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Pioneers & Protagonists

Dave Llorens, CEO of One Block Off The Grid

1 Block Off The Grid (1BOG) aims to…
take home solar mainstream. A group purchase model makes it way more comfortable to go solar if you know hundreds of others are getting the same discounted deal from a great contractor. Basically, do you go see a movie because you saw a movie poster or because your buddy said it was a great flick? Probably the latter.

The idea came …
selling solar myself. I found that people don’t trust contractors, and comparing multiple quotes requires that you be rocket scientists. Plus, all the pricing is hidden and confusing making negotiating impossible.

The easiest way to explain 1BOG is…
a buying club for people who want to get solar on their home. First, make it simple to understand. Then negotiate a fixed/transparent price for them, and vet the installer so that they don’t have to. Then offer impartial support along the way.

The biggest misperception about 1BOG is…
that homeowners have to know their neighbors or live on the same block as other group members. In reality, One Block Off the Grid programs are large metro areas and homeowners never have to interact with other homeowners unless they want to.

A favorite 1BOG moment so far is…
every time someone says, “I wouldn’t have gone solar if it wasn’t for One Block Off the Grid.”

The biggest challenge to overcome is…
every state and city in the US presents an entirely different market with varied incentives, subsidies and policies around residential solar installations. This landscape can be difficult to navigate. Local governments need to work together to flatten the market to make solar accessible in any US city.

People in the 1BOG community …
are everyday people who want relief from high energy costs and unsafe, dirty electricity sources.

In the future for 1BOG…
the picture looks like this: You’re staring are your giant power bill that seems to grow every month, you’re tired of it, and you want to go to One Block Off the Grid to see what group purchases for big home improvements are running in your city. The model extrapolates to any big-ticket green home improvement, hey, maybe even electric cars.

Archive of Pioneers & Protagonists Interviews

  10 Questions for Benita Matofska, founder of The People Who Share

  10 questions for Marta Nowinska, founder of Swapsity

  10 questions for Ryan Rzepecki, founder of SocialBicycles

  10 questions for Jamie Wong, founder of Vayable

  10 questions for Theo Kitchener, founder of The ShareHood

  10 questions for Kelly Scales, founder of Bid & Borrow

  10 questions for Campbell McKellar, Founder of Loosecubes

  10 questions for Marcio Nigro, founder of Caronetas

  10 questions for Jess Ratcliffe, founder of GaBoom

  10 questions for Philipp Rogge, founder of frents

  10 questions for Tim Hyer, founder of Rentcycle

  10 questions for Barbara Pantuso, founder of Hey, Neighbor!

  Ella T. Gorgla, Founder of I-ELLA

  Cathy Tao, co-founder of Tourboarding

  Mike Karnjanaprakorn, cofounder of Skillshare

  Juha Koponen, Founder of Netcycler

  Michelle Shearer, Founder of MamaBake

  Leah Busque, Founder and CEO of TaskRabbit

  Ron J. Williams, founder of SnapGoods

  Stephen Rapoport, founder of Crashpadder

  Anthony Eskinazi, founder of ParkatmyHouse

  Drummond Gilbert, founder of goCarShare

  David Mahfouda, Founder of Weeels

  Andreas Randow, Founder of StudioShare.org

  Emma Jamvold, Founder of SwapItBaby

  Dave Llorens, CEO of One Block Off The Grid

  Orli Cotel, co-founder of Swap for Good

  Owen Rees-Hayward, Co-founder of Thingloop

  Juliette Anich, Co-founder of The Clothing Exchange

  Keara Schwartz, Founder of Share Some Sugar

  Hans Schoenburg, co-founder of GiftFlow

  Meriel Lenfestey, Co-founder of Ecomodo

  Steve Sammartino, Founder of rentoid.com

  Micki Krimmel, Founder of NeighborGoods

  Shelby Clark, Founder of RelayRides

  James Reinhart, Founder of thredUp

For a complete archive of Pioneers & Protagonists Interviews click HERE.