COI Energy Founder SaLisa Berrien Is Fighting Climate Change

COI Energy developed and deployed the first digital energy platform that successfully connects utilities and businesses so they can detect, eliminate and monetize energy waste in buildings to drive efficiency and optimize the electric grid.

My personal mantra is to leave the space I occupy better than I found it. I grew up in a low-middle class family. We did not have a lot of means, but that lended itself to more creativity amongst myself and my siblings. The climate crisis has been my biggest motivator to use my skill sets, passion and determination to leave the world better than I found it so my children’s children can live a better life.

I remember as a child my family always had to make something out of nothing. My aunt Georgia owned several hair salons, my aunt Bennie owned a record shop, my great grandparents had their own contract for transporting migrant workers from the south to the north to work in the bean fields, and my grandmother Christine rented rooms to migrant workers at her home. With such a strong and rich family history in entrepreneurship, I was bound to be an entrepreneur even though I didn’t know it. I started my first business at 8 years old, a girls club for girls like me that were unable to join Girl Scouts. The real business was my squeeze cup and penny candy stand to raise funds so we could do activities like swimming or movies. The business was so successful that my godmother Barbara bought me a cash register and opened a bank account for me to make deposits.

In addition to my childhood exposure, my work at four startups before starting COI Energy provided me the exposure and foundation needed to understand the ins and outs of how to run a startup.

My vision is to create a world where everyone only uses the energy they need, and they gift or sell their excess energy to those in need. Opening up a market for peer-to-peer energy transactions that drive efficiency in buildings, optimize the electric grid, eradicate energy waste and create a climate friendly economy for our children’s children to live, work, play and thrive.

Vinny was the first person I brought on the team because of his background in product development. We worked together at EnerNOC where he was on the product team. Prakash is an SME in value engineering and pricing. He joined the team when we began pricing for the beta test. Prakash has traveled the world giving talks on pricing and — more specifically — SaaS subscription pricing.

Yes, we provide a full-service digital energy platform that monetizes various behind-the-meter energy resources to improve efficiency and optimize the electric grid. Our platform provides 30% savings on average and at the same time pays customers for their efficiency and flexibility utilizing AI/ML to eradicate energy waste before it happens. In addition, we deliver a higher ROI than all of our competitors. The average payback period is 6 months or less.

One time activation fee plus monthly subscription. The customer retains 100% of savings and revenue generated on the platform. No more giving away a portion of the hard work put in to achieve its results.

The ability to democratize energy efficiency and carbon management investment for the average person that wants to make a difference in this space. Funds will be used to grow the sales and product team and to release new features that contribute to the growth of sales.

We believe that our job is to make the space we occupy better than we found it. The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time. It will take a concerted effort to turn the ship around. The COI Energy team is equipped to lead the industry in changing the face of energy with its on-demand marketplace focused on eradicating energy waste.

Our exit looks like an acquisition by a major software company focused on the environmental management space. We look to achieve at least $500M in revenue prior to our exit.