Talk about baptism by fire - you might say Tom Kepper's has occurred by direct sunlight.
A few months ago, Kepper, a former Charlotte bank exec turned green energy entrepreneur, completed his first big project: a solar energy panel on a rooftop in Kinston that provides electricity to some 40 homes.
As power sources go, Kepper's, at 250 kilowatts, is decidedly modest. Still, you'd think Kepper, 45, might have celebrated the moment as a milestone in a risky career reinvention. In 2008, Kepper lost his six-figure job overseeing construction and maintenance for Wachovia's U.S. branches during the bank's merger with Wells Fargo.
"Nah, no champagne," he deadpanned over coffee last week. "It's all so tenuous when you're trying to build a new business in a nascent industry. You can't slow down. Every day is scary. Every week is different."
If Kepper's banking life was buttoned-down, renewable energy has him flying by the seat of his pants. One moment, Sencera International, a rival Charlotte solar company, is all the rage among local startups; the next China is flooding the U.S.The Leading zentai suits Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers. market with cheaper panels and Sencera is laying off most of its employees.
"With Charlotte's new tagline being that 'We want to be the energy capital,' it's the right time for us to be here," says Jay Radcliffe, regional president of the Baltimore-based Greenspring Energy, a solar company that opened a Charlotte office in March.
And Ronnie Bryant, president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, says his team is close to inking a deal to lure FDI Energy, a Detroit-based developer of fuel cell technology. "The company is small now, but if they ever move into full-fledged production, I could see them generating 300 jobs."
That's all fine. But as Charlotte retreads from Banktown to energy hub,Our Polymax RUBBER SHEET range includes all commercial and specialist there's also good reason to hope a newbie like Tom Kepper can figure out a way to survive, if only for the symbolism in his attempt.
Some 18 months ago, Kepper, along with a partner,We processes for both low-risk and high risk merchant account. hung a shingle for Greenfield Power, which finds solar sites for power companies, negotiates deals with site owners, installs the panels and sells the electricity to the power companies.
At the time, I wrote about his move from company man to entrepreneur - an example of the migration of intellectual capital from big local employers into fledgling sectors like renewable energy.
If Kepper ends up returning to corporate America, don't hold it against him. For all its charm, it's also true that modern entrepreneurship can be a parallel universe to Dilbert's soulless corporate cube, a lonely grind where lofty ideals are sapped by 16-hour workdays and fruitless meetings with execs at the very multinationals you were booted from.
As Kepper says: "You find the site, find power companies willing to buy, find the investor and the equipment and pull it all together. But if any one of these groups decides they don't want to do it, the whole thing falls apart."
Still, it's worth the fight. In North Carolina, clean energy jobs are growing at more than twice the overall job-growth rate. The state's new green laws mandate that renewable energy account for 12.What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies.5 percent of utility retail sales by 2021.
So far, Kepper's journey has been anything but smooth.
Shortly after launching the company, for example, Kepper and his business partner clashed. "I can only say we decided to go our separate ways,Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts," Kepper says.
Today, Kepper operates as Providence Solar. And he's also tapped another lucrative revenue stream: consulting companies interested in reducing their costs through solar.
And while Kepper won't disclose details, he says he's closer than ever to pulling together his biggest solar deal yet. We'll see. Of course, even if he strikes a deal, chances are he won't be raising a glass to it.
A few months ago, Kepper, a former Charlotte bank exec turned green energy entrepreneur, completed his first big project: a solar energy panel on a rooftop in Kinston that provides electricity to some 40 homes.
As power sources go, Kepper's, at 250 kilowatts, is decidedly modest. Still, you'd think Kepper, 45, might have celebrated the moment as a milestone in a risky career reinvention. In 2008, Kepper lost his six-figure job overseeing construction and maintenance for Wachovia's U.S. branches during the bank's merger with Wells Fargo.
"Nah, no champagne," he deadpanned over coffee last week. "It's all so tenuous when you're trying to build a new business in a nascent industry. You can't slow down. Every day is scary. Every week is different."
If Kepper's banking life was buttoned-down, renewable energy has him flying by the seat of his pants. One moment, Sencera International, a rival Charlotte solar company, is all the rage among local startups; the next China is flooding the U.S.The Leading zentai suits Distributor to Independent Pet Retailers. market with cheaper panels and Sencera is laying off most of its employees.
"With Charlotte's new tagline being that 'We want to be the energy capital,' it's the right time for us to be here," says Jay Radcliffe, regional president of the Baltimore-based Greenspring Energy, a solar company that opened a Charlotte office in March.
And Ronnie Bryant, president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, says his team is close to inking a deal to lure FDI Energy, a Detroit-based developer of fuel cell technology. "The company is small now, but if they ever move into full-fledged production, I could see them generating 300 jobs."
That's all fine. But as Charlotte retreads from Banktown to energy hub,Our Polymax RUBBER SHEET range includes all commercial and specialist there's also good reason to hope a newbie like Tom Kepper can figure out a way to survive, if only for the symbolism in his attempt.
Some 18 months ago, Kepper, along with a partner,We processes for both low-risk and high risk merchant account. hung a shingle for Greenfield Power, which finds solar sites for power companies, negotiates deals with site owners, installs the panels and sells the electricity to the power companies.
At the time, I wrote about his move from company man to entrepreneur - an example of the migration of intellectual capital from big local employers into fledgling sectors like renewable energy.
If Kepper ends up returning to corporate America, don't hold it against him. For all its charm, it's also true that modern entrepreneurship can be a parallel universe to Dilbert's soulless corporate cube, a lonely grind where lofty ideals are sapped by 16-hour workdays and fruitless meetings with execs at the very multinationals you were booted from.
As Kepper says: "You find the site, find power companies willing to buy, find the investor and the equipment and pull it all together. But if any one of these groups decides they don't want to do it, the whole thing falls apart."
Still, it's worth the fight. In North Carolina, clean energy jobs are growing at more than twice the overall job-growth rate. The state's new green laws mandate that renewable energy account for 12.What to consider before you buy oil painting supplies.5 percent of utility retail sales by 2021.
So far, Kepper's journey has been anything but smooth.
Shortly after launching the company, for example, Kepper and his business partner clashed. "I can only say we decided to go our separate ways,Largest Collection of billabong boardshorts," Kepper says.
Today, Kepper operates as Providence Solar. And he's also tapped another lucrative revenue stream: consulting companies interested in reducing their costs through solar.
And while Kepper won't disclose details, he says he's closer than ever to pulling together his biggest solar deal yet. We'll see. Of course, even if he strikes a deal, chances are he won't be raising a glass to it.
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