Welcome to Episode 43 of SunCast, Solar Warrior!

While I was recently in SF for the Intersolar N.America show, I was on the lookout for products that I thought were innovative.  Thanks to my friend Tor Valenza, aka Solar Fred, I was introduced to the guys from Smappee.  Smappee is WAY more than just a monitoring device, and I had the privilege to sit down with the founder, Stefen Grosjean, himself a serial entrepreneur, to dig into exactly how he his positioning the US launch of this innovative product already available in 80+ countries! I'm happy to bring you that conversation, recorded live from Intersolar. In today's episode, we learn:

• How Stefen and the Smappee team have been disrupting the building automation and information business for years
• What exactly does Smappee do, and how could it revolutionize the smart home, not just connecting solar, but basically everything in the home
• What Stefen means that every appliance in the home has a "fingerprint", and how smappee can "hear" it all with only ONE sensor
• How the Blockchain can finally be realized for resi & commercial solar customers with Solarcoin - and of course how Smappee has been built to integrate it.
• And something I think is quite a unique approach or concept - Stefen envisions Smappee can be a gateway product, or door-opener for solar installers to get into offering smart home and automation services that lead to recurring revenue models!

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

Also, ACK (!) I gaffed in the intro and said Steffan hails from France - I beg his and your apology - Smappee and Stefan are from Belgium.

I also get into Stefen's previous successful entrepreneurial ventures and what it takes to found and grow a company to exit (sold to Honeywell).  He blew my mind on several topics we discussed, and I was supremely impressed with Stefen, his product, vision and startup chops. I expect Smappee to do great things in their entry into the US Market.  And I expect enterprising solar installers to begin to realize the opportunity at their doorstep with integrating smart-home technologies into their sales process.

And lastly, 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. Did I mention it's free?

Please enjoy this week’s episode of SunCast, with the serial entrepreneur making his entry into the US market all the way from France - Stefen Grosjean of Smappee.

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.

You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.

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.

Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/

You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:

Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeo

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus