Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Startup spotlight: Virimodo
A man and woman kayak in Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. A three-week wilderness trip in the park inspired the founding of Virimodo, a company dedicated to helping owners make their buildings carbon neutral. (Getty Images)
Alabama NewsCenter is highlighting the inaugural class of 10 startups participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. The companies specialize in technology and business models to enhance the future of energy, including a digital marketplace for the electric wholesale industry, battery storage and microgrid solutions, and smart home software. Learn more about Techstars here. Also read profiles of Shipshape Solutions, Con.doit, TruSpin, Elektrik, Ashipa Electric, EnergyHawk, Sync and Resilient Power Systems.
Today we look at Virimodo.
Donna Sanders, CEO of Virimodo. (contributed)
Company Name
Virimodo.
Company hometown
Brooklyn, New York.
Leadership team names
Donna Sanders, CEO; Yevgeniy Orlovskiy, CTO.
Alabama NewsCenter: What is your company’s overall focus and mission?
Virimodo: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions in cities by making it simple for buildings to become carbon neutral.
Alabama NewsCenter: What inspired you to develop this company?
Virimodo: A 21-day wilderness trip, 252 miles paddling a sea kayak to explore Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. This park and its natural beauty is too good to lose forever. Cities consume about 70% of our global energy (and produce the most pollution), so a startup that targets cities would create the greatest impact.
Alabama NewsCenter: What attracted your company most to the state of Alabama and the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator?
Virimodo: Talent: Because of its sheer size and forward-looking focus, we were attracted to the opportunity to work within the Southern Company‘s family of companies, starting with APC (Alabama Power Company). Team: We were also drawn to (Techstars’) Nate (Schmidt, managing director) and Brooke (Gillis, director of operations) and really felt that they had the skills and network to help us gain early customers and investors. Passion: During the interview/vetting process we met people over the phone, on video and in person who seemed passionately committed to the success of Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator.
Yevgeniy Orlovskiy, CTO of Virimodo. (contributed)
Alabama NewsCenter: What does enhancing the future of energy mean to your company?
Virimodo: Universal accessibility to renewable energy for all. Cleaner air, bluer skies, better physical health and the preservation of natural resources for future generations.
Alabama NewsCenter: Other than moving your startup forward, what is the most meaningful, long-term learning or takeaway you hope to gain for your company by participating in the Techstars class?
Virimodo: Master the foundational knowledge of key mentor identification, choosing KPIs (key performance indicators), measuring OKRs (objectives and key results) and developing a smart-money fundraising pipeline.
Alabama NewsCenter: What is the No. 1 thing you would like potential investors to know or understand about your company?
Virimodo: Team: Our CEO is a three-time founder with 10 years experience as an Association of Energy Engineers certified energy auditor. Our CTO is a two-time founder with 10 years experience as a software engineer who has built 100-plus products. Company: We’re building a great product to help buildings become and stay carbon neutral so that we can leave a livable future, and we’re raising $1 million on a $4 million pre-money valuation.
