044: Tony Clifford, Creating Rapid Growth as the CEO of Standard Solar

Welcome to Episode 44 of SunCast, Solar Warrior!

I'm so glad you are with me again this week! We're back with another edition of the Solar Pioneers Series, and today's guest hails from the East Coast of the US. I know what you are thinking - "Wait a minute, Nico, aren't all the solar pioneers from California?"

Not all of them! 

Back in the 70s and 80s, there were a number of companies in and around the DC area that were quite innovative. Among them, Solarex. Today's guest was one of the early employees at Solerex.

When I met Tony back in 2010, he was the CEO of Standard Solar, a company he continues to lead today. 

I have had the pleasure of watching Standard Solar become one of the fastest growing and important solar companies, not just in the North East region, but now with an established presence across the US.

In today's episode, Tony and I discuss:

• What it was like to work for Solarex in the 70s.
• What Tony believes are the fundamentals or bellwether signs of a maturing industry (and where solar is along that curve).
• What key employee characteristics he looks for when hiring into such a fast-growing company.
• Tony's thoughts on the next 5 years ahead for the solar industry.
• A fun Hot or Not segment, including Tony's thoughts on topics from Distributed Storage to the Section 201 Trade Case with Suniva.
• ...and of course, some key lessons and advice gleaned from his 30+ years, not just in solar, but in scaling startups!

You can read more on the blog and see the show notes for this episode.

If you or someone you know is selling commercial solar, you should check out Solrates.com, the fast and Free online platform for providing your commercial customers with a credible lease financing proposal. If you have projects over $100K value, and you'd like to see how Solrates can help you quickly and easily deliver a financing proposal to your customers, please reach out to me directly for an invitation code to join the platform.

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.

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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.

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