From Wine to Watts: Jordan Brompton’s Electrifying Journey with myenergi
Welcome back to the Femme Tech Female Founder series, where we spotlight women making waves in the tech industry! Today, we’re thrilled to chat with Jordan Brompton, the dynamic co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of myenergi. From a casual conversation over a bottle of wine to building one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies, Jordan’s journey with co-founder Lee Sutton is nothing short of inspiring. Join us as we delve into the origins of myenergi, the challenges and triumphs of scaling a business, and the innovative strides they are making in renewable energy technology.
What was the initial spark that led you and Lee Sutton to create myenergi?
To be completely honest, the decision to start myenergi came from a conversation over a bottle of wine. Lee was frustrated that he couldn’t charge his EV from the solar panels installed on his roof, so had started to brainstorm a product that would fix the problem.
I’m no tech expert, but I knew I had the contacts and marketing skillset to help take his idea to market. We had worked together in the past and knew we would make the perfect team. So, we took a leap of faith, re-mortgaged our family homes and invested our life savings into what was – in all honesty – an idea based on gut feel alone.
Can you describe the early days of myenergi and the challenges you faced as a startup?
The early days of myenergi were tough. Filled with the energy of starting our own business, we were already dreaming of taking over the world. However, as a self-funded start-up, finances were tight. Really tight. The first product prototype took almost a year to develop and, by this point, the money had all but run out.
To keep the dream alive, we started a crowdfunding round online. We set the target at £40,000 but raised just £10,000. A few people seemed to like the idea, but most didn’t believe in the mass market appeal.
The turning point came when I met TV personality Robert Llewellyn at a trade event on the Orkney Islands. He had just started a new channel on YouTube – Fully Charged – and was captivated by what myenergi was trying to achieve. He filmed a special episode and, from that day forward, the phone began to ring!
myenergi has exceeded all targets and now manufactures in a 65,000 sqft facility producing over 1000 units per week. What has this rapid growth been like for you?
The journey really has been pretty unbelievable. Just a few years ago, we were a tiny team soldering products by hand and shipping them to customers via the local Post Office. Today, we’re one of the UK’s fastest-growing tech firms operating subsidiaries all over the world. We’ve developed a pioneering suite of eco-smart home energy tech and we’ve built a loyal global customer base.
It’s incredible to think that we’ve built the business from the ground up. Alongside providing employment opportunities for hundreds of local workers, we’re also manufacturing products that help to make the world a better place. I’m so proud of what we’ve created and the impact that we’ve continued to make.
You’ve recruited and up-skilled staff from the local area. What has this meant for the community and for myenergi?
Lee and I are both proud Grimbarians – born and bred in Grimsby and committed to the local area. It’s a totally unique community with so much passion, vibrancy, amazing ideas and amazing people. It’s fair to say that the Humber is fast becoming a hub for renewable energy and, at myenergi, we’ve really benefitted from that.
We’ve onboarded hundreds of team members from across North-East Lincolnshire and we’re firm believers that the business has boomed as a result. But while we’re proud to be providing employment opportunities and developing skillsets, we’re also keen to give back to the local community.
One example of this is through our sponsorship of Grimsby Town Football Club. Through the agreement, we work in close partnership with its owners to run the mygrimsby fund, an initiative that sees local charities benefit from financial support to help them drive an even greater social impact.
What inspired the development of the myenergi product family, and how do these products meet the needs of today’s market?
Each product in the myenergi ecosystem has been carefully designed to solve problems – be that time, money, access to energy or the ability to maximise the value in renewable resources. Rather than following others, we’ve led the way with a wide range of devices that are redefining the home energy marketplace.
Our first product was eddi – a clever device that diverts surplus self-generated renewable energy to a heating element, rather than allowing it to be exported to the grid. As well as saving money on utility bills, this maximises the self-consumption of green power – important for those looking to reduce reliance on the national grid.
Soon after, we launched zappi – the world’s first solar compatible EV charger. Alongside integrating with time of use energy tariffs as standard, the eco-smart device can harness 100% of self-generated green power to further reduce the cost and environmental impact of charging your EV.
Recently, we launched libbi – our modular smart home battery. Alongside storing self-generated renewable energy, homeowners can also use libbi to pull low-cost power from the grid when rates are low and use it within the home at peak times.
We continue to adapt, change and redevelop our range to meet the rapidly changing needs of our customers. Whether adding on new features and benefits, improving software or maximising interoperability, our R&D team work hard to maintain our position at the very forefront of the market.
What future products or innovations are you most excited about?
While I’m sworn to secrecy, we’re continually working on new innovations, technologies and product ideas in the background. With the clear brief of pushing the boundaries of tech capability and setting new standards in sustainability, each of these projects are seriously exciting. Keep your ears to the ground – we might have some exciting news to announce pretty soon!
What drives your passion for renewable energy and sustainability?
From a young age, I was really aware of the climate crisis and the impact that humanity was having on the planet. It was frustrating to see that those who had the power to change things were burying their heads in the sand. I had a burning desire to make my mark and do something positive for the planet.
I almost fell accidently into the sustainability sector as a profession when I took on an admin role at a small start-up business located in the Lincolnshire Wolds. They were manufacturing a clever little renewable energy diversion device that cut payback periods on solar panels and had really started to disrupt the marketplace.
I fell in love with the sector almost immediately. The passion, the enthusiasm, the pace, the personalities and the innovation. That business was run by Lee Sutton, a good friend and an incredible electronics engineer, who I co-founded myenergi with just a few years later.
As the Chief Marketing Officer, what are some key strategies that have contributed to myenergi’s rapid growth?
From the early days of myenergi, we’ve prioritised the role of marketing and communications. Unlike most startups, we were keen to shout about the business from the rooftops – our successes, our challenges, our mistakes and even our failures. This honest approach helped us to build a trusted brand, and one that continues to resonate with our customers.
Over the past eight years, we’ve implemented a number of marketing campaigns that have really helped to build our profile in the market and drive measurable commercial return. From headline sponsoring a team at the Extreme E all-electric off-road racing championship, to taking the shirt sponsorship of Grimsby Town Football Club, we’ve taken risks and put ourselves out there to maximise our profile.
Alongside the big ticket activations, however, it’s the regular marketing activity that really works for us. Direct comms to prospects. Award entries. Profile in the press. Appearances on podcasts. Panel debates. Keynote speeches. Collectively, this helps to put the myenergi brand in front of so many new customers.
How do you foresee the future of renewable energy evolving, and what role will myenergi play in it?
Humanity is at a crossroads. From what we eat and what we wear, to how we travel and how we live, ensuring there’s a planet left for our great grandchildren requires fundamental change – and it’s up to all of us to take up the gauntlet! Climate change, emissions, carbon footprint and the ozone layer – not new words, but ones that have been ignored for far too long.
We’ve all become far too accustomed to a single centralised energy grid, powering our homes with fossil fuels. However, the energy system is changing fast, with the future set to be defined by smaller, more decentralised micro energy grids powered almost entirely by renewable energy. With the ability to optimise the self-consumption of self-generated renewable energy, our eco-smart tech has an important role to play in this.
What advice would you give to young entrepreneurs looking to enter the renewable energy sector?
While I’ll always fly the flag for entrepreneurship, it’s important to be prepared and not to underestimate the monumental challenges of starting your own business. If you go in with the right attitude – to be persistent, to be committed, to expect failure and to never give up – you won’t be disappointed. But it’s not the right decision for everyone, there’s no ‘get rich quick’ shortcut and it’s a really tough route to take.
The best piece of advice I can offer, however, is to remember the phrase ‘worry about it when it happens’. This has got me through no end of challenging situations. When I start fretting about things that I simply can’t control, it really does set me on the straight and narrow.
What feedback from customers has been most impactful in shaping myenergi’s products and services?
As an entrepreneur, positive feedback is amazing. Whether comments from our customers about the performance of our tech, or award nominations from the industry, it gives you the confidence that you’re making the right decisions and creating the technologies that people really want to use.
However, while a pat on the back is hugely motivational, it’s actually the more critical feedback that helps us to shape the future direction of the business. For example, when customers flag certain features or benefits that our products are missing, we know that including them would be well received. Of course, we can’t incorporate every suggestion (and there are reasons why we don’t include some as standard), but it’s a good steer nonetheless.
What’s more, we listen to the problems that our customers are facing. After all, we started the business with the aim of fixing problems (specifically, helping homeowners with solar panels to charge their electric vehicles) and this drives our future product roadmap. If there’s a sustainability challenge that we think technology can address, it’s an important starting point for developing the eco-smart tech of tomorrow.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in growing myenergi?
We’ve been through the rollercoaster of Brexit, component shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, market shrinkage, huge regulatory change and so much more – all in the first eight years of our journey. Personally, both Lee and I have faced health scares, bereavements and I had to navigate the premature birth of my daughter with running a high demand scale-up business.
But we’ve taken risks, overcome obstacles and learnt from our mistakes. Perseverance and a desire to be successful have seen us come out stronger than ever.
What has surprised you the most about myenergi’s journey so far?
If you’d told me a few years ago that myenergi would be in the Times 100 two years in a row, racking up countless award wins, sitting on a panel debate with Bill Gates and being invited for an audience with the Prime Minister, I’d have laughed at you. To this day, it still doesn’t feel quite real.
How do you handle the pressures of being a market leader in the eco industry?
The pressure of leading the way at the forefront of the industry is a challenge and an opportunity in equal measure. I like to see it as a chance to make our products – and our business – even better. It takes continuous innovation, ongoing development and, occasionally, ripping up the rulebook and taking massive risks.
This is the atmosphere that we thrive on at myenergi. It has been paramount in creating some of the world’s most innovative eco-smart home energy technologies and developing an ecosystem that is really moving the needle when it comes to decarbonising homes all over the world.
Can you tell us about your new eco office space and how it reflects myenergi’s values?
When we relocated our headquarters from Lincolnshire to Stallingborough, we had the opportunity to start with a blank canvas when it came to creating our office space. We wanted it to reflect our brand values, but also inject our personalities.
So, if you come for a tour of our site, you’re likely to be met with a sea of green plants and stylish, futuristic black décor. However, you’ll also encounter neon signs, motivational quotes, animal print wallpaper and open plan offices. Of course, the whole site has been designed to set the standards in sustainability, so we have a massive solar array installed on the roof and use our own products extensively across the site.
How has your role at myenergi influenced your personal life and values?
I think, in many ways, my personal life has actually helped to influence myenergi. When Lee and I founded the business, we ingrained our values, opinions and priorities within the very heart of the business.
But myenergi has also influenced me personally. It’s made me realise the important things in life, like cherishing time with my husband and daughter, and not to worry about the things that I can’t change. It’s given me a resilience that I’ll take with me forever and it’s made me realise that a young girl from Grimsby really can make it in business, regardless of what anyone else says.
How do you stay motivated and inspired?
I love my job, the industry that I work in and the company that we’ve worked so hard to build. I’m so passionate about our products, our team and our partners. In some businesses, you struggle to see the value that your work is delivering. At myenergi, you wake up every day knowing that – from the second you start work – you’re making the world a better place.
This fact really motivates me and keeps me inspired to push for bigger and better things. It’s been a major driver of our impressive growth over the past 8 years.
How do you see myenergi contributing to a more sustainable future on a global scale?
At myenergi, our inspiration has always been to create a positive impact, push the boundaries of possibility and change the world through pioneering renewable tech. We love what we do and we’re truly passionate about what we can achieve. With most jobs, it’s difficult to see the impact you’re making. At myenergi, every minute you spend at the office helps to make the world a better place.
Since beginning our journey, we’ve built a market-leading brand, created countless jobs and helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners all over the world to embrace energy-efficient solutions to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. As the business continues to scale, I passionately believe that we’ll continue to play a small, yet important role, in contributing to a more sustainable future.