Latest news with #Omnidian
Geek Wire
4 days ago
- Business
- Geek Wire
Seattle solar startup Omnidian names former Impinj leader as CFO after raising $87M
GeekWire's startup coverage documents the Pacific Northwest entrepreneurial scene. Sign up for our weekly startup newsletter , and check out the GeekWire funding tracker and venture capital directory . Evan Fein, CFO of Omnidian. (LinkedIn Photo) Omnidian, a startup specializing in solar power performance management, has hired Evan Fein as its new chief financial officer as it seeks to expand into international markets and broaden its services to include new categories of renewable energy installations. Fein's appointment follows the Seattle-based company's recent announcement of $87 million in funding and its acquisition of Solar Service Guys, Australia's largest solar service network. Prior to this role, Fein spent nearly two decades at Impinj, a Seattle company specializing in high-tech RFID tags that connect billions of items to the internet. As Impinj's eighth employee, he played a key role in taking the company public in 2016. Two years later, he left to become CFO at Chef Software, which was acquired during his tenure, before moving on to TextNow. 'I really wanted to be in the clean tech space,' Fein said of his decision to join Omnidian. 'There is a lot of excitement around solar and other renewable energy methods.' While he hasn't previously worked in the energy sector, a late-stage private company that's ready to scale is his 'sweet spot,' Fein said, adding that Omnidian is 'a very good fit.' Omnidian launched in 2016, founded by CEO Mark Liffmann, Chief Strategy Officer Ray Szylko and Chief Operating Officer David Kenny, all of whom had experience in the renewable energy space. The company hired Cathy Hardin as chief revenue officer last year. The company has developed software that virtually monitors the output of solar power and battery installations in the commercial and residential spaces. Its technology looks at a system's energy production and analyzes weather conditions along with other data to assess whether it's performing optimally. If issues arise, Omnidian can provide remote support, or when physical repairs are needed, it can dispatch contracted energy technicians to service installations on-site. Omnidian reported that its revenue more than tripled from 2022 to 2024. It's ranked No. 49 on the GeekWire 200, our list of top tech startups across the Pacific Northwest. Total funding is estimated at $165 million. The company has 285 employees in the U.S., and about 90 in Australia. Potential new markets include countries in Europe and Latin America, and could involve additional acquisitions, Fein said. The company is also considering electric vehicle charging stations as an additional clean energy source for monitoring and output management. Fein said Omnidian is primed to unlock new services through AI, including creating tools that could guide field technicians in troubleshooting and repairs. 'There is so much that we can do in the future as we get more data and can harness more data,' he added. The backdrop to Omnidian's plans for growth includes a presidential administration that favors fossil fuels over solar and wind power. Add to that President Donal Trump's threat of high tariffs, which can create challenges for solar technology that's largely manufactured abroad. U.S. developers, however, had been stockpiling solar panels and are expected to add 54 gigawatts of solar capacity to the grid this year, according to BloombergNEF. Last year, solar was responsible for 81% of new energy capacity in the U.S., according to Ember. Solar accounts for more than 30% of the electricity mix for clean energy leaders California and Nevada. Despite the uncertainty currently created by U.S. leadership, Fein had a sunny outlook for solar's long-term potential given demands from data center growth and increased electrification of transportation and other sectors. Solar is the cheapest source of energy, he said, and 'our need for power is expected to grow enormously.'
Fast Company
21-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
20 strategies to address today's complex business challenges
In an era where complex business challenges often defy conventional solutions, leaders must think outside their comfort zones and consider alternative approaches to overcome their business obstacles. By fostering a mindset that embraces ambiguity and encourages experimentation, they can unlock innovative solutions to problems that don't fit the mold. Here, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members offer insight to help other leaders become more creative in addressing problems that require more than a standard answer. 1. BRAINSTORM WITH BUSINESS LEADERS OUTSIDE OF YOUR TEAM. Start by engaging business line leaders outside of your team. Unique solutions are often arrived at when folks with different perspectives come together to creatively problem solve something they may be too close to and can't see clearly what could be possible. – Sean Swentek, Omnidian 2. START AT THE END TO DISCOVER A BREAKTHROUGH. Work backward from 'Wow! What an awesome idea.' You need to stop looking for someone else's blueprint and start trusting your gut. Creative solutions begin when you stop asking, 'What's the usual way?' and start thinking unconventionally about the art of problem solving. Sit in the silence, think deeply, and don't be afraid to throw out the rulebook. That's where the real breakthroughs happen. – Gregory Vetter, Alta Fresh Foods 3. TRY LOW-RISK EXPERIMENTS TO GENERATE BETTER OUTCOMES. Start with severe constraints—I've seen time and again how this can lead to your most creative solution. That's the power of jugaad (frugal inventiveness). It's a creative approach where you work with what you've got, stay focused on what matters most (to customers, your organization, and teams), and try some small, low-risk experiments to test and learn quickly. In a complex environment, focusing on creativity is a powerful equation. – Simone Ahuja, Blood Orange 4. MAKE EVERYONE FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT SHARING THEIR IDEAS. Creative solutions come from diverse and inclusive teams. Leaders need to be surrounded by people representing different backgrounds, cultures, generations, levels, and expertise. They must create an environment that empowers this diverse talent to speak up to share their perspectives and ideas. Although DEI is under attack, the principles have never been more critical to business success. – Kim Sample, PR Council 5. RETHINK THE WAY YOU'RE USING THE DATA. Leaders become more creative when they rethink how they use data. Data reveals what's missing and shouldn't just be seen as a way to measure outcomes, but as a means to find better questions. That's where new solutions come from, especially when the problem doesn't have a clear playbook. – Kelsey Morgan, EverFree 6. BE WILLING TO PUSH BEYOND THE STATUS QUO. By questioning norms and asking, 'What if?' leaders show enthusiasm for unconventional ideas and a willingness to view challenges as opportunities rather than threats. Embracing uncertainty also demonstrates a comfort level with ambiguity, which is required anytime you want to challenge the status quo. Otherwise, it's too easy to prematurely force a familiar framework. – Juan Vallarino, myLaurel 7. ASK STAKEHOLDERS WHAT THEY NEED FROM YOU. Don't just do something—sit there! Place yourself in the center of a constellation of stakeholders, thinking hard about what each stakeholder needs to hear from you and what could harm your relationship with them. Think especially hard about the latter, because it's often not obvious, and a poorly thought-out decision's downside is often greater than a brilliant decision's upside. – David Meadvin, One Strategy Group 8. TRUST YOUR GUT. Start by realizing there is no such thing as a standard solution. Every problem is born of a unique situation, with a commercial implication, a time-pressure component, and the emotional and behavioral nuances of the humans involved. Leadership is 50% MacGuyvering a best-case scenario while hanging out the back of a speeding truck. Assess your situation, identify your options, and trust your gut. – Neil Whitfield, Reed Words 9. CREATE PROVOCATION CARDS. We've productized non-standard solutions by developing a deck of provocation cards. Each card has a method for looking at a problem in a fresh, sometimes outrageous or bizarre way. The discipline strips away many of the barriers and assumptions that are getting in the way of original thinking. – Bob Sprague, Yes& 10. LEARN TO STRENGTHEN YOUR CREATIVE MUSCLE. Leaders shouldn't rely on one-size-fits-all solutions. Creativity is a natural part of leadership, but it's also a muscle you can strengthen. Leaders should step outside their comfort zones to boost creative thinking, explore diverse ideas, and practice thinking from first principles. This mindset helps leaders discover innovative solutions and navigate emerging technology's unpredictable challenges. – Joe Depa, EY 11. SET REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. If leaders could set the initial expectation that no problem has a one-size-fits-all solution, it's likely going to be easier to think creatively when resolving problems. A fun motto we have in my workplace is: 'Not everything is apples to apples; some things are apples to oranges.' This essentially means that not every problem can be resolved in the ways we expect, but there's always a solution. – Misty Larkins, Relevance 12. SURVEY FEEDBACK FROM THE FRONT LINES. Leaders can tap into creativity through proper immersion by considering different perspectives and listening to customers, people at the front line, partners, and even external voices. Inviting cross-functional actions, such as collaboration or simply questioning their own assumptions, is another way to help foster creative thinking. – Asad Khan, LambdaTest Inc. 13. UTILIZE CHATGPT AS A STARTING POINT TO GENERATE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS. This is a perfect use case for AI. Simply go into ChatGPT, describe the problem, and ask it to come up with some creative ways to address the problem. – Toni Pisano, PortPro Technologies, Inc. 14. READ MORE BROADLY. Leaders can boost creativity by embracing diverse perspectives, encouraging brainstorming without judgment, and stepping outside their usual routines. Reading broadly, asking 'what if' questions, and staying curious fosters innovative thinking, especially when standard solutions fall short. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 15. GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE SCREEN. Stop managing from a spreadsheet and start talking to people. The best solutions come from understanding the real challenges your team faces. Get on the ground, ask the right questions, and listen. Creativity comes from being deeply informed and having the resources to think differently. To do that, you need to step out of day-to-day operations and give yourself space to see the big picture. – Milos Eric, OysterLink 16. STAY CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT IS POSSIBLE. I began my career as a chef, where creativity wasn't optional—it was survival. You learned fast that no recipe fits every challenge. As a CEO, I bring that same mindset. Leaders become more creative by test-baking ideas, blending diverse thinking like a great fusion dish, and staying curious enough to solve what tradition can't. – Nicholas Wyman, IWSI America 17. PUT PEOPLE FIRST. Look for the intersection of people and technology. The most powerful solutions don't come from algorithms—they come from understanding needs. With all the advancements taking place, there is an opportunity to rewrite the playbook and combine ingenuity and innovation. Stop defaulting to what's been done and start exploring what could be done to unlock a new level of people-first problem-solving. – Steve Cox, Employ Inc. 18. STUDY THE STRATEGIES OF YOUR MENTOR. Creative leaders aren't born. They're relentlessly resourceful. They seek out mentors, study how others solve problems, and form sound judgment by connecting patterns quickly. When faced with unfamiliar challenges, they don't rely on instinct alone. They learn fast, ask better questions, and adapt ideas across contexts to craft original solutions. – Albert Lie, Forward Labs 19. GAMIFY THE CHALLENGE. Try looking at the problem like it's a puzzle in a game. Strip away the industry or business context and just think about what would make it work. That shift helps you break away from the usual thinking and spot creative angles you might miss when you're too deep in the day-to-day. – Travis Schreiber,
