In our latest interview, we sat down with Jonathan and David Green, the dynamic brother duo behind Green.com.au, Australia’s fastest-growing green energy startup.
From leaving corporate careers to building a successful business during a global pandemic, the Greens have navigated challenges with resilience, creativity, and a deep commitment to sustainability.
They share their insights on bootstrapping a business, the importance of meaningful supplier relationships, and their exciting plans to disrupt the energy market further with innovative new projects.
Jonathan and David, your journey from corporate roles to bootstrapping Green.com.au is incredibly inspiring. What made you both decide to take the leap and start your own green energy company during such a turbulent time?
We both knew we were always going to start our own business; we just didn’t realise it would be with each other. The renewable energy industry brought us together and that’s what really cultivated the beginnings of us starting something together. Jono worked in energy his whole working life and I always loved renewables and the environment.
Starting during COVID really helped us. There were absolutely none of the normal life distractions (because you couldn’t do anything anyways). People were spending more time at home, had more time to consider things like home improvements and sadly, their energy bills were going up more than usual given all the time at home.
It all meant we could spend more time on building our website and marketing, building our CRM Doug and building world class internal systems so when the world opened up again, we could exponentially grow knowing we had a solid foundation.
We won’t pretend like we meant it, the timing was serendipitous but in reflection we wouldn’t change it for the world.
You’ve grown from filming YouTube videos in a small office to leading Australia’s fastest-growing green energy startup. How did those early days of creating content help shape your business, and do you still use those skills today?
Our filming and content creation helped us build trust and value for our customers early on when we had no brand and were a new organisation. We put our faces to the brand from day one in an industry that can sometimes be guilty of hiding behind celebrity endorsements. The videos are somewhat evergreen and still help our customers every single day.
Do we still edit our own videos, 100% no and we don’t miss that part at all. The grit, customer focus and resilience we needed to keep on filming and keep on pumping out content in the early days are basically the underlying values of our whole organisation today.
Your approach to building meaningful relationships with suppliers really sets you apart in the industry. How did you come up with the idea to treat your suppliers like employees, and how has that strategy contributed to your success?
There was no moment we decided to treat our suppliers like employees, it’s just the way we are. We wanted to build an organisation that we were and are proud of. If there is a moment when you decide to do something like that, I think it might suggest you thought about another option. For us, there is no other option.
You’ve developed your own CRM system, Doug, to improve customer service. Can you tell us more about how Doug came to be and the impact it’s had on your business and customer satisfaction?
The solar industry in Australia is a wonderful industry to be a part of and we are incredibly proud to work alongside some incredible organisations. However, there are a lot of solar companies and lots of the feedback we got from our initial customer research was that simple things like customer follow ups and post-sale service just weren’t happening regularly enough or good enough. We saw lots of people using no real system or structure or trying to use multiple software providers for their marketing, sales and service, none of which were built for purpose.
We saw this as our first huge opportunity. We could build something from the ground up that is made for the renewable energy industry, focused on a customer’s journey from day 1 of understanding all of the products, getting a quote, all the way to maintaining and loving their new energy technology and that is exactly what we did.
Green.com.au’s focus on maintaining long-term relationships with customers is unique in the industry. Why was it important for you to continue that relationship beyond installation, and how do you keep your customers engaged?
We are on a mission to build a national brand. When any Australian thinks about solar, solar batteries and all things green energy, we want them to think of Green.com.au.
Installing a product like solar is just the beginning of our customers’ journey of full home electrification. Once solar is installed, it is their gateway to understand renewable energy and then support other incredible products like solar batteries, heat pumps and EV’s.
We keep our customers engaged with our Green.com.au outreach programs to simply check in, all the way to our structured system health checks we use to help people maximise the benefits from their investments.
Our roll out of our VPP and electricity comparison will mean we can continue to support and provide value to our incredible customers endlessly after their initial installation.
With the launch of your own Virtual Power Plant and electricity comparison service, you’re set to disrupt the energy market even further. What excites you most about these upcoming projects, and how do you see them changing the game?
It’s common knowledge, if we can reduce barriers for consumers, more people will go green, more people will opt for greener retail energy options, and we will accelerate Australia’s switch to a greener, more sustainable energy grid.
Electricity is still a bit of a black box for many consumers. We want to empower people to make great decisions using the best data available and not have to become energy experts in the process. Life is already complex enough so with everything we do we want to make it easier and simpler for people.
The excitement we get from these projects is knowing they have been built with all of that in mind and they will help so many Australians make better, easier energy decisions. Electricity.com.au launches later this month, compares the whole market and is 100% free to use.
Looking back at your journey, what has been the most rewarding moment for each of you since starting Green.com.au, and what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking to bootstrap their own startups?
We started this to build an organisation we and everyone that works here can be proud of and while it is a perpetual never ending exercise, we are proud to say we are very much building that. Our people are incredible, we are producing incredible customer outcomes that truly delight Aussie homeowners.
Bootstrapping isn’t for everyone, we know that. For us we did it for a few reasons, the two most poignant are because we thrive on accountability, and we wanted to build the foundation of an organisation with our vision and culture not someone else’s.
While you have accountability to investors, there is no more accountability than to your people, your customers and your family. Bootstrapping is the ultimate accountability exercise in that department. Every dollar has to be considered, every customer means the world and we think that’s the way it should be.
If you are going to start your own business, there is no right or wrong way and bootstrapping and seed capital/investment both have their merits. Just try to make a decision that will support you and your mindset, so it doesn’t become a distraction further down the road.
