Plentify is a mission-driven organization that aims to have a meaningful impact on climate change. It is born out of a South African need to reduce stress on the electrical grid in order to avoid blackouts and brownouts and revert to dirty energy sources. Its founders realize that South Africa’s situation is not unique, and that climate change is a global issue. With a goal of developing a multinational company from the outset, the Plentify team has invested time and energy in developing entry strategies into three key international markets: the United States, continental Europe and the UK.

As part of Plentify’s growth team, I was tasked with leading go-to-market and business development efforts in the United States. While developing our go-to-market strategy, I analyzed seven priority states and researched regulatory requirements, potential market sizes, and competitive landscapes of each state. As a result of this analysis, we were able to refine our understanding of the value proposition we offer as well as potential distribution channels available across the seven states. These insights helped me identify ideal partners to target during my business development efforts.

Over the course of the project I was able to extensively use skills I gained at Columbia Business School. Whilst refining our US go-to market strategy I had to quickly ramp up my understanding of the energy space. One class in particular was instrumental in allowing me to understand the nuances of the issues Plentify was solving: Carbon Finance with Professor Bruce Usher. Prof. Usher’s class gave me valuable insights into the institutions that shape Plentify’s market. In turn, this enabled me to better understand our positioning and value proposition. Another important class I leveraged during my project is Strategy. Frameworks I learned during this core class were helpful in allowing me to parse out vast amounts of data and pull out major insights that propelled my project forward. Additionally, the skills I honed during Managerial Negotiations were useful when I was reaching out to partners for business development efforts.

The biggest challenge I faced during my internship stems from the virtual nature of the internship. To make matters worse, because Plentify is based out of South Africa, the time difference was such that I only had a couple hours of overlap with the broader team. That being said, Plentify did a masterful job at creating a virtual culture. Daily standups allowed us to keep track of each other’s progress and created the space for me to get to know the team member’s relatively quickly. Moreover, my team was resourceful and held creative events (virtual trivia, happy hours) that made my integration that much smoother. Overall, by the end of my project I had gotten to know my team members well.

Although I was an engineer prior to business school, I had always worked for multinational companies. Working at a startup allowed me to live the tech mantra of iterating. The mindset at the company is that of always improving upon the current offering and integrating new features. I witnessed firsthand when insights from my workstream were used to shape design decisions for future iterations of the company’s offering. This ability to continually iterate allows the organization to be flexible and adaptable to changing market conditions. The value of iterating is a main takeaway I had during this summer.

Another lesson I take with me is the importance of building a team culture and the role that diversity plays in this. Plentify is by far the most diverse organization I have worked at. Its diversity spans every category: racial, national, educational to name a few. This diversity was palpable during our standups when each member’s perspective would add a level of nuance that was much needed to the task at hand. Along with this diversity came a very distinct company culture — laid back, fun, and motivated. Personally, when integrating this team, it was pleasure to see how engaged members were and how eager they were to lend me a hand.