Ready to build your own Founder-Led Growth engine? Book a Strategy Call
Frontlines.io | Where B2B Founders Talk GTM.
Strategic Communications Advisory For Visionary Founders
Actionable
Takeaways
Partner with domain experts rather than becoming one yourself: Adrienne explained their strategic shift:
"We started with kind of a sector strategy where we're like, oh, we can do electric vehicles... But what we found was that it's very hard to be experts in all of these different sectors." Instead of trying to master every vertical, they focused on being the best at what they do—energy management technology—and partnered with domain experts in each sector. B2B founders should resist the temptation to become everything to everyone and instead find strong partners who can complement their core competencies.
Focus resources on highest-impact activities in resource-constrained environments:
Pierce emphasized the critical importance of opportunity cost for small organizations: "For small organizations, I think the biggest cost is opportunity cost. So if I'm spending my time chasing leads and doing lead gen and that's where my resources are going, then it may be at the behest of something that's more productive." B2B founders must ruthlessly prioritize activities that drive the most value and avoid spreading thin across low-yield activities, especially in early stages when every hour counts.
Build for complex, consultative sales cycles with technical buyers:
With sales cycles ranging 6-18 months, New Sun Road's approach centers on deep technical engagement: "We are at the heart of what the project is doing from a control and performance perspective, you know, there are a lot of things to just make sure that we're aligned on and develop a really strong partnership." B2B founders selling to technical buyers in complex infrastructure projects should invest heavily in technical credibility and relationship-building rather than traditional sales tactics.
Leverage authenticity as a differentiator in purpose-driven markets:
As a public benefit corporation, Pierce noted: "It has channeled and been a differentiator for what we're doing and how we're doing it... it's created an amazing team environment." When your market values purpose alongside profit, authentic commitment to mission can become a significant competitive advantage. B2B founders should consider how genuine purpose alignment can strengthen both team cohesion and customer relationships, but only if the commitment is authentic.
Anticipate regulatory lag in heavily regulated industries:
Pierce shared valuable insight about regulatory timing: "One thing about regulation is that there is lag. So you can change the regulation and it takes a while for it to trickle down and to have impact... when I look at changing regulation, I'm looking at, well, how is that going to impact 2026?" B2B founders in regulated industries should build regulatory change anticipation into their product roadmap and sales strategy, understanding that today's regulatory shifts create tomorrow's market opportunities.
Conversation
Highlights
From Energy Access to Enterprise: How New Sun Road Built a Platform for Renewable Energy’s Future
Most energy tech companies start with grand ambitions to revolutionize entire sectors. New Sun Road took a different path—one that began in the highlands of Guatemala and evolved into managing over 1,500 renewable energy systems across wildly diverse applications.
In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Adrienne Pierce, CEO of New Sun Road, shared how the company transformed from an energy access solution into a comprehensive platform for distributed energy resources, raising $6 million along the way.
The Berkeley Origins: Building for Sustainability First
New Sun Road’s story begins with UC Berkeley founders who had a specific problem to solve. “The company comes out of the energy access space,” Adrienne explains. “The founders are from UC Berkeley. They wanted to be able to make sure that the energy system, which was solar plus batteries, was going to continue to operate and be sustainable.”
This wasn’t about creating another energy management system—it was about ensuring remote solar installations would actually work long-term. “As a result of that, they developed an early IoT and cloud based platform for monitoring control,” Adrienne notes. The technology was proven, but commercialization remained the challenge.
When Adrienne joined four years ago, the company had “about 1500 systems on the platform right now” and a clear technology foundation. But like many technical founders transitioning to market, they needed to figure out how to scale their solution across different industries and applications.
The False Start: Trying to Be Everything to Everyone
New Sun Road’s initial go-to-market approach followed conventional startup wisdom: identify multiple market segments and become experts in each one. “We started with kind of a sector strategy where we’re like, oh, we can do electric vehicles and we can provide, you know, electric energy management for them,” Adrienne recalls.
The team believed they could master electric vehicle charging, building management systems, and power solutions for car dealerships and shopping malls. It seemed logical—their core technology worked across all these applications.
But reality hit hard. “What we found was that it’s very hard to be experts in all of these different sectors, whether it’s EV or building management or even just, you know, delivering power for, say, you know, car dealerships or shopping malls,” Adrienne admits.
This realization forced a fundamental rethink of their entire approach to market.
The Strategic Pivot: Enabling Partners Instead of Competing
Rather than doubling down on sector expertise, New Sun Road made a counterintuitive decision: they would stop trying to become domain experts and instead enable others who already were.
“Our sort of go to market has been much more a partnering model and enabling our clients to be successful and bringing the value for them,” Adrienne explains. This wasn’t just about finding channel partners—it was about repositioning their entire value proposition.
The company describes itself uniquely: “I sometimes say we’re a brain floating around looking for a body.” Instead of trying to own entire solutions, they became the intelligent control system that makes other companies’ projects actually work.
This pivot transformed their customer relationships. “Whether it is maybe they have a model for energy as a service and they are selling electrons to their clients and they need, you know, data support and operational support. Or maybe it’s more of an O and M model where they’re providing operations and maintenance for a series of customers.”
Managing Complexity: Long Sales Cycles and Technical Partnerships
New Sun Road’s partner-enabled approach came with its own challenges, particularly around sales complexity. “It’s not typically a short sales cycle. It can be anywhere from six months to 18 months, depending on the length of the project,” Adrienne notes.
But this length isn’t a bug—it’s a feature of their positioning. “Because we are at the heart of what the project is doing from a control and performance perspective, you know, there are a lot of things to just make sure that we’re aligned on and develop a really strong partnership to deliver what is needed both for the project and for our client customers.”
The extended sales cycle reflects the critical nature of their technology. When you’re managing wildfire mitigation systems for PG&E or providing power to remote telecommunications towers, the stakes are high and the technical integration is complex.
Ruthless Resource Allocation: The Opportunity Cost Framework
For a growing company with limited resources, Adrienne emphasizes one critical principle above all others: managing opportunity cost. “For small organizations, I think the biggest cost is opportunity cost. So if I’m spending my time, you know, chasing leads and doing lead gen and that’s where my resources are going, then, you know, it may be at the behest of something that’s more productive.”
This philosophy shapes every decision at New Sun Road. Rather than spreading efforts across multiple acquisition channels, they focus intensively on the highest-impact activities. “Being really careful about how you allocate and where you focus is, you know, it’s just critical.”
Their marketing approach reflects this discipline. “We found that it is a bit of a wonky sector. So we’re really kind of meeting folks at a technical level, a lot of discussions at trade shows, talking on panels, doing podcasts, that sort of thing, joining the conversations on LinkedIn.”
They’ve tested traditional lead generation, but found it poorly suited to their market. “We’ve tried some lead generation and things like that, but there’s such a timing factor and it is such a complex area that a lot of things have to align in order for that type of marketing to really sort of pay off.”
The Public Benefit Corporation Advantage
Perhaps New Sun Road’s most distinctive strategic choice is operating as a public benefit corporation (PBC). “We are a public benefit corporation, which means it’s part of our articles of incorporation, which is a little bit different than a B corp, which is a certification,” Adrienne clarifies.
This isn’t just about marketing—it’s embedded in their legal structure. “We are registered as a public benefit corporation for the state of California and we have an impact imperative to help deploy renewable and make it accessible for underserved communities.”
The impact on operations is subtle but significant. “From the operations of the company, it doesn’t have a huge impact in terms of like, do we do things hugely differently, but it is a very clear indication both to our partners, the people that we work with and our employees, where, you know, what we care about and how we prioritize things.”
Most importantly, it creates alignment. “It’s just created an amazing team environment,” Adrienne notes. “Because we’re so aligned around the motivation of what we’re doing, I feel like I’m just incredibly blessed with the team that we have and how little drama there really is.”
Navigating Regulatory Complexity
Operating in the energy sector means constant regulatory change, but Adrienne has developed a framework for managing this complexity. “One thing about regulation is that there is lag. So you can change the regulation and it takes a while for it to trickle down and to have impact.”
This lag creates planning opportunities. “When I look at changing regulation, I’m looking at, well, how is that going to impact 2026? What is that going to look like?” The key is building regulatory anticipation into product roadmaps and sales strategies.
The real challenge isn’t single regulatory changes—it’s uncertainty. “If there’s one change, I think it’s fine. The problem when it’s very difficult is that when things are changing constantly over a period of time, then people are reluctant to sign contracts and figure out financing because they’re just waiting for things to sort of stabilize.”
Thought Leadership as Market Education
In emerging technology markets, education often matters more than traditional marketing. New Sun Road invests heavily in thought leadership around cutting-edge applications like vehicle-to-grid integration and networked microgrids.
“We have a very cool project in Puerto Rico where we’re working with Oak Ridge National Lab and the community of agentas in Puerto Rico to network microgrids,” Adrienne shares. “So now if you think of a system of microgrids and they’re sharing power generation and loads to provide additional resiliency locally where they can operate off the grid for extended periods of time.”
These projects serve dual purposes: advancing the technology and demonstrating practical applications. “Those sorts of things are great and just thought leadership and kind of really showing that these things aren’t just ideas that they can be reduced to practice.”
The Path Forward: Scale or Acquisition
New Sun Road’s future reflects the realities of capital-intensive infrastructure markets. “For New Sun Road, one of two things will most likely be happening. Either we will be acquired and be part of a larger initiative,” Adrienne explains.
But they’re not dependent on acquisition. “This year we’re on a path to be break even. And so we have the ability to define our own destiny and continue to work with our partners, you know, to sort of grow this space and be successful.”
This optionality is strategic. In infrastructure markets, the ultimate goal isn’t always independent scale—it’s often about proving technology and business models that larger players can adopt and scale globally.
Lessons for B2B Infrastructure Companies
New Sun Road’s journey offers several insights for B2B founders building in complex, regulated markets:
First, resist the temptation to become domain experts across multiple verticals. Instead, focus on being excellent at your core technology and enable partners who already understand their markets.
Second, manage opportunity cost ruthlessly. In resource-constrained environments, every hour spent on low-impact activities is an hour not spent on building competitive advantages.
Third, build for long, complex sales cycles by investing in technical credibility and deep partnership development rather than transactional sales tactics.
Finally, in purpose-driven markets, authentic mission alignment can become a significant competitive advantage—but only if the commitment is genuine and embedded in organizational structure.
New Sun Road’s evolution from energy access startup to renewable energy platform demonstrates how technical founders can successfully navigate the transition from product to market, building sustainable competitive advantages in complex, regulated industries.
Recommended Founder
Interviews
Adam Silver
CEO & Co-Founder of Plural Energy
Adam Silver, CEO & Co-Founder of Plural Energy: $2.8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Clean Energy Investing
Manik Suri
Manik Suri, CEO and Founder of Therma: $30 Million Raised to Build the Cooling Intelligence Category
Zak Lefevre
CEO of ChargeLab
Zak Lefevre, CEO of ChargeLab: $20 Million Raised to Build the Operating System for EV Chargers
Quentin Scrimshire
CEO and Co-Founder of Modo Energy
Quentin Scrimshire, CEO & Co-Founder of Modo Energy: $20 Million Raised to Build the Energy Asset Benchmarking Category
Matt LeDucq
CEO and Co-Founder of Forum Mobility
Matt LeDucq, CEO & Co-Founder of Forum Mobility: $423 Million Raised to Power the Future of Zero-Emission Trucking
Astrid Atkinson
CEO & Co-Founder of Camus Energy
Astrid Atkinson, CEO of Camus Energy: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Grid Management
Troy Carter
CEO and Co-Founder of Earthshot Labs
Troy Carter, CEO and Co-Founder of Earthshot Labs: $11 Million Raised to Power the Future of Ecosystem Conservation and Restoration
Josh Knauer
Co-Founder of Reseed
Josh Knauer, Co-Founder of Reseed: $5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Credits for Farmers
Scott Graybeal
CEO of Caelux
Scott Graybeal, CEO of Caelux: $70 Million Raised to Transform Solar Energy with Perovskite Technology
Alex Siminoff
Director of Marketing of Parity
Alex Siminoff, Director of Marketing at Parity: Mastering HVAC Optimization with Effective B2B Storytelling
Tara Bartley
Vice President of Marketing of REsurety
How to Squeeze as Much Value as Possible out of Each Piece of Content
Allison Wolff
CEO of Vibrant Planet
Allison Wolff, CEO at Vibrant Planet: $34 Million Raised to Build the Future of Land Management Restoration
Virginia Klausmeier
CEO and Founder of Sylvatex
Virginia Klausmeier, CEO and Founder of Sylvatex: More Than $15 Million Raised to Build a Better Class of Sustainable Materials and Drive the Green Revolution
Tim Weiss
CEO and Co-Founder of Optera
Tim Weiss, CEO & Co-Founder of Optera: $17.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Management and Accounting
Antoine Welter
CEO and Co-Founder of Circu Li-ion
Antoine Welter, CEO & Co-Founder of Circu Li-ion: $8.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Battery Upcycling
Michael Belenkie
CEO and President of Entropy
Michael Belenkie, CEO and President of Entropy: $300 Million Raised to Spearhead Efficiency and Innovation in the Carbon Capture Economy
Michael Witte
CEO & Co-founder of Workrise
Michael Witte, CEO & Co-founder of Workrise: $750 Million Raised to Power the Future of the Energy Industry
Kenneth Herschel
CEO and Co-Founder of Viggo
Kenneth Herschel, CEO and Co-Founder of Viggo: Nearly $6 Million Raised to Build the Future of EV Charging Infrastructure
Troy Helming
Founder & CEO of EarthGrid
Troy Helming, Founder & CEO of EarthGrid: $63 Million Raised to Build Underground Super Grids with Plasma Torch Technology
John Belizaire
CEO of Soluna
John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna: $180 Million Raised to Power the Future of Renewable Computing for AI
Kaitlyn Albertoli
CEO and Co-Founder of Buzz Solutions
Kaitlyn Albertoli, CEO and Co-Founder of Buzz Solutions: Nearly $6 Million Raised to Build the Future of Infrastructure Inspection
Daniel Betts
CEO & Co-Founder of Blue Frontier
Daniel Betts, CEO of Blue Frontier: $47.8M Raised to Revolutionize Air Conditioning with Energy-Storing Smart Climate Technology
Dan Forman
CEO and Co-Founder of Copper Labs
Dan Forman, CEO and Co-Founder of Copper Labs: $13 Million Raised to Enable the Data-Driven Utility of the Future
Stwart Peña Feliz
Co-Founder and CEO of MacroCycle
Stwart Peña Feliz, CEO of MacroCycle: $7.6M Raised to Build the Future of Plastic and Textile Upcycling
Joshua Riedy
CEO and Founder of Thread
Joshua Riedy, CEO and Founder of Thread: $20 Million Raised to Power the Future of Energy Grid Maintenance
Ali Javidan
Co-Founder of Range Energy
Ali Javidan, Co-Founder of Range Energy: $9 Million Raised to Build the Future of Electric Semi-Trucks
Chris Tolles
CEO & Co-Founder of Yard Stick
Chris Tolles, CEO & Co-Founder of Yard Stick: $18 Million Raised to Build the Future of Soil Carbon Management
Ben Christensen
CEO of Cambium Carbon
Ben Christensen, CEO of Cambium Carbon: $5.5 Million Raised to Build a new Category of Sustainable Wood
Gary Ong
CEO & Founder of Celadyne
Gary Ong, CEO & Founder of Celadyne: $5 Million Raised to Power the Future of Green Hydrogen Production
Omar Abou-Sayed
Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Vaulted Deep
Omar Abou-Sayed, Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Vaulted Deep: $8 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Removal
Kathy Hannun
Founder & CTO of Dandelion Energy
Kathy Hannun, Founder & CTO of Dandelion Energy: $175 Million Raised to Democratize Geothermal Energy for Home Heating and Cooling
Jaimi Klein
Head of Marketing of STAX Engineering
Seeing is Believing: How STAX Builds Trust
Dr. Kai-Philipp Kairies
CEO and Co-Founder of Accure
Dr. Kai-Philipp Kairies, CEO & Co-Founder of Accure: $18.5 Million Raised to Build the Future of Battery Intelligence
Saurabh Kapoor
CEO & Co-Founder of Metafuels
Saurabh Kapoor, CEO & Co-Founder of Metafuels: $22 Million Raised to Pioneer Synthetic Aviation Fuel Technology
Adam Tank
Co-Founder of Transcend
Adam Tank, Co-Founder of Transcend: $35 Million Raised to Revolutionize Critical Infrastructure Design
Doron Myersdorf
CEO & Co-Founder of StoreDot
Doron Myersdorf, CEO & Co-Founder of StoreDot : $200 Million Raised to Power the Future of Electric Vehicles
Kentaro Kawamori
CEO & Co-Founder of Persefoni
Kentaro Kawamori, CEO & Co-Founder of Persefoni: $114 Million Raised to Build the Climate Disclosure & Carbon Management Category
Rachael O’Brien
Head of Demand and Brand of Opna
The End of Marketing Specialists: Building AI-Native Teams That Scale
Sid Jha
Founder & CEO of Arbol
Sid Jha, Founder & CEO of Arbol: Over $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Climate Risk Management
Sandeep Ahuja
CEO of Covetool
Sandeep Ahuja, CEO of Covetool: $36 Million Raised to Power the Future of Building Design with AI
Francesco Volpe
Founder of Renaissance Fusion
Francesco Volpe, Founder of Renaissance Fusion: $30M Raised to Build the Future of Nuclear Fusion Technology
Thomas Sisto
CEO & Co-Founder of XL Batteries
Thomas Sisto, CEO & Co-Founder of XL Batteries: $20 Million Raised to Transform Grid-Scale Energy Storage
Mukund Karanjikar
CEO of CleanJoule
Mukund Karanjikar, CEO of CleanJoule: $55 Million Raised to Power the Future of Sustainable Aviation Fuel
Gary Lewis
CEO & Co-Founder of Resourcify
Gary Lewis, CEO & Co-Founder of Resourcify: $15 Million Raised to Build the Future of Recycling Management
Jan Willem Rombouts
CEO & Founder of Beebop AI
Jan Willem Rombouts, CEO & Founder of Beebop AI: $5.5 Million Raised to Power Grid Orchestration for the Clean Energy Transition
Elizabeth Muller
Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Deep Isolation
Elizabeth Muller, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of the Board of Deep Isolation: Over $22 Million Raised to Build the Future of Nuclear Waste Disposal
Martin Kosak
Head of Marketing of Sensoneo
Event Marketing Mastery: Martin Kosak on Sensoneo’s Success at Trade Shows
Marc Borrett
CEO & Co-Founder of Reactive Technologies
Marc Borrett, CEO & Co-Founder of Reactive Technologies: $80 Million Raised to Build the Future of Grid Measurement
Khaled Hassounah
CEO & Founder of Ample
Khaled Hassounah, CEO and Founder of Ample: $290M Raised to Build the Future of EV Batteries
Andre Fernandez
CEO & Co-Founder of Invert
Andre Fernandez, CEO of Invert: $26 Million Raised to Build the Future of Nature-Base Carbon Credits
Chris Hare
CEO of PRTI
Chris Hare, CEO of PRTI: Over $25 Million Raised to Transform America’s Billions of Waste Tires into Valuable Commodities
Preston Bryant
Co-Founder, Executive Chair, & Chief Commercial Officer of Momentum
Preston Bryant, Co-Founder of Momentum: $20 Million Raised to Transform Battery Recycling Through Materials Science Innovation
Iain Cooper
CEO of SeekOps Inc.
Iain Cooper, CEO of SeekOps, $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Emissions Monitoring
Matei Stratan
CEO of Ogre
Matei Stratan, CEO of Ogre: $2 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Management
Marina Azcarate
Head of Marketing of Mitiga Solutions
Marina Azcarate, Head of Marketing at Mitiga Solutions: Driving the Future of Climate Risk with Cutting-Edge Tech
Javier Marti
CEO and Founder of Divirod
Javier Marti, CEO & Founder of Divirod: $7.6 Million Raised to Build the Google Maps For Water
Liz Gilligan
CEO & Founder of Material Evolution
Liz Gilligan, CEO & Founder of Material Evolution: $19 Million Raised to Build the Future of Sustainable Cement
Joselyn Lai
CEO & Co-Founder of Bedrock Energy
Joselyn Lai, CEO & Co-Founder of Bedrock Energy: $9 Million Raised to Power the Future of Geothermal Energy
Alisa Valderrama
Co-founder and CEO of FutureProof Technologies
Alisa Valderrama, Co-Founder and CEO of FutureProof Technologies: $10 Million Raised to Translate Climate and Weather and Financial Risk with Unprecedented Accuracy
Greg Fallon
CEO of Geminus
Greg Fallon, CEO of Geminus: $12 Million Raised to Help the Industrial Sector Prepare for the Energy Transition
Edward Chiang
Co-Founder and CEO of Moment Energy
How Moment Energy secured Over $30 million in government contracts by proving commercial readiness first | Edward Chiang
Curtis VanWalleghem
Co-Founder & CEO, Board Member of Hydrostor
Curtis VanWalleghem, CEO of Hydrostor: $322 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Storage
Ankit Somani
Co-Founder of
How Conifer secured Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch exclusives within weeks of launch | Ankit Somani
Greg Newbloom
CEO and Founder of Membrion
Greg Newbloom, CEO & Founder of Membrion: $23 Million Raised to Build the Future of Industrial Wastewater Treatment Solutions
Arvin Ganesan
CEO of Fourth Power
Arvin Ganesan, CEO of Fourth Power: $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Energy Storage
Allen Kramer
Co-Founder & COO of Crux
Allen Kramer, Co-Founder and COO of Crux: $27 Million Raised to Power the Future of Sustainable Finance
Matthew Besch
VP of Marketing of ACCURE Battery Intelligence
Building a New Category: From Zero to Market Leader in 3 Years
Matt Loszak
CEO & Co-Founder of Aalo Atomics
Matt Loszak, CEO & Co-Founder of Aalo Atomics: $33 Million Raised to Build the Future of Nuclear Energy
Thibault Castagne
CEO and Founder of Vianova
Thibault Castagne, CEO and Founder of Vianova: $8.8 Million Raised to Build the Go-To Operating System for the Mobility World
Alexis Normand
CEO & Co-founder of Greenly
Alexis Normand, CEO & Co-Founder of Greenly: $78 Million Raised to Build the Future of Carbon Management
Steff Gerhart
Co-Founder & Co-CEO of ecoLocked
Steff Gerhart, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of ecoLocked: $6 Million Raised to Transform Buildings into Carbon Sinks
Kameale Terry
Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!
Kameale Terry, Co-Founder and CEO of ChargerHelp!: Over $20 Million Raised to Build the Future of Electric Vehicle Infrastructure