Margaux Peltier is the co-founder and CEO of Enerdrape, a Swiss startup turning underground infrastructure into renewable energy sources. From parking garages to metro tunnels, Enerdrape’s modular geothermal panels harness untapped subterranean heat to provide sustainable heating and cooling for buildings without disruptive drilling or invasive construction.
Margaux’s background in HVAC design and engineering was followed by a Masters in Civil Engineering in Lausanne where her thesis formed the basis of Enerdrape’s technology. Since then, she has led Enerdrape through award-winning pilot projects in Switzerland and ambitious expansions into the US, including Chicago’s largest underground parking complex.
2:08 - Margaux’s journey from her Master’s thesis to co-founding Enerdrape
3:30 - The scale of the problem Enerdrape is solving
4:45 - How Enerdrape’s geothermal product is unique in not needing invasive drilling and is good for retrofit
6:46 - How are existing spaces being heated and cooled?
8:52 - How did you commercialise the product and what support did you get from your university?
13:13 - Enerdrape’s first commercial project in Lausanne
14:19 - As academic co-founders, how did you handle not having previous sales experience and what advice would you have for others trying to win their first pilots?
17:11 - How has the way you sell your product changed as you’ve learnt more about what your clients are looking for?
22:23 - At what point did you make the decision to go into international markets and how have you found it breaking into the US market?
28:17 - At what point did you need to raise institutional funding outside the university and what was that process like?
30:51 - Lessons from raising a seed round
33:02 - As a young, first-time, female founder, did you feel you faced any challenges or faced any bias during fundraising?
36:19 - How has your team changed and grown since inception?
40:12 - What have been your biggest learnings as you’ve grown the team and as you’ve developed as a manager?
45:40 - What are you excited about for Enerdrape in the next 12-18 months?
47:30 - Margaux’s advice and resources for other founders
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