Rahmon Ojukotola Is Betting on Data Analysis to Reduce Energy Bills and Carbon Emissions

Name: Rahmon Ojukotola

Company: Prydence

What are you building, and who benefits most from it?

Prydence is a social enterprise with a mission to drive the adoption of off-grid renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions. The product tracks the energy generated from the solar panels and the appliance usage and then helps to improve the battery capacity by recommending the optimal use of appliances.

Our users have benefited greatly as their solar inverter batteries last longer, thereby saving them money by extending the battery replacement time. For the users fully off-grid, our algorithm helps to keep the battery running through the night until sunrise, when it begins recharging.

What is one of your startup’s most impressive accomplishments?

I’d say growing our user base exponentially through referrals and word of mouth. This is a testament to the tangible benefits our users gain from the product. Another one is helping to reduce carbon emissions and pollution by ensuring our users’ battery capacity is sufficient to avoid using backup generators.

What has been the biggest challenge so far, and how did you overcome it?

The biggest challenge was training the algorithm with appliance energy drain data. Our users contributing their appliance energy data to improve the efficiency of the app helps to address this.

What tool or app could you not live without and why?

It has to be Python. I use it to build a lot of algorithms. I would recommend it as a language any young developer should learn given its easy-to-understand syntax and wide array of uses.

What marketing strategies have worked for you?

Focusing on improving the functionality of the app has been an important way to increase the user base. Implementing user feedback is also important for user base growth.

What has been your biggest business failure to date? What did you learn from it?

As a social enterprise focused on sustainability and carbon emissions reduction, we try to influence our partners and stakeholders to improve their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach. There is a lot of resistance to change, and it continues to be a major challenge. We have learned to adjust our approach to suit the audience by focusing on their specific reason for not embracing sustainability.

What’s the best specific piece of advice you have for other entrepreneurs?

It would be to understand what your users value the most from your enterprise. Once you know this, you should focus on improving that aspect of your product. This will focus development efforts on key functionality that is valued and increase the efficiency of time worked. This also means surrounding yourself with the right team combination of skill sets required to build the products your users value.

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