Google• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Go » Google (компания) bought his
smart glasses company.
Will anyone
buy Stephen
Lake’s
heatpumps?
Google• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Go » Google (компания) bought his smart glasses company. Will anyone buy Stephen Lake’s heat
pumps?
Sean Silcoff Technology• Технологии Reporter
Jeffrey Jones ESG and Sustainable Finance Reporter
Published 30 minutes ago
Open this photo in gallery• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Ga » Gallery:
Stephen Lake, CEO of Jetson Home Inc., a heat pump installation business• Экономика » Бизнес,
poses for a photograph next to the work trucks at their office in North
Vancouver, B.C, on Oct. 24. The idea for Jetson dates to Mr. Lake’s time as an
adviser to the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator’s climate technology• Технологии
stream in Vancouver. Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
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Stephen Lake was pegged for greatness early on. In 2011, the self-assured
Scarborough, Ont., native was named one of the Next 36 – a group of
entrepreneurial undergraduates selected by Next Canada for their potential to
build big companies – while he was studying mechatronics engineering at the
University of Waterloo. The wearable technology• Технологии startup he and two classmates
founded, Thalmic Labs (later renamed North Inc.) was Waterloo’s most hyped and
heavily funded company after BlackBerry Ltd.
But North hit a funding crunch during the pandemic and sold to Google• Общество » Социальные группы » Субкультура » Сетевой жаргон » To Google parent
Alphabet Inc• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Al » Alphabet Inc.. in 2020 before its smart glasses reached commercial viability.
Alphabet• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Al » Alphabet Inc. redirected North’s efforts to its augmented reality (A/R) unit and
cut staff.
Four years on, smart eyewear is still a technology• Технологии of the future, but it isn’t
Mr. Lake’s future. The 34-year-old and North co-founders Aaron Grant and
Matthew Bailey have regrouped to build something very different: A business• Экономика » Бизнес
that installs home heat pumps. Yes, heat pumps.
Their startup is called Jetson Home Inc., and as the name suggests, it is not
a typical local heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) business• Экономика » Бизнес.
It’s a future-looking climate change• Политика » Геополитика » Международные отношения » Направления международного сотрудничества » Изменение климата
• Метеорология » Климатология » Изменение климата play with ambitions to grow big by making
heat pumps easier and cheaper to obtain.
“This is a dramatically different business• Экономика » Бизнес from North – less deep tech R&D
and way more operations – but just as rewarding to be working on something
with the opportunity to make a big dent in climate change• Политика » Геополитика » Международные отношения » Направления международного сотрудничества » Изменение климата
• Метеорология » Климатология » Изменение климата,” Mr. Lake posted on
LinkedIn in September.
Heat pumps are considered a key technology• Технологии for improving energy efficiency in
buildings and transitioning to a low-carbon economy. An alternative to natural
gas, oil and other less efficient electric heating options that is more cost
effective over the long term, they work by compressing heat from outside air
or ground sources and transferring it into a building. They also provide
cooling in the summer by removing thermal energy to the exterior. The
International Energy Agency, the West’s energy-security watchdog, estimates
heat pumps could reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 500-million tonnes per
year by 2050.
Governments at all levels are enticing homeowners to install heat pumps with
rebates. But, said Kate Harland, mitigation research team lead with the
Canadian Climate Institute, “they tend to cost more up front even if you save
on your bills over the years.” That, she said, still acts as a barrier to
adoption.
Mr. Lake’s goal is to shrink that “green premium.” He and his co-founders
explored whether they could do that by making cheaper heat pumps, cutting
installation costs or creating software to automate back-office tasks for
service providers. “It became clear there was no clear one thing that would
move the needle in a big enough way to make a dent on adoption,” Mr. Lake said
in an interview. Instead, they decided “to solve all these problems at once.”
Open this photo in gallery• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Ga » Gallery:
Jetson is building WiFi-connected electronics control boards for manufacturers
to put in the pump units so they can be monitored after installation on a
mobile app the company is creating. Tijana Martin/The Globe and Mail
Heat pump giants like Carrier or Trane typically outsource production and send
machines to regional distributors who sell them to HVAC installers. Jetson
aims to do most of that itself.
It is working directly with unidentified Asian outsourcers to procure pumps
directly, cutting out middlemen. And it is collaborating with them to make
pumps easier to install, by asking the manufacturers to add connected fittings
between pipes that join the indoor and outdoor• Реклама » Наружная реклама parts of the system so they can
be snapped together, rather than welded. That reduces labour costs, fire risk• Страхование » Риск
and insurance• Страхование needs.
Jetson is building WiFi-connected electronics control boards for manufacturers
to put in the pump units so they can be monitored after installation on a
mobile app the company is creating.
It is also launching an installation business• Экономика » Бизнес, starting with three crews in
Vancouver and Denver, Colo., where Jetson bought a service provider this year
that had built software to calculate heat loads in customer homes. Jetson is
creating software to automate back-office operations and save costs. For
example, its online platform will enable Jetson to generate estimates remotely
by getting customers to upload information and pictures of their buildings.
The software will also automate applications for permits and rebates.
Meanwhile, Jetson has hired veteran installers and is developing a
standardized process so crews can do jobs in one day. The idea, Mr. Lake said,
is to charge well below the typical cost charged by other HVAC installers,
which can run upwards of $20,000. Jetson’s rate for a detached Vancouver-area
home is $12,000 plus GST, which could net out to a cost of under $2,000 to
homeowners after rebates, depending on the jurisdiction.
The idea for Jetson dates to Mr. Lake’s time as an adviser to the Creative
Destruction Lab accelerator’s climate technology• Технологии stream in Vancouver, which he
joined two years ago after moving west with his family. (Mr. Lake’s wife,
Lauren Lake, another Next 36 alumnus, co-leads construction software company
Bridgit Inc.)
North had been an early breakout star at CDL in Toronto, raising
US$200-million from investors, including Intel, Amazon, Fidelity Investments
and Salesforce.com Inc. founder Marc Benioff. Fellow CDL mentor Mike
Winterfield, managing partner of Vancouver financier Active Impact
Investments, was intrigued by Mr. Lake’s experience and encouraged him to turn
his talents to climate change• Политика » Геополитика » Международные отношения » Направления международного сотрудничества » Изменение климата
• Метеорология » Климатология » Изменение климата.
Mr. Lake, meanwhile, was growing frustrated with the slow pace at Alphabet• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Al » Alphabet Inc.,
where he worked in its A/R division after the sale. In a company dominated by
search and video, “all these other things including A/R were so far removed
from the core that the organizational muscle to actually be effective and
forced to ship things and work through hard problems wasn’t there.” He
concluded Google• Объект организация » Организации по алфавиту » Организации на Go » Google (компания) lacked “the conviction and drive to ship a product that will
be relevant in this space” and began thinking about cleantech opportunities.
He concluded many climate issues didn’t need “another 10 years of deep
research and technical breakthroughs” but instead simply required overcoming
obstacles that kept proven emissions-lowering technologies from wider
deployment.
With his engineer’s mind, he worked backwards from solutions that could have
the biggest impact on emissions, zeroing in on replacing gas furnaces. He and
his North co-founders bandied around ideas, settling on their plan and
incorporating Jetson in January.
The idea to build a vertically integrated heat pump business• Экономика » Бизнес initially met
with some puzzlement. “My immediate reaction was, ‘Uh, okay, it’s awesome
you’re doing something in the climate space, but I really don’t like this
idea,’” said Mr. Winterfield. He explained that his fund shies away from
consumer-facing businesses, and that many venture capitalists dislike hardware
and services plays. “Each one is hard to get right, and Jetson was doing all
three.”
Chris Efstathiou Jr., a veteran supply chain executive who had worked at North
and BlackBerry – as well as Amazon Robotics• Технологии » Робототехника and Dell before that – said he
expected the trio to develop another technology• Технологии product for their next
venture. He says when he learned they were doing “basically old school HVAC
stuff, it made no sense to me.”
But the trio convinced these skeptics that if they got everything right Jetson
could shake up an established sector and dramatically expand the market.
Well-funded European companies were pursuing similar opportunities, including
1KOMMA5° GmbH, Octopus Energy Ltd. and Aira Group AB. Mr. Winterfield’s fund
eventually invested US$2-million as part of a US$5-million seed financing by
Jetson.
Others needed less convincing to invest. “Stephen is a unique and exceptional
founder and extraordinarily determined,” said ex-North director and investor
Dan Debow. “I wanted to back him, this is what he’s passionate about, it was a
pretty easy ‘Yes.’” Mr. Efstathiou agreed to advise Jetson on its supply
chain, while former North chief financial officer Mike Galbraith left a senior
job at Damon Motorcycles to join the startup in March.
Jetson has now installed dozens of its product but faces many challenges to
deliver on its lofty ambition to convert tens of millions of North American
homes to heat pumps.
Recruiting experienced installers is trickier than hiring software developers,
who are easily found on LinkedIn. HVAC installers are typically busy, fully
employed and not necessarily engaged enough in the climate change• Политика » Геополитика » Международные отношения » Направления международного сотрудничества » Изменение климата
• Метеорология » Климатология » Изменение климата mission to
move. Recruiting involves parking trucks at local distributors and throwing
barbecues, Mr. Lake said. Jetson will have to do that market by market as it
starts expanding eastward in the coming months.
Another snag could come in the form of trade policy. U.S. President• Соединённые Штаты Америки (США) » Политика США » Политики США » Президент США
• Соединённые Штаты Америки (США) » Государственное устройство США » Президент США
• Политика » Политика США » Политики США » Президент США
• Государство » Государственное устройство США » Президент США-Elect
Donald Trump• Объект человек » Персоналии по алфавиту » Персоналии на Тр » Трамп, Дональд has pledged stiff tariffs on all imports, with Asia, and
specifically China, being a prime target• Объект бренды » Бренды на t » Target. Canada may follow suit as it has
with electric vehicles. Mr. Trump• Объект человек » Персоналии по алфавиту » Персоналии на Тр » Трамп, Дональд’s election also raises questions about the
future of green incentives that have driven some of the U.S• Соединённые Штаты Америки (США). consumer interest
in replacing HVAC systems that run on fossil fuels.
Jetson is also still figuring the best way to get the word out: Direct mail
has worked so far, but most markets don’t lack for HVAC installers. The
company hasn’t created warranty, service and financing offerings yet and will
likely have to work to convince some homeowners to trust its Jetson-branded
machines over established names.
Plans to generate recurring revenue lie ahead. “Several of those pieces will
eventually be part of the puzzle• Образование » Математическое образование » Математические головоломки и досуг » Головоломки; they are not today,” Mr. Lake said. “We
still have a long way to go to prove this out.”
But after 10 years building their first startup, the trio have learned “what
is noise and what is signal,” he said. “We’ve been much more focused and heads
down on executing since we hit go.”
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