Munich Startup: What does your startup Solation do? What problem do you solve?
Sebastian Hugl, Solation: We have set ourselves the goal of working hand in hand with regional craftsmen to make green energy accessible to everyone and to resolve the complexity in the electricity and energy sector. In addition to a transparent and fair process for PV planning for homeowners, we also offer a patented tenant electricity solution for owners of rental buildings. 53 percent of all Germans live in rental housing and have no access to self-produced solar power. Solation enables landlords to sell electricity profitably to tenants with an innovative solution – without having to act as a complicated energy provider.
Donate excess electricity to social or public institutions
With this novel approach, it is also conceivable for the first time to donate excess electricity to social or public institutions. In doing so, we want to contribute to efficiently and sustainably distributing excess electricity in Germany. It is particularly important to us to offer transparent product information, open and non-binding advice without sales pressure, and structured, digitalized project planning for our customers. We also place great value on a fair and equitable working environment for our employees and our partner craftsmen.
Munich Startup: But that already exists!
Sebastian Hugl: Solation’s approach to tenant electricity solutions is actually unique and patented. Furthermore, Solation addresses a widespread problem in the industry: lack of transparency. Through easy-to-understand and fair processes, we want to create new standards in an often opaque industry and thus give everyone access to green energy.
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Sebastian Hugl: Let me try to keep it brief: I have already founded twice. Through my last startup, I acquired a lot of knowledge in the area of patents and I wanted to use this knowledge afterwards to do something meaningful. Together with my friends Max and Tim, I realized that especially in the energy sector there is still a lack of meaningful solutions, and that’s when the three of us founded Solation together. With the patented tenant electricity solution, we want to do good for people who cannot afford their own home but still want to live sustainably. At the same time, we have created a company that operates on an equal footing with our partner craftsmen and our own employees. Our motivation was to create a business model that puts people first and makes green and fair energy accessible to everyone.
Solation: “The market is over-regulated and network operators have no interest in decentralized electricity supply”
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Sebastian Hugl: We are still at the very beginning and facing many entrepreneurial challenges. Regulation in the market and the slowness of network operators are two of them. The market is over-regulated and network operators have no interest in decentralized electricity supply. In addition, the German market and German customers unfortunately are not particularly innovation-friendly, and in politics alternative and sustainable concepts are not being promoted enough. We hope that we can educate people with our work and thus have a positive impact on the expansion of green energy supply in Germany.
Munich Startup: How is business going?
Sebastian Hugl: Although the macroeconomic situation is difficult, things are going very well for us. We currently employ twelve people, generate seven-figure revenue, and remain privately owned.
Munich Startup: You recently relocated your headquarters to Munich. What convinced you about the startup location?
Sebastian Hugl: Although we disagree as a founding team, as a Münchner I believe that Munich is simply the most beautiful place – if anything more beautiful than Kissing, where my co-founder Max is from. Moreover, the decision to move from Kissing to Munich was of course also influenced by the availability of qualified talent. We plan to continue growing and find it easier to fill our positions as best as possible.
Munich Startup: Quick exit or long game?
Sebastian Hugl: We are not aiming for a quick exit with Solation. Our goal is to operate ecologically and economically sustainably and to build a business model that is successful in the long term and thus does good. What we don’t want is extreme growth that comes at the expense of our employees or our partner craftsmen.
