SunCast

497: The never-told stories of founding Tradewind & Savion - Rob Freeman, Geoff Coventry, & Matt Gilhausen, Part 1


Listen Later

What do a technology entrepreneur, a musician turned engineer and a corporate attorney have in common? They built a company in middle America called Tradewind Energy that became one of the largest developers of wind energy projects in the U.S., and had not one but TWO successful exits as a team on virtually the same platform. If you haven’t heard of Tradewind, perhaps you heard of Savion?  And, if neither ring a bell, well, you’re in for a real treat bc today we’re  going to unpack a story that’s yet to be told, until this interview that is, of how these 3 unlikely business partners engineered a 2-decade run together and managed to build 2 of the most successful wind, solar and storage development platforms in the world. 

Along the way, they learned to trust one another, to build a team, find world class partners to help fund the vision, and find their unique value proposition. 

As you no doubt noticed - this conversation was so good, and so in-depth, that we are breaking it up into another 2-part episode. 

In this Part 1, we get the never-before-told backstory on how & why these 3 entrepreneurs came together and how they thrived as early renewable energy founders. We discuss in depth the early challenges of Tradewind, one of the earliest successful wind developers to scale in the US, and the guys get really personal about the ways they compliment each other, how they built the team, and even how they found enough money to keep the thing alive, over and over again.

You’ll be rewarded if you stick through this one.

If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.

Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!

SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.

You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.

Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

SunCastBy Nico Johnson

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

171 ratings


More shows like SunCast

View all
Climate One by Climate One from The Commonwealth Club

Climate One

565 Listeners

Energy Gang by Wood Mackenzie

Energy Gang

1,254 Listeners

Odd Lots by Bloomberg

Odd Lots

1,777 Listeners

Columbia Energy Exchange by Columbia University

Columbia Energy Exchange

391 Listeners

Currents by Norton Rose Fulbright

Currents

124 Listeners

Interchange Recharged by Wood Mackenzie

Interchange Recharged

498 Listeners

Redefining Energy by Laurent Segalen and Gerard Reid

Redefining Energy

127 Listeners

Inevitable by an MCJ podcast

Inevitable

168 Listeners

Switched On by Bloomberg

Switched On

99 Listeners

Volts by David Roberts

Volts

588 Listeners

The Green Blueprint by Latitude Media

The Green Blueprint

205 Listeners

Catalyst with Shayle Kann by Latitude Media

Catalyst with Shayle Kann

262 Listeners

Zero: The Climate Race by Bloomberg

Zero: The Climate Race

195 Listeners

Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins by Heatmap News

Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

92 Listeners

Open Circuit by Latitude Media

Open Circuit

141 Listeners