Lynn Jurich Quotes

Prior to SunRun, I was headed toward a career in venture capital and then realized I wanted to apply my knowledge of finance more directly to helping change the world.

As we settle into 2013, I predict this: We’ll see companies that promote this shift from private ownership thrive. More people will be able to access things they simply don’t need to own, and they’ll save money and live better, cleaner, green lives doing it.

I think, in a lot of places, the solar panels are a badge of honor; they’re trendy. If you go to Hawaii or Japan, people even install fake solar panels because it’s cool and it’s popular. And so I think solar panels have gotten a lot more attractive. They’re sleek, black, they look good on a roof.

Consumers used to think they had to compromise with solar. It was, ‘Okay, I’m doing the right thing for the environment; it’s cool to see the panels. I have to compromise on the cost and convenience side.’ And now they no longer have to. On the cost side, it’s cheaper, and on the convenience side, we set it all up.

Rooftop solar is the first true form of competition that utilities have ever faced, and that is why they’re attacking it.

With the right infrastructure in place, home solar will be recognized publicly as affordable, easy, and smart, and every new home built in the developed world can have clean energy sources built into it.

On Sundays, I like to plan how I want to exit the week and what are the key things I need to get done that week. I list them, and then I do check-ins on them each morning.

I was an investor doing well and decided to be an entrepreneur.

Homeowners want solar power. It’s cost-effective. We invented a business model that makes it really easy for consumers to switch to solar – and that’s solar-as-a-service.

Since Sunrun introduced solar as a service in 2007, it has become the preferred way for consumers to go solar in the nation’s top solar markets. Sunrun has deployed more than $2 billion in solar systems and has raised more than $300 million in equity capital.

There is a new wave of environmental consumers I like to call Pocketbook Environmentalists. They’re going green primarily because it makes good financial sense, but the fact that it benefits their families’ health and the environment also makes them feel good.

Thanks to the social web, we can share and trade to use a whole universe of things we once had to buy ourselves. From cars to solar panels, people are realizing they can reap the benefits of ownership without the expense and hassle of buying.

We’re leading a fundamental shift from centralized energy to distributed energy. Energy will go in that direction, just like mainframe computers went to client servers, then to the Internet. I believe in solar, and the macro trends are just too undeniable.

Innovative companies have started to realize there are not enough ‘green consumers’ willing to pay more for something just because it’s green.

When Netscape failed, it didn’t mean the Internet was over.

Since I work in home solar, I can’t resist focusing on the amazing developments happening here. What many homeowners don’t know is that they can have solar installed on their roofs without owning the panels or paying the high upfront costs.

For a lot of people, one of the reasons they don’t like to work for founders of startups is that they can be sensitive and protective around what they’ve built. You have an emotional attachment to the early marketing and technology materials, and you don’t want to hear that anything’s wrong with them.

When wireless cellphones first came out, analysts predicted that at peak, it would only replace 5% of landlines. They said the quality wasn’t good enough. Clearly that was improved. I think you’ll find a similar thing in solar.

All people believe in America, jobs, creating energy here, not being dependent on foreign energy sources.

For Pocketbook Environmentalists, financial savings are the primary motivator. However Pocketbook Environmentalists are changing the face of the market and the planet for the better by demanding that going green saves you money.

It’s common for cultural shifts to start with young, urban adopters before going mainstream.

There is a huge market for products and services aimed at what I like to call the Pocketbook Environmentalist: a shopper who’s savvy enough to know things don’t necessarily have to cost more just because they’re good for the environment.