worldwide electrical output. The addressable residential market in the U.S. of 90,000 new units per month represents $54 million of revenue per month or $648 million annually for the Smart Load Center product alone.

We believe Koolbridge Solar’s unique and potential solution has the ability to capture a significant share of this market.

The Challenge to CBA

Koolbridge Solar’s challenge to us was to advise them how to raise $500,000 from outside investors. The company was founded on a patentable idea by Paul Dent that is far ahead of any competitive device. The company’s original founders had used most of their personal investments to develop prototypes and obtain the patents needed to assure rights to the use of their own technology. For Koolbridge Solar to move to the next stage, it needed capital for prototype testing and production startup. Koolbridge is actively pursuing accredited investors who see the potential in solar system technology and want Koolbridge Solar to become the leader in solar energy management.

Cornerstone's roles was to help the leadership team prepare a detailed executive summary and high-level PowerPoint presentation.  We also coached the team how to make the pitch to interested investors.  To date, the presentations made by Koolbridge throughout North Carolina have helped them to reach more than two-thirds of its $500,000 goal.

The funds being raised will go toward prototype development, UL approval, commercialization of products, brand building, and market development for the residential market, which we believe represents the fastest and highest growth potential for Koolbridge Solar. In our opinion, there is no other company that has done what Koolbridge Solar is doing for the effective management of solar energy.

Cornerstone Business Advisors brings a wealth of senior level management to Koolbridge Solar that it does not have on staff.  We see our business relationship with Koolbridge Solar as a long-term liaison that will contribute to the company’s continued growth and eventual leadership in the solar management industry. If you are interested in learning more about Koolbridge Solar, I encourage you to visit its web site at www.koolbridgesolar.com.

The Cornerstone team includes former C-Level executives, successful entrepreneurs and advisors who offer unmatched experience in delivering advanced, custom-tailored, results-oriented solutions for business leaders. Cornerstone has worked with hundreds of companies that range from fast-growth start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. It developed the Performance Culture System™ to help clients implement best practices and drive high performance throughout their organization. For more information, visit www.launchgrowexit.com, call 910-681-1420, or email [email protected].