Problem

Community solar was a promising but chaotic new market. Customers wanted clean energy but were confused by opaque terms, delays, and predatory contracts. Meanwhile, developers focused on infrastructure—not customer experience. There was no clear way to compare offerings or enroll with confidence, and the entire category lacked trust and transparency.

Solution

I helped build a clear, consumer-first platform from the ground up:

• Created a search-and-compare tool for community solar subscriptions, allowing customers to view availability, pricing, and terms by address.

• Led the rebrand from “A-Sharp Energy” to SolarMatch

• Built all brand identity, messaging, and marketing from scratch—including a video campaign, paid social, referral incentives, and event outreach.

• Tested messaging live at a booth in the Eco Experience of the Minnesota State Fair, enrolling hundreds of customers through 1:1 conversations and iterative scripting.

• Recruited developers to list their offerings, improving transparency and competition.

• Developed referral pipelines and low-cost acquisition strategies to maximize early traction.

• Earned recognition as a Minnesota Cup startup competition finalist.

Challenges

• A shift in the regulatory environment and new federal solar equipment tariffs sharply increased the cost of building solar gardens—shrinking both supply and demand, reducing the buyers and sellers in our marketplace.

• Utility siting restrictions limited where solar gardens could be built, reducing available options for metro-area customers.

• We lacked control over the final customer experience: once we handed off warm leads to solar developers, their sub-optimal customer processes led to low conversion rates.

• These barriers made it difficult to scale profitably—despite early traction and customer interest.

Results

• Built the first transparent, customer-focused community solar marketplace.

• Attracted hundreds of early adopters and proved the model had strong consumer appeal.

• Attracted seed funding and generated initial revenue.

• Ultimately, the company was acquired by a solar developer seeking to internalize the billing and customer management systems we built.

Takeaway

SolarMatch showed how transparency and clarity can unlock demand in complex markets. But it also taught me that no matter how strong your product and marketing is, you must control the customer journey end to end—or partner closely enough to improve it. And that even great ideas can’t outrun policy shifts, regulatory risk, and structural market headwinds.