Working With Working Capital

Can you build a solar/storage company with no outside capital?
 Turns out, you can. If your customers pay upfront.

Earlier this week, I spoke with a few startups in B2C solar and storage.
 Some sell high-end solutions to the well-off.
 Some team up with real estate developers. 
Others build SaaS platforms connecting customers, installers, and hardware suppliers.

None of this is my core territory.
 But I’ve been learning fast, and one insight stood out. Every one of these ventures faces the same issue: working capital.
 And the most common answer? Advance payments.
 One founder shared that 80–100% of the order value comes in before delivery.

Think about that.


No dilution.


No debt.


Just customer cash to get started.

Of course, this only works when you’re small and your customers are willing to wait.
 Turns out that many are. Two, even three months.

But if you want to scale—really scale—you’ll need to start offering credit.
And that’s a different game entirely.

Still, if you’re building in B2C solar and storage, maybe start with this question:
Can you get your first hundred customers to pay upfront?

That might be all the capital you need.

How do you work your working capital?