Off the Grid, On the Record

By Yarek Matacz

By JPM Media Real voices. Real energy. Real transitions.

Off the Grid: On the Record is where bold voices in clean energy, climate infrastructure, a

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FAQs about Off the Grid, On the Record:

How many episodes does Off the Grid, On the Record have?

The podcast currently has 24 episodes available.

Off the Grid, On the Record episodes:

June 26, 2025He Was Managing 19 Energy Projects—Then Built the AI That Solved the Nightmare
When Bryan Villano was managing nearly 20 renewable projects, he hit a wall: contract overload. That wall turned into his startup, Contract Power—an AI-powered SaaS tool built for the energy sector’s most ignored pain point: documents.
In this episode of Off the Grid, On the Record, we dive into:
The exact moment that made Bryan say “I need to build this”
Why general-purpose AI fails energy companies
How Contract Power’s ClauseSense tool redefines compliance tracking
What makes it industry-first, not just “AI-enhanced”
Why missing a single sentence nearly killed a $300M deal
What AI agents and SaaS 2.0 will mean for the future of clean tech
Their SOC 2, Techstars-backed growth path, and where they’re headed next
📍Whether you're in asset management, M&A, legal, or project dev—this episode is your cheat code to reclaim your week.
🔗 Learn more → contractpower.ai
💼 Book a demo or connect with Bryan on LinkedIn
🎙 Follow the show for weekly episodes from the people powering the clean energy revolution
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30min
June 25, 2025From Crisis to Clarity: How Carol Ann Wentworth Built a 94% Retention Search Firm with Zero Fluff
What if hiring wasn’t about checking boxes—but matching energy?
In this episode of Off the Grid, On the Record, we sit down with Carol Ann Wentworth, the founder of Wentworth Executive Recruiting and author of A Mindful Career. With 25+ years of experience and a 94% retention rate, Carol Ann is on a mission to humanize hiring—especially in clean energy, construction, and mission-driven tech.
She breaks down:
The difference between a job and a real career path
Why most executive searches fail (and how hers don’t)
How to hire mindfully—even under pressure
Her journey from losing everything in 2008 to building a values-driven firm
What leaders and job-seekers are getting wrong about AI, alignment, and ambition
This isn’t another fluffy HR conversation—it’s a tactical and heartfelt deep dive into the real future of work.
📚 Get the book → A Mindful Career on Amazon
🌐 More about the firm → https://www.wentworthexecutiverecruiting.co
💡 Follow us on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube for weekly insights from the people building what’s next.
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41min
June 25, 2025He Turned Tap Water Into a 7-Figure Sustainability Business
Bruce Plant is the co-founder of Wallop Water — a hydration company turning heads in the global events and construction industries by eliminating plastic bottles entirely. In this episode, we dive into how a side hustle born from festival waste became a scalable, IoT-powered solution delivering chilled, branded, and solar-powered water stations to events from Melbourne to Mandalay Bay.
🚨 You’ll learn:
How data-backed hydration is transforming how we run events
Why sustainability managers are obsessed with Bruce’s reporting tools
The wild truth behind where your “single-use” water bottle ends up
What happens when you combine real infrastructure with media, branding, and solar tech
How to bootstrap and scale a logistics-heavy business across two continents
It’s not just about staying hydrated. It’s about building a movement.
🌐 Visit Wallop Water → https://www.wallopwater.com
📩 Interested in partnerships? Reach out via LinkedIn or the site above.
🎧 Follow Off The Grid, On The Record for weekly episodes with energy innovators and clean-tech disruptors.
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30min
June 25, 2025Quit His 6-Figure Job. Built a Solar Empire. Here's the Playbook.
Lee Faisal didn’t just start a solar company—he rewired how clean energy is sold, delivered, and trusted in Australia. As the founder of Amazon Energy, Lee took his background at a multinational panel manufacturer and flipped the playbook—focusing on face-to-face installs, transparent pricing, and long-term client relationships in a time when everyone else chased quick wins.
In this no-BS episode, we cover:
How Lee scaled with 90% referral business
The overlooked power of in-person installs
Australia's battery storage boom (hint: huge federal + state rebates)
The ROI story every commercial customer needs to hear
How Amazon Energy is prepping for hydrogen
Why customer education is Lee’s next big play
If you want a behind-the-scenes look at scaling an energy company without shady sales tactics or bloated teams, this is the one.
#solar #cleanenergy #foundersjourney #batteryboom #energyindependence #renewables #australianbusiness #offthegridpodcast #electrification
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26min
June 25, 2025How Luke Makar Is Building a No-BS Solar Brand in America’s Toughest Market
He was set to become a lawyer. Now he’s building one of the most trusted solar companies in Florida.
Luke Makar, founder of Aspire Solar, joins me to talk about what it really takes to launch a solar company in one of the most volatile markets in North America. No shortcuts. No bloated sales decks. Just clarity, honesty, and a relentless focus on delivering quality.
In this episode:
The mindset shift from chasing money to building meaning
Why Florida homeowners are demanding battery storage now more than ever
How Aspire’s no-nonsense quoting process is earning long-term trust
Why lead gen isn’t the bottleneck—fulfillment is
The #1 mistake most solar companies are making right now
This isn’t a hype episode. It’s a playbook for building something real.
🔗 Learn more: https://www.aspiresolarenergy.com 📸 @followaspiresolar 🎙 Hosted by Yarek Matacz | JPM Media | https://www.jpmmedia.ca 🎧 Subscribe for more episodes of Off the Grid on the Record
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37min
June 19, 2025From Teacher to Policy Disruptor: How Michelle Knox Built Wind Solar USA From Scratch
Michelle Knox, founder of Wind Solar USA, shares how a single question over drinks sparked a 16-year journey into clean energy—and led her to take on utility monopolies, author a statewide Solar Bill of Rights, and build a customer-first solar company in rural Illinois.
In this episode:
Building a solar business with NO ads and 100% education-driven growth
Creating 27-page solar proposals that sell themselves
How she helped write and advocate for game-changing state legislation
Fighting—and winning—against massive energy providers in court
Lessons on courage, conviction, and finding purpose through service
This is what happens when values meet execution.
📌 Guest: Michelle Knox – Founder of Wind Solar USA
🌐 https://www.windsolarusa.com
🎙 Host: Yarek Matacz – Off the Grid, On the Record
🎧 Listen to more: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GGdf9APheAirKD4ZIlM7O
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34min
June 19, 2025The $300M Clean Energy Bottleneck Nobody Talks About | Monroe Jett
Before a single solar panel gets installed or a battery storage site breaks ground, there's one critical factor that can quietly kill the entire deal: title work.
In this episode of Off the Grid, On the Record, Yarek sits down with Monroe Jett — real estate veteran and founder of Title Leader — to unpack the title and land rights challenges slowing down utility-scale energy development. From managing 6,000+ searches a year with spreadsheets to building a national solution now used by top firms like NextEra, Monroe breaks down why title matters, where projects fail, and how he fixed it.
What you’ll learn:
How fatal flaws in land rights stop multi-million-dollar energy projects
Why Title Leader is free (and how they still make money)
How developers can detect risks BEFORE signing site control agreements
This is required listening for anyone in clean energy, land acquisition, or infrastructure.
🔗 titleleader.com
🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@yarekmatacz
📩 Subscribe + Share if you're in energy dev, real estate, or finance.
#CleanEnergy #SolarDevelopment #TitleInsurance #Renewables #PodcastForOperators
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40min
June 19, 2025How a 4-Person Team Built a $200M Clean Energy Pipeline (And Why Sub-5MW Projects Are the Future)
This is how you scale renewable energy with zero fluff. Shane Bartel runs Climate Capital — a 4-person team managing a $200M pipeline of solar + battery projects across Australia. No hype. Just ruthless execution. In this episode, he breaks down:
Why <5MW solar projects are the secret weapon
The real reason big solar developers move too slow
How to structure 10+ year PPAs that cash flow from Day 1
The behind-the-meter playbook no one's talking about
👉 If you're in energy, investing, or operations — this is the episode you send your team.
🎙 Host: Yarek Matacz 🌐 Guest: https://climatecapital.com.au
📍 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@yarekmatacz
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GGdf9APheAirKD4ZIlM7O
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29min
June 19, 2025No Gimmicks. No Pressure. How This Solar Company Built Trust and 7-Figure Word-of-Mouth — Freddy Petkus
How do you scale a solar company without cold calls, pressure tactics, or generic pitches? Freddy Petkus figured it out — and built Critical Mass Solar into one of New England’s most trusted local solar providers.
In this episode, we go behind the scenes with Freddy to understand how his no-BS, education-first philosophy changed the game in a crowded, skeptical market. You’ll learn how he wins residential and commercial jobs through trust, shows up for every install, and avoids all the stuff that gives solar a bad name.
🎯 Topics Covered:
Why Freddy ditched sales scripts and leaned into real conversations
The importance of chemistry + math in closing a solar deal
How Critical Mass handles permitting, net metering, and customer fears
What it means to “sell with service” — and why it works
Common myths he hears every week (and how he debunks them)
His approach to battery-only installs and rate-optimized storage
Lessons from transitioning into commercial jobs like Porsche dealerships
The 1-hour response rule that builds lifelong customers
How to scale without losing quality — or your mind
📍 Want to learn more?
Visit criticalmasssolar.com or connect with Freddy directly through the site. When you call, he picks up — literally.
YouTube: Yarek Matacz
Website: https://www.jpmmedia.ca
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32min
June 18, 2025How This Roofer Hit 7 Figures & Took Over a Local Market with Solar Shingles – Dakota Weddle (Big Lick Roofing)
How This Roofer Hit 7 Figures & Took Over a Local Market with Solar Shingles – Dakota Weddle (Big Lick Roofing)
📌 YouTube Description (and Podcast Show Notes)
Most roofing companies play it safe. Dakota Weddle did the opposite.
In this episode of Off the Grid, On the Record, Yarek Matacz sits down with the founder of Big Lick Roofing — a Virginia-based company that’s quietly dominating its market and flipping the traditional roofing game on its head.
What started as a solo mission has turned into a 7-figure brand by doing three things differently:
Installing GAF Timberline Solar Shingles
Qualifying customers before the first call
Winning the neighborhood through process and proximity
If you’re in the trades, running a service business, or building in renewables — you’ll want to hear how Dakota scaled fast without cutting corners and how he’s positioning Big Lick for long-term growth with brand, process, and tech.
💥 What You’ll Learn:
Why solar shingles are a game-changer (and why GAF is betting big on them)
How Dakota hit 7 figures in a hyper-competitive market
The CRM and lead qualification system Big Lick uses to filter time-wasters
Why “comfort” in business is killing your growth
The real ROI behind strong warranties and customer education
How to win with local marketing (without billboards or TV spots)
Why going big isn’t the goal—and how to grow the right way
🔧 Mentioned:
Big Lick Roofing
GAF Timberline Solar Shingles
👷‍♂️ About Dakota Weddle:
Founder & CEO of Big Lick Roofing. Based in Roanoke, Virginia. Master Elite Contractor with GAF. Focused on clean installs, solar integration, and growing a high-integrity local brand.
🔗 Follow the Show:
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4GGdf9APheAirKD4ZIlM7O
📺 YouTube: Yarek Matacz
🌐 JPM Media: https://www.jpmmedia.ca
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34min

FAQs about Off the Grid, On the Record:

How many episodes does Off the Grid, On the Record have?

The podcast currently has 24 episodes available.