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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018

  Good Energy Group PLC

  John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

  Founded at the end of 1999 by Juliet Davenport and Martin Edwards, Good Energy was the number-two renewable-energy seller in the United Kingdom at the end of 2016, supplying over 71,000 of the country’s 27 million households and small businesses with 100% renewable electricity and over 44,000 with gas. It also provided administrative support for over 133,000 mostly domestic solar generators selling surplus energy to the grid. Its wind and solar farms generated enough electricity for 20,000 homes. Revenues of £90 million had grown at an average of 33% over the previous five years, while operating profits of £6.0 million had grown at 27%. However, all was not good at Good Energy. A commitment in 2015 to grow to 900,000 customers by 2020 was revised in 2016 to a target of “sustainable profit growth and enhanced customer service.” Moreover, the long-term goal of generating 50% of energy sold was abandoned in favor of sourcing more from third parties. Part of the challenge appeared to be the entry of many new renewable-energy suppliers that offered tariffs 20% to 30% below Good Energy’s tariffs. But CEO Juliet Davenport faced other challenges. A hostile government was threatening to cap energy rates and reduce renewable subsidies. Meanwhile, Dale Vince, the CEO of Ecotricity, the number-one green-energy supplier in the United Kingdom and Good Energy’s biggest shareholder, was trying to claim two seats on the board. How was Davenport going to navigate through these challenges and maintain Good Energy’s success?

  Keywords: United Kingdom; Energy Industry; Power/Energy; green energy; renewable energy; renewables; wind power; Electricity; Power; strategy; strategy development; electric vehicles; customer service; energy policy; Barriers to entry;

  Citation:

  Wells, John R., and Benjamin Weinstock. "Good Energy Group PLC." Harvard Business School Case 719-439, December 2018.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018

  Bulb (A): Foundation

  John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

  This is the first case in a three-case series on Bulb Energy Ltd. It is followed by “Bulb (B): Launch” (719-441) and “Bulb (C): Rapid Growth” (719-442). It describes the foundation of Bulb, a renewable energy supplier entering the highly competitive UK market in August 2015. Founders Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka were hoping to capitalize on the hundreds of thousands of customers switching their energy provider each month, by promising excellent customer service, a simple, low-price tariff, 100%-renewable electricity, and services to reduce energy consumption. At the time there were only about 250,000 households on renewable tariffs, typically paying a high price for the privilege. Gudka and Wood were convinced that many more households would opt for renewable energy and turn it into a mainstream product if prices were more reasonable. Their goal was to sign up more than 23,000 properties by March 31, 2017 to reach breakeven, and then grow to more than 69,000 properties by March 31, 2021. On Friday August 21, 2015, Gudka and Wood sent out a batch of 1,400 emails to friends and family, encouraging them to switch to Bulb. They waited anxiously for the first sign-ups.

  Keywords: green energy; start-up; launch; customer acquisition; customer churn; Customer Engagement; Electricity; resources; growth strategy; B-Corp; Renewable Energy; Business Startups; Business Plan; Business Model; Working Capital; Customers; Growth Management; United Kingdom;

  Citation:

  Wells, John R., and Benjamin Weinstock. "Bulb (A): Foundation." Harvard Business School Case 719-440, December 2018.  View Details

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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | December 2018

  Bulb (B): Launch

  John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

  This is the second case in a three-case series on Bulb Energy Ltd. It comes after “Bulb (A): Foundation” (719-440) and is followed by “Bulb (C): Rapid Growth” (719-442). It describes the launch of Bulb, a renewable energy supplier entering the highly competitive UK market in August 2015. By the end of March 2017, Bulb had grown to supply 29,311 properties, well ahead of its Launch Plan of 23,166 and beyond the point of breakeven. It had been a slow start, and growth had been volatile, reaching a rate of over 3,000 new members per week at one point, putting severe strains on service levels. Founders Hayden Wood and Amit Gudka had been forced to change many aspects of their plan and defer launching value-added services to help customers reduce energy consumption and create Bulb's vision of distributed generation. Now, the company was generating profits; enough to grow, but not at the level of the original plan. Should the founders scale back on their growth ambitions and delay adding services until they had reached the scale to support them? Or should they seek more funding and accelerate growth?

  Keywords: green energy; start-up; launch; customer acquisition; customer churn; Customer Engagement; Electricity; resources; growth strategy; B-Corp; Renewable Energy; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Model; Working Capital; Product Launch; Customers; Growth Management; Business Plan; Decision Making; United Kingdom;

  Citation:

  Wells, John R., and Benjamin Weinstock. "Bulb (B): Launch." Harvard Business School Supplement 719-441, December 2018.  View Details

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