UrbanVolt supplies lighting as a service. Founder Kevin Maughan is on a global mission.
What’s your elevator pitch?
UrbanVolt is an award-winning Irish company that provides ‘Light as a Service’ to industrial and commercial clients. We invest all the money to install and maintain new LED lighting fixtures, generating an immediate 75% savings on energy costs for our customers. We then share those cash savings with our clients for five years.
How long have you been in business?
We started in September 2015 and went to market in Jan 2016. Since our market launch, we have helped our Irish clients save over 20 million euros, without anyone ever asking a customer for a penny upfront.
What did you want to be ‘when you grew up’?
I don’t want to grow up, ask me in 20 years.
What’s your ambition now?
Our innovative business model can save billions of euros for businesses around the world, and we are determined to deliver on that potential. By 2020, we aim to provide one billion euros in savings for our customers and help to make the world’s transition to sustainability easier.
“We never received support from any of the government-sponsored programmes, as they showed no interest and a total lack of understanding of our business model.”
What’s the most important thing you have learned so far in business?
Surround yourself with great people and then give them the confidence and the belief that they can achieve anything. Most businesses look for people who have reached their potential and are ‘proven players’ in their respective careers. We believe in the opposite – find people before they reach their potential and help them to get there.
What was your biggest ‘mistake’ been, in business so far?
This is a tough question as I’ve made many errors in business over the years. However, upon reflection, I can say that there has
