From University Project to Utility Revolution: Thread’s Unconventional Path to Product-Market Fit
A generator explosion on a North Dakota ranch sparked a multi-generational journey that would transform utility infrastructure management. In a recent Category Visionaries episode, Thread founder Josh Riedy shared how personal experience shaped their path to product-market fit.
The Origin Story
Thread’s founding team met at the University of North Dakota while developing software for FedEx. “My name is Dr. Josh Reedy. I founded Thread with co-founders Dr. Jim Higgins, who’s an aviator, Dr. Travis Desel, who’s a computer scientist, and we met, of all places, at the University of North Dakota while creating software for FedEx that they use to this day,” Josh explains.
But the real catalyst came from a family tragedy. Josh’s grandfather and uncle suffered severe burns from a power generator explosion, leading his grandfather to found the area’s first power cooperative. This personal connection to utility infrastructure would later shape Thread’s mission.
Finding the Market Need
A devastating 2013 ice storm reinforced the need for modernization. “People were out of power not for days, not for weeks, but for months. It was catastrophic,” Josh recalls. “That just led me to believe that…that industry of all industries, needed modern tooling to make their jobs safer.”
Building the Solution
Thread developed what Josh describes as “a mashup of ERP solutions, asset performance management solutions in particular, like SAP mashed up with robotics.” Their approach focused on digitizing utility assets and making maintenance safer and more efficient.
The company drew parallels with healthcare digitization: “If you think about Epic, it really created the electronic medical records industry and digitized healthcare as we know it today,” Josh explains. “If you think about that in that term, swap a human out for a large asset, like a power line, or a wind turbine, or solar panel.”
The Microsoft Connection
A crucial turning point came through Microsoft’s TechSpark program. After a TED talk in Fargo, Josh received an unexpected invitation to meet Microsoft President Brad Smith. That meeting turned into a 90-minute business plan review and resulted in Thread’s first $100,000 investment.
Validating with XL Energy
Thread took an unconventional approach to product validation through a co-development arrangement with XL Energy. “We had to earn the business. XL Energy did not retain any intellectual property, but they also didn’t give us money to do it,” Josh notes. This partnership allowed them to develop their solution alongside real users while maintaining full ownership of their technology.
The Results
The impact was dramatic. Tasks that previously required “a three person crew repelling down turbines that are 80 meters in height” became “a one person job in roughly 20 minutes.” These concrete improvements validated Thread’s approach and made selling to other utilities easier.
Thread’s journey from university project to utility infrastructure revolution demonstrates how deep industry understanding, strategic partnerships, and patient product development can lead to breakthrough solutions in traditional industries. Their experience offers valuable lessons for founders tackling similar transformational challenges in regulated markets.