Solar CEO Scaled From $300K to $20M in Under 3 Years (And It Runs Even WITHOUT Him) | Kevin Goodwin

He went from $300K to $20 million in under three years. Now he works 7 hours a week on that business.

Kevin Goodwin is the co-founder of Quality Solar, Scors.ai, and The Good Collom Foundation. He started as an entrepreneur at 25, built a subprime lending company before the 2008 crash, pivoted to flipping homes on Chicago's South and West Sides, and then discovered the solar industry almost by accident. Quality Solar is now a debt-free company projecting $30 million this year with no outside investors.

In this episode, Alex and Kevin go deep on how he scaled so fast and how he built the business to run without him.

Key takeaways:

00:00:00 Introduction

00:04:05

Q: Why does Kevin Goodwin compare solar to home ownership?

A: Kevin Goodwin says we all rent energy and the smart move is to own it, just like you stopped renting your house

00:10:00

Q: How did Kevin Goodwin learn to cut out the middleman in construction?

A: Kevin Goodwin watched his GC overcharge him and underpay workers, then became the general contractor himself

00:21:05

Q: Why does Kevin Goodwin say a trained ape could sell solar?

A: Kevin Goodwin explains the value prop is so obvious in Illinois that there is literally no reason not to have it

00:22:15

Q: How did Kevin Goodwin build a $20M company to run without him?

A: Kevin Goodwin says hire the right talent and pay for it, even if your margins shrink in the short term

00:34:00

Q: What is Kevin Goodwin's framework for making big decisions?

A: Kevin Goodwin says all decisions come down to love versus fear and most founders let fear lead

00:45:05

Q: Can you run a nonprofit and a for-profit business together?

A: Kevin Goodwin explains how his foundation hires his own companies and why that is not a conflict

If you are a founder still doing everything yourself, this is your sign to start building a business that can run without you.

🔗 CONNECT WITH Kevin Goodwin

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-goodwin-ai/

Scors.ai: https://scors.ai/

The Good Collom Foundation: https://www.thegoodcollomfoundation.org/

Email: kevin@scors.ai

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