The Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator is in its third year with 10 startups from Alabama, other states and even other countries. Alabama NewsCenter is putting a spotlight on all the companies in the 2022 class.

In this Startup Spotlight, we look at PowerTechs.

Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator 2022: PowerTechs from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Company: PowerTechs

Company hometown: Providence, Rhode Island

Leadership: CEO Ksenia Solomatina and CTO Sam Saarinen

Alabama NewsCenter: What is your company’s overall focus and mission?

PowerTechs: Currently proposed policy will require transition to 75% renewable energy by 2030. The U.S. is currently at just over 12%. Our company will help drive this transition by resolving challenges on both sides of the skilled-labor market in renewable energy, mitigating the largest expected labor shortage in the next 10 years.

ANC: What inspired you to start this company? How do you want to contribute to the future of energy and tech?

PowerTechs: In the U.S., it is harder to hire a skilled technician than to hire a doctor. Employers have difficulty sourcing enough candidates, and on-site interviews and skills assessments are expensive, but the cost of a bad hire can exceed $300,000. On the other side, adjunctly trained or uncredentialed job candidates can have difficulty getting called for interviews and can be discouraged by the unwarranted stigma around blue-collar jobs. We solve both of these problems by facilitating reliable, remote and inexpensive skills assessments across a large pool of job candidates.

PowerTechs CTO Sam Saarinen, left, and CEO Ksenia Solomatina are participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama NewsCenter)

ANC: What attracted you to the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator?

PowerTechs: Focus on the energy industry, great network, great team.

ANC: What is the No. 1 thing you would like potential investors to understand about your company?

PowerTechs: This is the right time, the right place for our solution and we are the right team.

ANC: What takeaways do you hope to gain for your company by participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator?

PowerTechs: Three B2B clients, 1,000 B2C users and an investment round.

ANC: What is your opinion of Birmingham so far?

PowerTechs: Very supportive team, cool people, great place.

You can find PowerTechs online at powertechs.us.

Alabama NewsCenter is highlighting the 2022 Class of startups participating in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator. Learn more about Techstars here.