Meet Dr Kushant Uppal, founder and MD and the diligent face behind the storehouse of smart energy; Intelizon
"The best part of being a Founder/ CEO has been to set up a vision and execute it with the help of a passionate team."
Dr. Kushant is an IIT Madras alumnus and holds an MS and Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Southern California. He holds the crown for incubating and managing global businesses in Asia, Europe, and North America with sales up to Rs1000Million and possesses hands-on experience in manufacturing, R&D, and marketing. Putting in over two decades in developing and fostering industry-leading technology products and businesses in the hotbed of innovation; Silicon Valley, California, Dr. Kushantrecognized that the energy efficient products are the key to enhancing productivity and presented a tremendous market opportunity for a new venture. The fervour and passion to create an enterprise offering smart solar energy based products which can have an impact on the rural as well as urban population landed him back to his motherland to drive technology and business with focus on India, Africa and other global markets which led to the advent of his entrepreneurial journey with the incorporation of Intelizon, a pioneer in lithium-ion based solar outdoor lighting and indoor home/rooftop systems.
A differentiator in the solar products segment: Intelizon
Intelizon was brewed up at IITM and received initial funding from Venture East Tenet and Emergic Capital in 2007. In the year 2015, Sukam power systems bought out the investors' equity and since then, has been a key partner in Intelizon's growth. Intelizon deployed its first product, a home lighting system that targeted a rural home with costing < advanced="" an="" and="" are="" camera="" cctv="" community="" control="" focused="" for="" has="" in="" inbuilt="" lighting,="" monitoring="" most="" offerings="" on="" organization's="" products="" range="" recent="" remote="" rs10000="" rs50000="" solar="" streetlight="" surveillance.="" the="" these="" to="" world.<="">
Intelizon stands on three pillars: innovation, customer driven and quality. A very lean organization with minimal hierarchies, Intelizon's people understands the basic principles and strives hard to provideRELIABLE AND QUALITY ELECTRICITY FOR ALL – products and solutions that will provide productivity gains for people living in the rural and urban areas worldwide. Intelizon's digital marketing initiatives attract like-minded channel partners globally and have been the most effective to date.
Reaching Mileposts
Intelizon's successful loop circulates around three spectrums;
In this regard, Intelizon's impact to date has been phenomenal with
>100MU of electricity savings, >80metric tons of CO2 reduction while impacting >2million lives.
Awards & Accolades
A Bright Future Ahead
"Intelizon Energy intends to be the world leader in energy based product innovation for the developing countries. The organization has established a reputation for being the most innovative and reliable products in the solar outdoor segment. Our goal over the next year is to partner with like-minded local companies in every state of India in many of the countries in Asia and Africa. Personally, I am looking to strengthen our core team to help achieve the professional goals. We are setting the standard for energy efficient products using a combination of lithium ion battery combined with solar, LED and advanced electronics technology to provide high quality and reliable solutions at affordable prices."
Kushant's take on Intelizon
Most companies in the world provide piecemeal solutions leaving it to the customers to create their own systems. Our focus is on the energy ecosystem – provide the best in class system efficiency through the source and load management and combine it with reliable electronics for the balance of the system. To this end, we have created innovative outdoor, indoor and portable lighting platforms. In addition, we also provide the best in class sales and service to our esteemed customers.
His biggest dream
Entrepreneurship is all about dreams, innovation, and experimentation. One learns mostly from the mistakes and continues to improve from there. My biggest dream is to create a technology based company in India with productswhich have both a rural and urban appeal globally.
Hardest thing about being a CEO
As with any organization, it gets lonely at the top as the CEO is accountable for all the decisions. There are many times when one has to make a call without much data which is hard but at the same time exciting.
Best thing about being a CEO
The best part is that one gets to build a team to execute the vision.
Advice for youth
Focus on your customer and create the best products in the world in your category. Be relentless in achieving your dream.
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